Department Q () is a series of eleven Danish Nordic noir crime novels by author Jussi Adler-Olsen which have been adapted in an ongoing series of highly successful Danish films and a Scottish television adaptation for Netflix.
Novels Originally written in Danish, the novels have been translated into numerous languages, including English, Bulgarian, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish and Vietnamese.
Despite using the same translations, the Penguin Group titled the first five novels differently in the United Kingdom and the United States. Their editions use the same British titles as the film adaptations. Novel Original title Year Film adaptation YearKvinden i buret 20072011 (USA & UK)The Keeper of Lost Causes 2013Fasandræberne 20082012 (USA & UK)The Absent One 2014Flaskepost fra P 20092013 (USA & UK)A Conspiracy of Faith 2016Journal 64 20102013 (USA)2014 (UK)The Purity of Vengeance 2018Marco Effekten 20122014 (USA & UK) 2021Den Grænseløse 20142015 (USA & UK) 2024Selfies 20162017 (USA & UK)Offer 2117 20192020 (USA & UK)Natrium Chlorid 20212022 (USA & UK)Locked InSyv m2 med Lås 20212022 (USA & UK)
Adaptations Films The Keeper of Lost Causes (2013) The Absent One (2014) A Conspiracy of Faith (2016) The Purity of Vengeance (2018) (2021) (2024) Upcoming The Scarred Woman (2026) Victim 2117 (2028) The Shadow Murders (2030) Locked In (2032)
The first four films were produced by Peter Aalbæk Jensen and Louise Vesth through Zentropa. But despite their commercial and critical success, author Jussi Adler-Olsen was unhappy with the results and the casting, feeling that the films and characters departed from his novels too much and that his suggestions were being ignored, leading to Nordisk Film (who had already distributed the prior films in Denmark) and producer taking over for the remainder of the series with all new castings.
Television series
In April 2023, it was announced that an English-language adaptation of the books would be adapted for the streaming service Netflix by filmmaker Scott Frank. Frank first acquired the US television rights for the novels in 2014 and initially planned to set the series in Boston, Massachusetts instead of Denmark. The nine-part series was produced by Left Bank Pictures and Sony Pictures Television with the setting finally being Scotland and filming taking place in Edinburgh. Frank is showrunner and also co-wrote the series alongside Chandni Lakhani, Stephen Greenhorn and Colette Kane. Filming began in Edinburgh in February 2024, with Matthew Goode in the lead role of Carl Morck (renamed from Mørck), Alexej Manvelov as Akram Salim (renamed from Hafez el-Assad), Leah Byrne as Rose, Chloe Pirrie as Merritt Lingard (renamed from Merete Lynggaard) and Kelly Macdonald as Dr. Rachel Irving (renamed from Mona Ibsen). The series premiered on Netflix in May 2025 and was renewed for a second series in August 2025.
Cast and characters Character(🇩🇰/🇬🇧) Films Series 2013 2014 2016 2018 2021 2024 2026 2028 2030 2032 2034 2025 Carl MørckCarl Morck Nikolaj Lie Kaas Ulrich Thomsen Matthew Goode Hafez el-AssadAkram Salim Fares Fares Zaki Youssef Alexej Manvelov Rose KnudsenRose Dickson Johanne Louise Schmidt Sofie Torp Leah Byrne Gordon Mads Reuther Marcus JacobsenMoira Jacobson Søren Pilmark Henrik Noél† Kate Dickie Hardy HenningsenJames Hardy Troels Lyby Thomas W. Gabrielsson Jamie Sives Mona IbsenRachel Irving Lisa Carlehed Kelly Macdonald Merete LynggaardMerritt Lingard Sonja Richter Chloe Pirrie
was unable to return as Assad after due to having recently become a father and having other scheduling conflicts with the filming of , which started on 5 September 2022, half a year earlier than planned.
Crew FilmThe Keeper of Lost Causes(2013)The Absent One(2014)A Conspiracy of Faith(2016)The Purity of Vengeance(2018)(2021)(2024)Director Hans Petter Moland Christoffer Boe Martin Zandvliet Ole Christian MadsenProducer(s) Peter Aalbæk JensenLouise Vesth Malene BlenkovScreenwriter(s) Nikolaj Arcel Nikolaj ArcelRasmus Heisterberg Nikolaj Arcel Nikolaj Arcel Anders AugustThomas Porsager Jakob WeisComposer(s) Patrik AndrénUno HelmerssonJohan Söderqvist Mikkel MalthaAnthony Lledo Sune Martin Lasse ZieglerCinematographer Eric Kress John Andreas Andersen Jacob Møller Aske Foss Editor(s) Morten EgholmMartin Schade Olivier Bugge CouttéNicolaj Monberg My Thordal Per K. KirkegaardPer Sandholt Frederik StrunkNicolaj MonbergProduction company Zentropa Nordisk FilmDistribution Nordisk FilmRuntime 96 minutes 119 minutes 112 minutes 119 minutes 125 minutes 126 minutesRelease date October 3, 2013 October 2, 2014 March 3, 2016 October 4, 2018 May 27, 2021 February 1, 2024
Reception Box office performance Film Release date Box office gross (Denmark) Attendance (Denmark) Box office ranking (Danish films) Budget The Keeper of Lost Causes October 3, 2013 DKK 59,010,000 721,256 #5 €5,000,000 The Absent One October 2, 2014 DKK 68,100,000 764,002 #2 €5,200,000 A Conspiracy of Faith March 3, 2016 DKK 64,300,000 704,971 #4 €5,300,000 The Purity of Vengeance October 4, 2018 DKK 72,500,000 765,111 #1 €5,200,000 May 27, 2021 DKK 23,300,000 225,243 N/A €7,400,000 February 1, 2024 TBA 301,800 TBA €6,900,000 Total DKK 287,210,000 3,482,383 €35,000,000 Average DKK 57,442,000 580,397 €5,830,000 The films have been massively successful, selling over three million tickets in Denmark alone, where the installments regularly top the yearly box-office. The Purity of Vengeance (2018) became the highest grossing Danish film of all time upon release, with a gross of 72,500,000 DKK, The Absent One (2014) the second highest with 68,1 M. DKK, A Conspiracy of Faith (2016) the fourth with 64,3 M. DKK, and The Keeper of Lost Causes (2012) the fifth with 59,01 M. DKK. The Purity of Vengeance is additionally the 11th overall highest grossing film in Denmark. The fifth film however, which marked a complete recast, was significantly less successful despite a larger budget. The sixth film, , had the best opening for a Danish film since Checkered Ninja 2 in 2021, three years prior, and is currently the most watched film of 2024 in Danish cinemas.
Critical response Film Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic Kino.dk The Keeper of Lost Causes 71% (28 reviews) 62 (8 reviews) 4.2/6 (7 reviews) The Absent One 92% (12 reviews) 61 (6 reviews) 3.5/6 (7 reviews) A Conspiracy of Faith 100% (6 reviews) 75 (3 reviews) 3.7/6 (7 reviews) The Purity of Vengeance 66% (3 reviews) N/A 4/6 (7 reviews) N/A N/A 3.5/6 (8 reviews) N/A N/A 4/6 (7 reviews)
References