Department Q inspired by series of films that left fans ‘glued to the screen'
Fans of Department Q who have been captivated by this gripping new Netflix thriller should head over to Prime Video for more.
Matthew Goode stars as the brilliant but self-absorbed detective Carl Morck, assigned to delve into cold cases in a gloomy basement office to bolster the reputation of Edinburgh's police department.
Meanwhile, his colleagues upstairs grapple with a seemingly random shooting that has left a rookie officer dead and Carl's partner paralysed.
The first nine-part series has garnered glowing reviews from Netflix subscribers since its release at the end of May this year.
However, viewers who haven't paid close attention to the credits might be taken aback to discover that the thriller isn't entirely original, reports the Express.
(Image: NETFLIX)
In fact, it draws its inspiration from a collection of 10 Danish Nordic crime novels known as Afdeling Q, penned by author Jussi Adler-Olsen.
These were subsequently transformed into an ongoing series of films, starting in 2013, with four more instalments yet to be released.
Fans of the Scottish adaptation by Scott Frank and Chandni Lakhani can celebrate, as the first three entries in the original series, The Keeper of Lost Causes, The Absent One and A Conspiracy of Faith, are currently available to stream on Viaplay UK via Amazon Prime.
If you're still not convinced, take a look at some of the rave reviews of the first film which thriller enthusiasts insist is well worth a watch.
A Google reviewer was effusive, saying: "Please watch this series. It is mind-blowing to see how much engaging the story is. Definitely a better one. I'll give it 9/10."
Another was equally enthusiastic: "One of the most suspenseful movies I have seen recently. The characters are flawless, real and gutsy."
(Image: Nordisk Film)
Yet another viewer was captivated: "The concept of the movie is gripping and keeps you glued until the very end of the movie. Danish suspense/murder mystery movies must get more traction worldwide.
"This was one of those movies which has almost all elements, stellar acting, magnificent story, excellent editing, great screenplay and direction."
Another viewer couldn't hold back their praise: "One of the best crime thrillers ever made. You'll never be disappointed watching this."
While Netflix has yet to confirm plans for a second season of Department Q, fans of thrillers shouldn't miss this gripping show.
Department Q is available to stream on Netflix. Watch the original Department Q films on Viaplay via Amazon Prime.
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The Herald Scotland
8 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Film-maker who played pivotal role in the Scottish industry dies
Died: February 12, 2025 Laurence Henson was one of the key figures in Scottish documentary film-making and its transition to fiction films. Born in Mosspark in Glasgow, he attended St Gerard's Secondary School, where one of his classmates was Eddie McConnell (1936–2018) with whom he would go on to form a very successful partnership in movie-making. Following his national service, including a spell with the RAF in Borneo, Henson reunited with McConnell, who in the meantime had graduated from Glasgow School of Art, and as amateurs, they made Broken Images (1957), in which a drunk man wakes up in Glasgow's George Square to be confronted by the noble statuary of famous people. The film won one of the ten best amateur films of the year and thus came to the attention of the great John Grierson. The result was not only encouragement for the pair to turn professional, but to establish an important and lasting relationship with Grierson, 'the Father of the Documentary'. A job as a film editor at STV, including cutting the first football programmes, led to Henson becoming Grierson's assistant on This Wonderful World, the documentary film series, which became required viewing for anyone interested in movies. When the programme relocated from Glasgow to Cardiff, Henson moved with it, as did Grierson's PA, Rachel Collins. She and Henson married in Glasgow in 1961 and had two sons, Stephen and Peter. Sadly, the marriage did not last. In the early sixties, Henson accompanied Grierson to the Cork Film Festival, where he discovered an affection for Ireland. He also forged a life-long friendship with the late Irish broadcaster, Kevin O'Kelly. Reunited in film again with McConnell, the pair worked for Robert Riddell Black's Templar Films in Lynedoch Street, Glasgow. The company had just achieved the astonishing feat of winning a Hollywood Oscar for Seawards the Great Ships (1962), the stylish documentary on Clydeside shipbuilding directed by the American, Hilary Harris. Seawards was one of 16 films made by Templar for Films of Scotland, run by Forsyth Hardy whose mission was to gain commercial cinema releases at a time when it was conventional for there to be a short documentary (and often a newsreel) to precede the screening of the main feature. For example, Henson's Why Scotland, Why East Kilbride was screened with The Sting. A promotional New Town film, it was Henson's least favourite work while, as he pointed out, it was viewed by many more people than any of his other films. Directed by Henson, with McConnell as cinematographer, The Big Mill (1963) celebrated the steel works at Ravenscraig and Gartcosh. It was a classic high-value Griersonian documentary, and it too won international awards. Henson would say that it was the favourite of his works. Two years previously, he had made his directorial debut with The Heart of Scotland (1961). Again, Grierson was his mentor – he provided the outline treatment – and there was yet more support from the great man when Henson and McConnell were setting up their own independent film company. Grierson's Canadian company was International Film Associates; he permitted the new outfit to be called International Film Associates (Scotland). It was under the banner of IFA that Henson was to make the next major move: to add features to his documentary output. Forsyth Hardy had always wanted Films of Scotland to migrate from documentary to fiction. Perhaps he knew that the life of cinema documentary was nearing its end and that the rising Scottish talent, led by such as Henson, needed a new challenge; so Flash the Sheepdog (1967), from the story by Kathleen Fiddler, was directed by Laurence Henson, who also wrote the screenplay. Read more Tributes to Dundonian who became eminent director of the stars | The Herald 'First-class' producer at BBC Scotland and promoter of Gaelic dies | The Herald 'He never gave up': tributes to patriarch of Scottish undertakers | The Herald It concerned a London boy who comes to the Scottish Borders and learns the local ways. Made for the Children's Film Foundation, which catered for Saturday Morning matinees, it was an excellent way to learn the trade and led to further commissions for IFA – The Big Catch (1968) and Mauro the Gypsy (1973). The Duna Bull (1972), however, was Henson's pitch to an adult audience, with the whimsical story (based on a real event) of an island community which needed an appropriate beast to sustain their way of life. Henson's trajectory from amateur via television and documentary to features, was remarkable. He had been fortunate in his association with Grierson and Hardy, and in his partnership with McConnell. But it required character and determination to capitalise on the opportunities that had been presented to him, and the sense that he had benefited from the encouragement of others translated into his own desire to help the next generation of aspiring film-makers. However, in the late 1980s, Henson's life changed direction in a remarkable way. He had met Ruth Jacob who was visiting Scotland from Dublin, and the upshot was they became partners and moved to Ireland, first to Bray in County Wicklow, and then to Strokestown in County Roscommon, where they became very much part of the community, thus reaffirming his connection with Ireland. Another change for Henson was that now he was able to pursue his love of language by becoming a poet and being involved with local poetry groups and publications, even though he never lost his desire to make movies, which remained his motivational passion. His profound sense of place, and how the land shapes the people, always shows through in his films. Though a project on the Highland Clearances was an ambition that attracted well-known actors but not the requisite finance, a decades-long scheme did come to fruition in 2014 with Documenting Grierson, thereby completing the circle of his work. In that context, too, Henson ran occasional seminars in Dublin on screenwriting, under the title Writing Movies. Henson's poetry reveals a man of wit and warmth and of considerable ability with words, but his role in the development of the Scottish film industry was pivotal. He was ahead of most of his contemporaries in the progress to feature films and in the nurturing of talents such as Charlie Gormley and Bill Forsyth, who would go on to make it perfectly natural for Scots to create movies that reflected our culture. For paving that way, and for making excellent films in both documentary and feature, Laurence Henson deserves our overdue recognition and gratitude. DAVID BRUCE AND STEPHEN HENSON At The Herald, we carry obituaries of notable people from the worlds of business, politics, arts and sport but sometimes we miss people who have led extraordinary lives. That's where you come in. If you know someone who deserves an obituary, please consider telling us about their lives. Contact
Scotsman
38 minutes ago
- Scotsman
Readers' Letters: Wind farm could mean loss of Scottish bird species
Scottish Government backing for a massive windfarm off North Berwick didn't have a single correspondent on side Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... It's an amazing experience to go on a boat trip to see the puffins and world-famous colony of gannets on Bass Rock. The Scottish Government has approved the Berwick Bank offshore wind farm, one of the largest wind farms in the world, which they acknowledge will affect the birds. It is off the coast of the seabirds colonies of St Abb's Head, too. The developer predicts 31,000 collisions during its 30-year life span. I do not think it is possible to predict the behaviour of birds with such accuracy. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad When we moved to our cottage in 1992 we would have skeins of pink-footed geese over our cottage in spring and autumn. Gladhouse Reservoir was made a Ramsar site because of the numbers there. My parents marvelled at the sight when they visited In 1999. In 2002 Bowbeat wind farm was built in the Moorfoot Hills on the flight path and we have not seen skeins from that direction for many years, and the Gladhouse numbers are now low – so much so that the RSPB could not put in an objection to the 18-turbine, 180m high Torfichen windfarm, near Gladhouse, on pink foot grounds but had to rely on other species. A view of the proposed wind farm site from St Abb's Head (Picture: National Trust for Scotland / Rachel Bonnici) How can we justify such a large experiment when Scotland is world famous for these species and we already have enough wind power for our own needs? Celia Hobbs, Penicuik, Midlothian Shot in foot? The decision in principle by the Scottish Government to grant planning permission for a completely unnecessary massive offshore wind farm (Berwick Bank) to be constructed in an environmentally sensitive location frankly beggars belief, especially given the scale of the well-judged opposition, which has simply been ignored. The irony is that Holyrood is currently contemplating the introduction of an Ecocide Bill, at the very time that the Scottish Government is complicit in ecocide committed by renewable energy companies on an ever-expanding scale. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad We note that 'SSE Renewables will have to provide a plan to counter any impact the wind farm may have on seabirds to be approved by ministers", but this is thin gruel, especially as SSE is quoted as admitting in its own environmental impact assessment that more than 31,000 bird collisions are estimated during its lifespan. What will their proposed 'mitigation' provide? It is to be hoped that it will be something better than the farcically inappropriate plans Equinor has put in place to construct an inappropriately sited nesting habitat for Arctic terns, hundreds of miles from its proposed massive wind farm extension off the coast of Norfolk. Whatever it is, it is difficult to see how it can provide more than a small sticking plaster for a deliberate act of ecocide that should never have been granted permission The Scottish Government may well have shot themselves in the foot. Even people who would not normally object to a wind farm are sickened by this decision. The sleeping giant in the name of Joe Public has awakened. Aileen Jackson, Scotland Against Spin, Uplawmoor, East Renfrewshire Strange silence There is a deafening silence from Holyrood over the unit cost of electricity from Berwick Bank. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad There are non-stop claims that the output is the cheapest electricity generation system in the UK, but what the SNP Energy Secretary refuses to admit is that the party have taken out three 'insurance policies' to keep the lights on in Scotland as wind output is both unreliable and inefficient. The first 'policy' is the myriad battery units required to ensure grid stability during short lulls in wind speed (over a period of minutes). The second is the output from pump store plant to cover a lack of wind over a time period of about six hours. The last is the proposed 25GW of hydrogen-fuelled gas turbines to cover for dunkelflaute weather conditions. Why, then, do our 129 MSPs refuse to inform the people of Scotland of the unit cost of wind output that includes the capital repayment and operational running costs of the three projects? Ian Moir, Castle Douglas, Dumfries & Galloway Botched Whatever one thinks of the Berwick Bank wind farm project, we can only hope the rights auction is open so as to maximise revenue. A few years ago the SNP horribly botched the ScotWind auction, losing the public coffers a whopping £15 billion, the equivalent of more than £3,000 per adult in Scotland! George Morton, Rosyth, Fife Not so bonny Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Our beautiful country used to be called 'Bonny Scotland'. Nowadays, it would be more apt to call it 'Pylon-ny Scotland'. Please, please rid us of these horrible eyesores. John MacKay, Cumbernauld, Dunbartonshire Legal focus Veteran nurse Sandie Peggie, who was suspended by NHS Fife for objecting to the presence of a male-born, female-identifying doctor in a female changing room while she was undressing, has enjoyed a groundswell of public support. However, NHS Fife's lawyer, Jane Russell KC, produced two witnesses, both former colleagues and friends. Their evidence mainly focused on Ms Peggie's presumed character based on some politically incorrect banter at some point in the past. Ms Peggie actually didn't deny this and admits it was in bad taste. Arguably Ms Russell's detailed questions about Sandie Peggie's menstrual flow and who is paying for her case weren't exactly tasteful either. Yet nothing of this should deflect from the matter at hand. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad What the judges will have to decide is not whether Ms Peggie 'deserved' to be suspended due to her supposedly flawed character. They will decide whether NHS Fife acted fairly and lawfully when suspending a nurse for insisting on her sex-based rights, no more, no less. Their conclusion will ultimately guide public perception of the case. Regina Erich, Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire Terrible talk I'd just like to say well done Anas Sarwar for saying what every decent person in Scotland is thinking. The alleged racist language of Sandy Peggie is horrific and highly offensive. Politicians Joanna Cherry and Murdo Fraser, who have both spoken in support of Ms Peggie since these allegations were made public, should hang their heads in shame for failing to speak out against these racist statements and offensive jokes. Alexander Lunn, Edinburgh Oust the SNP So, it seems that as a result of Donald Trump's visit to Scotland, First Minister John Swinney has decided he has an 'updated strategy' for achieving Scottish independence. More fool him! He has conveniently forgotten that the UK Supreme Court's ruling was quite clear in that 'there can only be another referendum on such a matter if the UK Government agrees! Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad As is obvious to most folks, except for diehard SNP followers, Mr Swinney is deluded in his quest for an independent Scotland. If the efforts of Alex Salmond, and his prodigy Nicola Sturgeon, failed to convince the people of Scotland that independence would be to their advantage, then John Swinney is on a hiding to nothing campaign in respect of Scottish independence. The Holyrood elections in May 2026 will hopefully see off the SNP for a very long period. Let us hope that whatever alliance of political parties is needed to achieve this objective, we will see radical changes put into effect at Holyrood, and at local council levels. Fellow Scots, let us all be fully supportive of whatever alliance of political parties is needed to oust the SNP. Unless radical changes are put into effect at Holyrood, then the only answer to Scotland's political dilemma is to return all political powers to Westminster. Hopefully that will not be our only option! Robert IG Scott, Northfield, Ceres, Fife Good call I congratulate Foysol Choudhury for his article in The Scotsman, 'Staying silent over Gaza risks complicity in war crimes, even in Scotland' (Perspective, 1 August). He confirms 'the right of every person to live free from fear, violence and oppression and there must be immediate international action to stop the violence, protect civilians, and hold those responsible to account'. It's rare for a Labour MSP to call out and criticise Hamas. Lewis Finnie, Edinburgh An apology Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad As a beleaguered American citizen, I first want to apologise to the Scots for inflicting Donald Trump upon you, and the world. Secondly, my profound thanks and blessings on your heads for your protests, marches, signs, etc displayed during his visit. You cannot imagine how reassuring it was to know that we are not alone, that good people in Scotland also agree and support us, even when we sometimes feel our voices are lost in the wind. C Root, Flagstaff, Arizona Historic pun According to the US President, Nicola Sturgeon was a terrible First Minister (your report, 31 July). Can this be the latest 'Blast of the Trump against the Monstruous Regiment of Women'? Peter Freshwater, Edinburgh Write to The Scotsman Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad
Scotsman
38 minutes ago
- Scotsman
Rules are distorting true state of play in Scottish charts
Number one in the Scottish charts last week was Tyler The Creator's new album Don't Tap The Glass which is not as yet available from shops or indeed even online except from the artist himself I've said before that the music charts need fixing but never was it more obvious than last week when the best selling album in Scotland could not be bought in Scotland! Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Number One in the Scottish charts last week was Tyler The Creator's new album Don't Tap The Glass, which is not as yet available from shops – or indeed even online – except from the artist himself. The reason it can top the charts while simultaneously not being available is that with online sales, the sale registers in the place the customer lives and not the place the sale is sent from. This should be the case though it is sometimes very obvious that Scottish online sellers are putting all their sales through in Scotland, as that gives the album a high Scottish chart placing rather than have sales spread out across the UK and worldwide meaning the sales will have little impact on the charts. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Sales abroad in fact are not meant to register in the UK charts at all as again the sales register in the customer's country not the sender's. You will regularly see artists posting on social media that their album is featured is one of the official charts, but for somebody like myself who can actually see the figures the sales are very low indeed sometimes only in double figures. It is not just the Scottish charts that are distorted however, with the record shop charts regularly featuring titles that have releases not available in any record shop apart from one that has an exclusive. This used to be the territory of Rough Trade but there are now several shops around the UK including Scotland that regularly offer exclusive versions of an album in an attempt to take sales from other shops. I say 'to take sales from other shops' because all that is happening is sales are being moved around, in that a customer in Scotland may buy from a shop or online seller in England because they think they have a more desirable version of an album, but on the whole it is very unlikely that a customer will buy an album that they were not going to buy, but have been tempted by some special version. We already have albums topping the main chart when not available in shops at all because all the sales are based on digital sales. I can understand why somebody downloading an album counts towards the chart, but with the inclusion of streaming the lines have become very blurred indeed. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad While Oasis physical sales have increased the reason their albums are all dominating the top of the charts is because to a large extent people are listening to Oasis a lot and obviously many of those people own the albums already, so it is stretching the facts to count listening to a song as a sale. Certainly the music charts don't have the effect on the public's buying the way they used to but record companies, labels, artists and the media still measure success by chart placings even if the actual numbers are very low. The Official Charts Company is able to introduce whatever rules it likes so certainly it would make sense to tweak the current rules so that their different charts become more relevant again.
