Dept Q: Filming locations for Netflix's new crime thriller series set in Edinburgh including historic Old Town
Netflix’s newest crime thriller series Dept Q has hit screens after landing on the streaming service today (May 29).
The show, which is based on the Danish novels of the same name, follows DCI Carl Morck who is tasked with creating a new department that deals with seemingly impossible-to-solve cold cases in the latest PR stunt by the police force. Leading a crack team of misfit outcasts, Morck and lackeys soon uncover a mystery they didn’t see coming.
Dept Q stars Matthew Goode, Chloe Pirrie, Alexej Manvelov, Kelly Macdonald and Leah Byrne among many others.
ONe interesting aspect of the new Netflix adaptation is that show creator Scott Frank has swapped Copenhagen for another port city - Edinburgh. Speaking about setting the show in the Scottish capital, Frank said: “I hadn’t really seen a show in Edinburgh before, and it’s a beautiful city.
“When I went to go look at the city, I was like, ‘Okay, this is amazing. It’s the perfect combination between the modern and the medieval.’ They’re there side by side and it just works in such a lovely way.”
Lead Actor Matthew Goode added: “Scott brilliantly transposed it from Denmark to Scotland. Edinburgh is smaller than Copenhagen, but both are big port cities. [With its] gothic architecture, and it being the judicial center of Scotland, it’s just a really lovely fit.”
Where was Dept Q filmed?
Both locals and those who have visited Edinburgh will be able to recognise the historic city on screen in Dept Q, with scenes filmed in Edinburgh’s famous Old Town - including at the City Chambers.
The series filmed extensively throughout different parts of the city outside of the Old Town, including in Leith, Abbeyhill, Marchmont, Morningside, Liberton, Burdiehouse and Wester Hailes. Dept Q was based at FirstStage Studios in Leith.
Specific filming locations include Portobello Promenade and Melville Street in the West End. Production also travelled out of the city, filming at locations such as The Volunteer Arms (Staggs Bar) in Musselburgh and throughout East Lothian, including at Lysander House in Dirleton and Yellowcraig Beach.