One of the biggest success stories on Netflix last year is in the midst of production, with big changes on the horizon.
As a recent update revealed, Scottish crime thriller “Dept. Q” is returning with a second season that focuses on a new mystery and several new cast members.
One of these new arrivals is a familiar face to American TV viewers: James Corden, who hosted “The Late Late Show” on CBS from 2015 until 2023.
A Rare Dramatic Role
GettyThe Sun is reporting that Corden has been tapped to join “Dept. Q” for Season 2, taking on a rare dramatic role that represents a departure from the comedy roles that have typically defined his career to date.
Per The Sun, Corden will play a brilliant but eccentric forensic psychologist, Dr. Ben Smith. The character will presumably be assisting the team led by Edinburgh police detective Carl Morck (Matthew Goode, “The Leap Year”). As viewers will recall, Morck experienced a career misstep that saw him banished to the basement of a run-down police station, where he heads up Dept. Q, a team of misfit cops who investigate cases deemed to be unsolvable.
Corden is said to be in the midst of filming in Edinburgh.
“Everyone tends to associate James with comedy roles, which is completely understandable given he is best known for [British sitcom] ‘Gavin & Stacey,'” an insider told the outlet. “But this will show a different side to James by placing him in a drama which, although it has a streak of sardonic humor running throughout, is ultimately about grisly murders and kidnappings.”
Added the source: “It also sees him take on his first series with Netflix, which is something of a coup as they remain the dominant streamer with a reputation for delivering quality dramas.”
A Netflix Hit
Debuting its first season in May 2025, “Dept. Q” proved to be a big hit for Netflix. The show wound up garnering 27 million total views (with more than 222 million hours watched), spending six consecutive weeks in Netflix’s global top 10.
Described as a “darkly humorous, propulsive show” that “delivers all the pleasures of a procedural,” “Dept. Q” takes viewers “into the complex mysteries not just of the cases but of the detectives themselves.”
As fans await the second season, they can rest assured that Morck’s ragtag team remains intact. Alexej Manvelov will return as Akram Salim, as will Leah Byrne as DC Rose Dickson and Jamie Sives as DS James Hardy.
In addition, new cast members include Aisling Franciosi as Kimmie, Greg Wise as Derek Powell, Nicholas Rowe as Thomas Fulton, Tony Curran as Winnie Calderwood, Hamish Clark as Christopher Herron, Alex Ferns as Phil Allenbeck, Ross Anderson as Ricky Daddario, Rebecca Root as June Lovesay, Isla Johnston as Agnes and former “Judging Amy” star Amy Brenneman (recently seen alongside Jeff Bridges and John Lithgow in FX’s “The Old Man”) as Helen.
A New Case to Solve
Netflix“This season, Carl and his band of misfits tackle a terrible crime hidden in the highest echelons of Scottish society,” executive producer Rob Bullock told Tudum of the second season. “It is a story for our times: rich and powerful people who believe they are above the law. Carl, of course, knows otherwise”
Added fellow exec producer Manda Levin: “It’s a joy to be working with master storyteller Scott Frank once again, along with the rest of team dolally. We applaud Netflix’s courage for letting them loose once again. Season 1 of ‘Dept. Q’ made us laugh and cry; it shocked and intrigued us; we fell in love with the characters and with the incredibly vivid and iconic world that Scott Frank and his amazing team conjured up in one of our very favourite cities. That it was embraced so wholeheartedly by an audience in Scotland, in the rest of the UK, and across the world, was thrilling. The story of Season 2 is as darkly delicious as you’d expect, and Carl and his glorious gang will have their work cut out pinning down the perpetrators as we launch back in for more!”
While no premiere date has yet be set, fans shouldn’t expect to see Corden in his new role until sometime next year.
