Last night, I watched the final episode of the first season of Department Q. Netflix suggested it to me when it was released and I was looking for a new show so I gave the first episode a try. Besides, I was curious what might set the subgenre Tartan Noir (the actual description Netflix provides) apart. Then I proceeded to watch all nine episodes in the space of about two weeks.

As might be guessed, the show is set in Scotland and features some dark and violent themes. The novels on which the show is based are set in Denmark I’ve since discovered but Netflix decided to place the show in Scotland—similar climate but less need for subtitles. From the outset there is violence as the show begins with the main character, a detective, returning to work after being shot in the line of duty complete with flashbacks. Skirting rules in order to get him back to work, the detective’s superiors place him in charge of his own new department to work on cold cases. Mind you the department occupies the basement of the police building and the main character is not thrilled by this development, but it suits his own inner turmoil and outward abrasiveness. The department starts as only Detective Morck, but he is shortly joined by others battling their own inner struggles and they form quite a team of misfits.

They choose to investigate the disappearance of a prosecutor from several years prior, a young woman who vanished from a ferry shortly after a murder suspect she was trying was acquitted. I won’t offer a plot synopsis because I don’t like reading those. What I will say is that the characters have real depth, and with the length of a TV series there is enough time for the plot to breathe so that the characters are able to evolve and develop. The violence is never gratuitous but the show doesn’t shy away from the darkness either. There are moments of levity interspersed throughout, too, but what starts as a slow burn doesn’t end that way. There are also a number of subplots that arise as the investigation unfolds, each with its own set of characters and motivations and none of which distract from the overall experience.