Actors Matthew Goode (Downton Abbey, Stoker) and Chloe Pirrie (The Game, An Inspector Calls) will join writer and director Scott Frank for a surprise event to discuss Netflix’s upcoming Dept. Q at Hay Festival 2025.
Dept. Q is an adaptation of the internationally bestselling novels by Jussi Adler-Olsen. The series revolves around Carl Morck (Matthew Goode), a former top-rated detective in Edinburgh assigned to a new cold case whilst wracked with guilt following an attack that left his partner paralyzed and another police officer dead.
In this exclusive session on Saturday 24 May at 4pm, the group will share backstage highlights from making the show, in conversation with writer Pandora Sykes.
Tickets for the event are on sale now at hayfestival.org/hay-on-wye.
Dept. Q premieres globally on Netflix 29 May, a gripping new nine part series from Scott Frank, the acclaimed writer and director of The Queen’s Gambit, and produced by Left Bank Pictures, the award-winning team behind The Crown.
Hay Festival Global CEO Julie Finch said:
“Jussi Adler-Olsen’s bestselling series has brought so much joy to readers around the world – we are delighted to have an exclusive first look at the Netflix adaptation and hear first-hand from the creatives behind it about the process of bringing it successfully to screen. Join us!”
Hay Festival runs its 38th spring edition in Hay-on-Wye, Wales, with more than 600 events over 11 days, 22 May–1 June 2025.
Launching the best new fiction and non-fiction books, while sharing insights around the biggest global issues, the programme sees more than 600 artists, policymakers, pioneers and innovators take part from around the world.
Events offer something for all, beginning with the free Schools Programme, 22–23 May, and including a vibrant strand for families throughout.
Special projects and new initiatives in the programme include:
- The Platform spotlights young creative talent
- Hay Festival Green proposes innovative solutions to the climate crisis
- The new MUBI Cinema showcases storytelling on screen
- The News Review engages with the day’s top stories
- Hay Festival Sports Day returns on Wednesday 28 May
- South to North Conversations explores issues facing the Global South
- Debut Discoveries showcases new writing talent
- Matters of Taste demos spotlight great food writers and local produce
- Creative Industry Insights sessions engage budding young creatives
Nights at the Festival are given over to great music, comedy and entertainment, while a host of free pop-up activities and performances will amaze audiences between sessions.
Events take place across eight stages in the free-to-enter Festival site – which offers a range of spaces for audiences to explore and enjoy, including the Bookshop, Wild Garden, Make & Take Tent, a host of exhibitors and market stalls, cafés and restaurants, and the Family Garden where young readers can kick-start their creative journeys ¬– plus immersive performances all week at St Mary’s Church.
Collaborations with Arts Council England, Black British Book Festival, Pen to Print, Living Knowledge Network, Reaching Wider, and Inclusive Books for Children make this one of the most accessible Festival editions yet. And the Festival continues online with a selection of sessions streamed live throughout the 2025 event, continuing the Festival’s commitment to digital accessibility.