Dept. Q Season 2: As If We Couldn’t Be More Excited, James Corden Is Reportedly Joining the Cast

Last year, Netflix's thriller series Dept. Q took over the internet, and has since had fans begging for another season (hi yes, we’re fans). The good news is, it’s just been renewed for an exciting season 2, where the group of misfit investigators will take on another cold case. Yes!Jump to:When was Dept. Q renewed for season 2?Dept. Q season 2 castWhat has the cast said about Dept. Q season 2?What could happen in Dept. Q season 2?Season 1 followed grumpy Detective Carl Morck (Matthew Goode) who was assigned a new department at the police station in Edinburgh, where he’s given cold cases to solve. For his first job, he chose to solve the mysterious disappearance of prosecutor Merritt Lingard (Chloe Pirrie), who went missing four years previously.The series spent six weeks in the Global Top 10 shows on Netflix, and quickly became renowned as an unbeatable crime thriller on the platform. And the good news is, the gang will be back for more! On June 25, 2026, the streaming platform confirmed season 2 of the series was about to go into production. Here’s everything we know so far.When was Dept. Q renewed for season 2?On June 25, 2026, Netflix announced a new season of Department Q was on its way, and production is already happening in Edinburgh. Woohoo!Of course, the show doesn’t exist without Matthew Goode as detective Carl Morck, alongside his team of misfits—Alexej Manvelov (Jack Ryan, Top Dog) as Akram Salim, Leah Byrne (But When We Dance) as DC Rose Dickson, and Jamie Sives (Guilt and Chernobyl) as DS James Hardy.Kelly Macdonald is also returning as Dr. Rachel Irving, as well as Kate Dickie as Moira Jacobson, Aaron McVeigh as Jasper and Sanjeev Kohli (Still Game, River City) as Martin Flemming, alongside Mark Bonnar from Line of Duty and Ludwig as Stephen Burns.And in September this year, it was also reported James Corden is set to be taking on a key role for the new season. According to The Sun, Corden will be playing an “eccentric but brilliant forensic psychologist”.Corden is expected to be filming his scenes this week and will appear alongside series lead Matthew Goode.Season 2 will also welcome other stellar new cast members, although details of their characters are being kept under wraps:Aisling Franciosi (Speak No Evil, The Nightingale) as KimmieGreg Wise (The Crown, The Buccaneers) as Derek PowellNicholas Rowe (Red Eye S2, Spy Among Friends) as Thomas FultonTony Curran (Outlander: Blood of My Blood, Mary and George) as Winnie CalderwoodHamish Clark (Monarch of the Glen) as Christopher HerronAlex Ferns (Waiting for the Out, The Batman) as Phil AllenbeckRoss Anderson (Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, The Rig) as Ricky DaddarioRebecca Root (Heartstopper, The Wheel of Time) as June Lovesay Isla Johnston (The Queen's Gambit, The Carpenter's Son) as Agnes What has the cast said about Dept. Q season 2? Speaking to Yahoo back in 2025, series lead Matthew Goode told the publication he wanted to see more of Alexej Manvelov’s character Akram in season 2, saying: "I was saying to Scott [Frank, the show's creator] the other day, what we really need to do is, A, season 2, and we need to get Alexej into eight weeks of Krav Magar training so the fight scenes in season 2 can be amazing. It's going to be a sort of Syrian Bourne."NetflixWhat could happen in Dept. Q season 2?Rob Bullock, executive producer for Left Bank Pictures, reveals season 2 will see "Carl and his band of misfits tackle a terrible crime hidden in the highest echelons of Scottish society. It is a story for our times: rich and powerful people who believe they are above the law. Carl, of course, knows otherwise."Another executive producer, Manda Levin, added: "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!”Department Q is based on a series of books by Jussi Adler-Olsen and so there are already a number of existing plots and angles the show could carry on exploring. The first series is inspired by the novel Mercy, which follows a similar plotline to the TV series. If the Netflix show were to then follow the order of the Department Q books, the next one to be adapted would be The Absent One.NetflixThe Absent One is about detective Morck solving another cold case, this time involving the double murder of a brother and sister who were killed two decades ago. One of the suspects for the crime is serving time; however, Carl suspects everything is not quite what it seems and there are still some questions that need answering.We also never get a proper answer as to what happened with Carl during the initial shootout and who was responsible for the death of the police officer at the beginning of the season, and so we'd hope to get some answers to this too!Department Q season 1 is available on Netflix now.