What To Watch If You Loved Dept. Q

There’s a very specific kind of television itch that only a haunted detective and a freezer full of cold cases can scratch. But Dept. Q carved it into our weekend like a scalpel (sorry, too many morbid thoughts since I watched it). Eight episodes of cigarette-stained dread, bureaucratic indifference, and Matthew Goode as a lead investigator who – let’s be honest, could play the next Bond (MY Roman Empire)– has actually become our latest fixation.

But now you’re here. You’ve watched the final episode. You’re in the withdrawal stage. You’re scrolling through the Netflix refrigerator, wondering what the hell to watch next.

There’s good news, though. Dept. Q may be over (for now), but the genre it nailed—moody investigators, layered storytelling, and trauma that simmers just under the surface—is far from in short supply. If you’re in the mood for more dead-eyed detectives, fog-drenched crime scenes, and plots that unfold like a bruised peach—here are ten shows that live in the same beautifully broken universe as Dept. Q.

Some are British. Some are Scandi-adjacent. Stylish, cerebral, and just dark enough to make you check if the door’s locked—I think you should start here.

Slow Horses (2022 - )

Think Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy but if the spies were failures, and Gary Oldman was allowed to be as gloriously crass and brilliant as he wanted. Based on Mick Herron’s Slough House novels, this Apple TV+ gem is as sharp as it is shambolic. The agents here are misfits banished to bureaucratic purgatory—but naturally, they stumble into actual high-stakes espionage.

What makes it Dept. Q-adjacent? Outsiders solving complex cases in their own messed-up way.

Plus: Gary Oldman in a trench coat chain-smoking insults. What’s not to love?

Black Doves (2024 - )

Keira Knightley plays a spy with a complicated past, Ben Whishaw plays her dangerously charming protector, and the entire thing is dipped in sleek noir and served with a side of espionage-induced emotional trauma. Black Doves has a darker, more stylish energy than Dept. Q, but it’s driven by the same cocktail of secrets, stakes, and brooding protagonists navigating their own internal wreckage. If Dept. Q felt like a Scandinavian winter, Black Doves is more like a London night drenched in rain and bad decisions.

Criminal Record (2024 - )

Two detectives. One cold case. And a tangled web of institutional rot. Peter Capaldi and Cush Jumbo go head-to-head in this understated but tense Apple TV+ crime thriller that digs deep into race, policing, and legacy. It’s talky, sure, but the drama burns slow and hot—and fans of Dept. Q will appreciate how it explores not just the crimes, but the system that fails to solve them.

Presumed Innocent (2024 - )

Jake Gyllenhaal playing a prosecutor accused of murdering his colleague-slash-mistress? Yes, please. Based on the Scott Turow novel and helmed by David E. Kelley, this legal thriller is high-stakes. It’s more courtroom than crime scene, but the psychological unravelling and moral ambiguity hit the same notes as Dept. Q. Plus, this time, the detective is the suspect. And you won’t see that ending coming.

Mare of Easttown (2021)

Kate Winslet at her absolute best—chain-smoking, emotionally shut off, and solving murders in a Pennsylvania town where everyone knows everyone (and their secrets). Mare isn’t just haunted by the crimes she investigates; she’s haunted by her past, her family, and the town itself. If you loved the human grit of Dept. Q, you’ll find Mare equally addictive.

Broadchurch (2013 – 2017)

It’s practically the British prototype for emotionally tortured detective dramas. David Tennant is DI Alec Hardy, a gruff outsider sent to a sleepy coastal town where a child’s murder blows apart the community—and his own emotional walls. Olivia Colman is equally brilliant as his grounded, empathetic partner. Like Dept. Q, it’s a slow descent into secrets, lies, and the damage people carry.

Unforgotten (2015 - )

Don’t be fooled by the ITV packaging—Unforgotten is criminally (sorry) underrated. Every season centres on a single cold case unearthed decades later, with DCI Cassie Stuart (the ever-brilliant Nicola Walker) and DI Sunny Khan peeling back time like a crime-scene onion. No jump scares here, just great acting and intricate storytelling that reminds you the past is never really dead.

Luther (2010 – 2019)

Idris Elba. A wool coat. A permanently furrowed brow. Luther is psychological noir at its best. John Luther is a detective who doesn’t so much walk the line between good and evil as repeatedly cross it with reckless abandon. It’s darker and more brutal than Dept. Q, but the same DNA is there: haunted men solving haunted crimes in a city that seems to breed them both.

Happy Valley (2014 – 2023)

Don’t let the title fool you. This is bleak, brilliant British crime drama at its finest. Sarah Lancashire is powerhouse police sergeant Catherine Cawood, who carries the impact of her daughter’s suicide with her throughout the series. It’s as much about trauma and resilience as it is about the complexity of right, wrong and human nature. And like Dept. Q, it’s the emotional core that makes it stick.

True Detective (Season 1 & 3)

The gold standard for atmospheric, philosophical crime TV. True Detective’s first season with Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson rewrote the genre’s playbook, while Season 3 with Mahershala Ali brought it back to its contemplative roots. Like Dept. Q, it’s a layered dive into memory and trauma.