Picture Credit: Netflix
The acclaimed British noir crime thriller Dept. Q is gearing up for its highly anticipated second season on Netflix. Production is currently underway in Scotland, and we’ve exclusively learned of the first major new cast member joining the series, with more expected to be unveiled imminently.
Based on the beloved Danish crime novels by Jussi Adler-Olsen, the English-language adaptation was developed for Netflix by Scott Frank (The Queen’s Gambit, Godless) and Chandni Lakhani. The first season premiered in May 2025 to rave reviews and massive viewership numbers, earning a swift season 2 renewal in August of the same year.
Now, we can confirm the first new addition to the cast for season 2: Scottish actor Ross Anderson.
Anderson will play the role of Ricky Daddario in the upcoming season. Anderson is no stranger to Netflix audiences, having previously starred as Domnal in The Last Kingdom and its follow-up feature film Seven Kings Must Die, as well as starring in the Kevin Hart heist movie Lift.
Read Next
Netflix’s ‘Dept. Q’ Season 2: First Plot Details and Huge New Cast Revealed as Production Begins
His other credits include Des, Shetland, and Crawl. He also has a string of high-profile upcoming projects, including Amazon’s Apollo Has Fallen, Channel 4’s The Siege, and playing Ser Humfrey Hardyng in HBO’s Game of Thrones spin-off, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight.
Picture Credit: The Artists Partnership
Anderson joins a stellar returning cast led by Matthew Goode, who will reprise his role as the brilliant, guilt-ridden, and cynical Detective Carl Morck. Also expected to return are his team of cold-case misfits: Alexej Manvelov as Akram, Leah Byrne as Rose, and Jamie Sives as Hardy.
Scott Frank has been confirmed to return to the director’s chair. Left Bank Pictures and Sony Pictures Television are producing the series.
What is the production status of Dept. Q Season 2?
The gears of production are turning in Edinburgh, Scotland, and have been since early June, we’re told. Earlier this year, we got production listings suggesting that filming would begin from mid-July, but it looks like things have shifted a bit. As we stress all the time, production starts and, indeed, finishes are highly subject to change. This was the second shift, given that production was at one point due to kick off in April.
According to a recent training initiative by Screen Scotland, in partnership with Netflix and Sony Pictures Television, trainees for various production departments began their on-site placements in mid-to-late May 2026, which is when pre-production was getting underway.
DOP David Ungaro posted on May 28th a picture of prep on set:
The latest casting calls suggest filming got underway on June 1st and will continue through October 11th, 2026, and confirm we’re due to get 8 episodes again.
What to expect in Dept. Q Season 2
Season 1 saw Carl Morck and his newly formed Department Q successfully rescue Merritt Lingard, but the overarching mystery of the Leith Park shooting—which left a fellow officer dead and Morck’s partner paralyzed—remains unsolved. Season 2 will likely see the team tackling another brutal cold case from Adler-Olsen’s extensive backlog of novels, while the conspiracy surrounding gangster Eugene Errington continues to unfold.
With filming stretching until the end of 2026, fans shouldn’t expect to see season 2 on their screens until at least 2027.
Are you excited to see Ross Anderson join Dept. Q season 2? Let us know in the comments below!
