Netflix has officially greenlit a second season of Dept. Q, just under three months after the debut of its inaugural season. Rob Bullock, the executive producer from Left Bank Pictures, revealed in a press release: “We’re excited to return to Dept. Q for another season. The team at Left Bank Pictures eagerly anticipates Scott’s plans for Carl Morck and the other quirky members of the crew. We applaud Netflix for their bold decision to bring them back.”
Co-creator Scott Frank expressed his gratitude to Netflix and the dedicated cast and crew for once again putting their careers on the line for his vision. The first season racked up an impressive 222 million hours of global viewing on the platform, maintaining its spot in Netflix’s top 10 for six consecutive weeks.
We already have a glimpse of what’s in store for the new episodes, as Moira (Kate Dickie) hints to Hardy (Jamie Sives) about a new case at the season’s end. With all the previous storylines wrapped up, there’s potential for some intriguing shifts in format as well.
However, just the prospect of a new cold case doesn’t quite excite me enough. To make the 2026 streaming landscape more thrilling (assuming Netflix doesn’t fall back on its usual pace of delaying series releases), why not align the launch of Dept. Q season 2 with the competing HBO Max show that gave season 1 a run for its money just a few months ago?
What has stood out to me regarding Dept. Q‘s renewal is the number of fans (as evidenced by comments on Reddit) who enjoyed watching the show alongside medical drama The Pitt. Both programs, while vastly different—Dept. Q delving into cold cases and The Pitt focused on a chaotic ER—provided a thrilling viewing experience without a dull moment. Earlier this year, the conclusion of The Pitt’s first season coincided with Dept. Q’s premiere, resulting in an ideal binge-watching combination.
So, what if Netflix and HBO Max repeat this success, whether out of competition or collaboration to deliver exactly what fans crave? We know The Pitt season 2 is set to launch in January 2026, resuming ten months after the first season during a bustling Fourth of July weekend. If Dept. Q were to release its new season in May 2026, we could recreate that captivating streaming crossover.
From the producers’ comments, it’s unclear how advanced they are in developing the second season. Netflix is notorious for lengthy gaps between seasons, as seen with shows like Stranger Things, Wednesday, and Squid Game. However, with Dept. Q’s smaller production scope compared to those larger franchises, filming might not take as long.
Yet, it’s all speculation for now. We still don’t know what awaits Hardy in the basement, and the storyline could take unexpected twists. As Frank noted to Collider after season 1, “This is adapted from a book series. The second book is really good, so I have a solid idea for season two. It will involve both a cold case and a current investigation. I may not opt for nine episodes this time—perhaps six. We’ll see, but I definitely have a direction for the next season.”
As long as it comes alongside scenes of Dr. Robbie (Noah Wyle) in emotional turmoil at a Pittsburgh hospital, I’ll be a very satisfied subscriber.
