Being enamoured with a TV series can come with the desire to look into the nitty gritty details of what has been established in canon, and there’s a wealth of information already out there for Dept. Q.

Having spent some time in Edinburgh in January 2026 where I literally stayed in the building next to where the Netflix version of Carl Morck is meant to live, I’ve learned quite a few things that I’d love to share, plus there is existing information out there about the series’ exterior and interior locations, sets, props and character backstories that I have collected.

Image credits in this post in addition to my own photography: Victoria Alexandra Design – Mau Kahindra – Benjamin Davis GD – Dept. Q Studio Manager

Carl’s Flat – Exterior

• The house they use for the exterior location of Carl’s building is located in Leith, Edinburgh. It is directly opposite Leith Links, which historically was a 5-hole golf course but is now a public park.
• Carl’s flat is in an old Georgian style building, probably from the early 19^th century. It’s highly unlikely that these buildings have lifts or enough space in the staircase to install one.
• The nearest bus stop to the building is Links Gardens. You see Carl getting off bus line 34 at that stop in episode 1×01, although the actual Links Gardens bus stop is not in the exact spot shown on TV.
• There are wheelie bins for rubbish a few houses over, in front of the buildings.
• Parking right in front of the buildings is permit holders only. Parking spots are very limited. There’s a small private car park nearby.
• The nearest pub is called Bowler’s Rest, also just around the corner. The Old Spence Café is within walking distance. I didn’t frequent either of these places in person.

More Details About The Building And The Area

Carl’s tenement houses ten flats in total, spread over five storeys. The doorbells indicate the flat number and not the actual names of the people living there. There is also an intercom. The building on the right next to Carl’s tenement definitely doesn’t have a lift and has creaky floors.

There’s a paved path leading to the front door of Carl’s tenement that includes a square iron utility cover. The path is freely accessible from the street, i.e. there is no fence or gate but there are hedges above a low stone wall that line the path and separate the space in front of the bottom windows from the street. The front door is wooden and painted with black paint that’s a little worn in places. There’s a black handle on it and a golden round key lock above it. The house number is depicted on the door (in white).

I haven’t been inside the house, but since the interior of the flat we see on TV is a set, it’s likely that the actual flats inside the building look different.

Carl’s living room and bedroom windows face Leith Links – the park right across the street from the tenement. The windows of the kitchen, Martin’s room and Jasper’s room face the opposite direction. On TV, you see a brick wall of another building from the kitchen window. In reality, these windows face a larger open area with a wooden floor store that also has woodwork going on in their yard during working hours.

There are parallel parking bays in front of the row of houses for permit holders only. Don’t let yourself be fooled by the shot in episode 1 where you don’t see any parked cars in front of the house. They must have put up temporary ‘no parking’ signs there for that shot because there are always cars parked there. If you lived here, you’d likely have to drive around for a bit to find a parking space since it’s not guaranteed you’ll find a spot right in front of the house.

There are several bus stops near the location within a few minutes’ walking distance. The nearest bus stop is some 80 yards from Carl’s front door. This one serves the Lothian bus line 34 but there are a few other buses that service the area, some of which leave from across Leith Links.

Trips to the city centre are most convenient with the tram (see Public Transport section below for more details). The nearest tram stop is a five to ten minute walk from the flat. A tram trip into the city centre takes 15 to 20 minutes, a bit longer with the bus.

There’s a very small grocery store just around the corner from Carl’s flat, but it’s one of those tiny ones and this one mainly carries biscuits, sweets and drinks with only a few other essentials. Regular grocery shopping would more likely happen at the Tesco Superstore across the park, about a five to ten minute walk from Carl’s flat.

Carl’s flat is in a part of Edinburgh called Leith. Leith used to be an independent town but was integrated into the city of Edinburgh in 1920. Due to this, Leith has a somewhat different vibe and feels more like its own little suburb. It’s also not as touristy as the city centre.

Leith is first and foremost a residential area and one of the more expensive areas of the city. A lot of the houses there are older style buildings from Victorian or Georgian times, much like the building that Carl lives in.

Leith has some really nice spots to take walks or to have something to eat or drink. There are pubs, restaurants and cafés in several places if you would like to be more social. These places are also often frequented by locals. Particularly along the Water of Leith (e.g. on Shore opposite the Commercial Wharf) there are some restaurants, cafés and pubs.

Leith borders on the Firth of Forth and you can walk from there down to Portobello Beach and further. The coastal walk is popular with tourists, particularly the Portobello Beach area. Even in January there were many tourists milling about and the cafés along the promenade were packed and bustling. A walk from Carl’s flat to the nearest accessible beach spot takes roughly 30 minutes but part of the walk is along a busy road with lots of traffic and not all that nice.

Leith Links

Leith Links, which is now a public park, is literally across the street from Carl’s front door. The park is mostly grass with some trees. It has several footpaths to cut across the park. Some of the paths have black metal benches alongside them but there aren’t that many benches. You can also walk across the grass if you don’t mind potentially stepping into dog poo.

You’ll see a lot of runners, as well as people walking their dogs or having a stroll with their children. There are public toilets in the park (which were out of service when I was there and they had a bunch of dark green porta-potties set up at the edge of the park). Side note: Edinburgh inhabitants are often hardy and fearless and go running in shorts and t-shirt in the winter, even in near zero Celsius temperatures.

There’s a statue of golfer John Rattray at the edge of the park near Carl’s tenement. There are also three plaques that explain the golfing history of Leith Links. In one area there is also some publicly accessible outdoor fitness equipment.

The park itself isn’t that huge, it’s 0.3 miles across in either direction, which translates to 18.5 hectares or ~46 acres.

Carl’s Flat – Interior

General Layout

• Carl, Jasper and Martin live in a one-storey flat, i.e. the rooms are all on the same floor. There is no upstairs.
• It’s not clear what floor exactly their flat is on. The building has five storeys in total, their flat is most likely located on the 1^st or 2^nd floor, judging by what is shown in the series.
• The interior of the flat is a set on a soundstage built exclusively for the series.
• Their living room window and Carl’s bedroom window look out towards Leith Links. Their kitchen window faces the back of the building and shows a building right next to theirs, which is actually not in line with the real building that has a larger open space behind it.
• Funnily enough, the season 1 set had no bathroom built in, so it’s unclear where the bathroom is supposed to be.
• Jasper’s and Martin’s rooms are off the hall on the way to the kitchen. Carl’s bedroom is on the opposite side, accessible through a door that’s connected to the living room (in the corner behind the couch).
• The kitchen and living room are connected by another small anteroom that has a door that connects to the hall. There are two rectangular archways from the kitchen to the living room. Both have a decorative blue metal grille at the top.
• The flat door is painted blue and has a Georgian style glass inlay in red and yellow.
• There is a visible radiator in Carl’s bedroom but it’s not clear if the other rooms have any, so there might be floor heating in some rooms (or they just didn’t include radiators in the sets).

Floor Plan

The closest to a floor plan of the flat that we have is a photo from one of the set designers that depicts a miniature mock-up of the studio set. 🚫🚽🚿🛁⛔

Living Room

• The living room has a flatscreen TV but no gaming console (confirmed by someone who has been on the set). Jasper either has a gaming PC or a console in his room that is connected to a computer screen on his desk. He is seen using a wireless gaming controller in episode 1×01. He also has a laptop.
• The living room has a fireplace to the left of the TV. I’m not sure if we ever actually see it on screen, but you can see it in set photos that were shared on social media.
• The living room has a light grey couch, a matching armchair and a smaller leather armchair with a matching footstool. On the shelves and on the couch table are a few knick-knacks and framed photos of Jasper as a child.

Hall and Kitchen

• Carl usually hangs his coat on a coatrack next to the flat door when he gets home. The coatrack also has two bike helmets hanging on it.
• They keep a collection of sauces, spices and condiments on their kitchen table as well as a white and blue ceramic fruit bowl. There are coasters there, too.
• There’s a whiteboard attached to the fridge where they write up grocery lists and reminders. Apparently at some point someone was supposed to buy bread, sugar, milk, oil and cheese and pick up ironing. It also has ‘BCFC’ written on it, which might be a football club (Bristol? Birmingham?).
• Their kitchen is equipped with at least this: toaster, French press coffee maker, electric kettle, microwave, sandwich maker, ceramic hob or induction stove, double-oven (not under the stove but next to it). The cupboard doors are classic blue. There’s a clothes drying rack folded up between the fridge and the rubbish bin. Even though they have a French press (Martin’s?), there’s also a jar of instant coffee on the counter (Carl’s?).
• The wooden kitchen table has four wooden chairs with blue upholstery.
• It’s unclear whether there’s a dishwasher but they have a dish rack next to the sink and the doors of the bottom cupboards are all side-hinged swinging doors or drawers, which might indicate no. (Srsly? Why?!)
• The hall, kitchen, living room and Jasper’s room have white plank flooring. This may be painted wooden floorboards or laminated flooring (more likely painted wood as per the set photos). There are a few rugs in the living room and the hall.
• The interior doors have round, golden door knobs and no locks for actual keys. It’s possible that there’s a knob-locking mechanism, though. The flat door to the staircase has a separate lock towards the upper part of the door and not near the door knob. There doesn’t seem to be any furniture in the hall that houses a key bowl or a key rack. Carl usually puts his keys and his mobile phone on the kitchen table when he gets home.

Interestingly, the flat initially had blue floors and a blue ceiling but it was then decided that it was too much blue and the floor ceiling and kitchen walls were changed to lighter colours.

Carl’s Bedroom

• Carl’s bedroom has a king size bed with a wooden frame. There are nightstands on either side of the bed with funky lamps on them. On Carl’s side, there appears to be an alarm clock. There’s a large abstract painting above the bed and a framed smaller one next to it.
• We don’t see anything other than the bed and nightstands in Carl’s bedroom in season 1, but presumably there is more bedroom furniture there, like a chest of drawers and a wardrobe.
• Carl’s bedroom looks very organised and tidy. Fans have speculated whether that’s an indication that Carl likes to be meticulous about keeping things neat and tidy, seeing how his desk at work is also that way.

Jasper’s Room

• Jasper’s room is painted in stark purple and has white flooring like the rest of the flat.
• His walls are full of movie and band posters, some real, some fake.
• As with most teenagers, his room is kind of a mess. Carl doesn’t seem to actually force him to keep it clean and tidy.

Colour Themes and Décor

• The hall is painted in steel blue, Martin’s room in beige, Jasper’s room in purple, Carl’s bedroom in light blue and white, the kitchen and anteroom in eggshell white and the living room in classic blue (matching the kitchen cupboards).
• Carl mentions to Rachel that the flat décor was chosen by his ex-wife and he had nothing to do with it.

Other Places and Locations

• The exterior of the police station is the tech park CodeBase, located on Castle Terrace in Edinburgh, although they altered the building in post-production to make it higher, adding a storey at the top that was taken from the Bon Accord Centre on George St in Aberdeen.
• The interiors of the police station (both the main floor and the shower quarters basement) are soundstage sets.
• The exterior for the Court House is Edinburgh City Chambers on High Street. The interiors are Dundas House on St Andrew Square.
• The house used as Rachel’s tenement (both the exterior and the interior) is located halfway between West End and Stockbridge — in one of the rather expensive areas of Edinburgh.
• The exterior for Dr. Sonnenberg’s office is on Melville Street. It’s unknown where the interior was filmed.
• The exterior for the Leith Park flat is in council housing estates south of the city.
• The café where Carl crashed Rachel’s date is near The Meadows.
• The ice cream shop we see in episode 1×06 is a redressed café and not actually an ice cream parlour south of Old Town.
• The Hardy family lives in a house that has a back garden, the location is unknown. Their living room has two leather couches and there is an adjacent room with a flatscreen TV (likely also a gaming console but it’s not shown) and a table football setup. After Hardy was released from the hospital, they set up a home hospital bed on the ground floor for him.
• More information about shooting locations here and here.

Edinburgh Public Transport

Most public transport is by bus or tram, Edinburgh has no underground or metro rail system. There are two different companies serving the area – Lothian Buses (city centre and suburbs) and First Bus (outskirts and some city routes). If you want to go from Leith to the city centre, you’re within zones A and B that the city travel tickets cover. This area is served mostly by Lothian Buses. The buses are dark red and white, a lot of them are double-deckers.

The tram is only one line that goes back and forth between the airport and Newhaven. A trip from Leith to the city centre takes 15 to 20 minutes, to the airport it’s 50-ish minutes. During the day, trams go every seven minutes, so you never have to wait very long.

There are several options for tickets. Lothian Buses and First Bus each have apps for route planning and purchasing tickets. Edinburgh Trams tickets can also be bought in the Lothian Buses app. A single adult ticket is £2.20, a day ticket £5.50 (as of January 2026). The airport has a separate pricing zone and is more expensive (£7.90 single, £9.70 open return).

You can buy bus tickets with cash on buses but you need to have the exact change ready. (I think this may only be for single fares. Day or week tickets may have to be purchased another way, but I’m not sure since I only ever used the Lothian app.) Tram tickets can be bought at ticket machines at the tram stops.

Alternatively, the bus and tram system has a contact-less tap system (called TapTapCap), meaning you can tap in and out with your phone payment app or your wireless credit card for the fare to get automatically calculated and paid by where you get on and off. This is capped, meaning you never pay more than the day ticket rate for the corresponding zone, irrespective of where and how often you travel that day. For the tram you tap on a device outside the tram at the tram stop, for the bus you tap on a device inside the bus at the driver’s cabin.

Buses have a display on the outside of the vehicle that indicates what the bus line number is and what direction it’s going to. At the back it’s usually only the bus line number.

Most buses have displays inside the bus that help you track what the next stop is and where to get off. There are stop buttons in the bus that you should push to indicate you want to get off at the next stop. (Often they produce a little bell sound like a ding when you do so.) The tram also has displays inside the cars as well as audio announcements which stops are coming up.

On the bus, you always get in at the front door and you need to show your ticket to the driver. It used to be considered common courtesy to say thank you to the driver when you get off, but I’m not sure if that’s still being done today. The tram has ticket inspectors on every tram who will walk around the car and ask for your ticket on every single journey (at least that was my experience).

At the airport you also have to show your ticket to the Edinburgh Trams staff as you enter and leave the tram platform, which is located just outside of the airport building. The tram cars have dedicated luggage racks for suitcases and larger baggage. The ticket inspector may ask you to store your luggage there rather than it clogging up the aisles or seating areas.

Edinburgh also has taxis and Uber. I have not used either of them so I can’t speak to how well that works or how expensive it is, but apparently an Uber ride from the airport to Carl’s flat costs around £30. However, seeing how easy it is to do it by tram, I’m not sure that it’s necessarily the preferred option unless someone was pressed for time, had mobility issues or wanted the luxury of being driven door-to-door.

How To Reach Other Places On The Series

Assuming that the places we see on the series are located where they are in reality, most of the places that Carl regularly goes to from home are accessible by public transport within roughly half an hour. This might be some of the following:

• The police station – halfway between Old Town and Haymarket at the foot of Edinburgh Castle – about 25 minutes by tram, about 35 minutes by bus from Carl’s tenement
• City Centre – basically the same as the police station
• Dr. Sonnenberg’s office – basically the same as the police station
• Rachel’s house – halfway between West End and Stockbridge – about 35 minutes by bus from Carl’s tenement

A lot of these places are in the city centre, are fairly close together. For instance it made no sense to have Carl drive from the police station to Dr. Sonnenberg’s office unless he was passing through to another location further out. It’s 10 minutes on foot.

In reality, Carl probably also wouldn’t be taking the bus to work, he’d be taking the tram. It’s faster and more convenient.

We don’t know where Hardy’s house is located, but might be more on the outskirts of the city and harder to reach by public transport from Leith. Neither do we know where or how Akram or Rose live.

Names and Personal Details

From prop photos of the police and court badges, these names and personal details are confirmed:

Name	Rank/Role	Organisation	DOB	ID/Card No.
Carl Morck	Detective Chief Inspector	Police Caledonia	03 Apr 1978	DCI46985
Akram Salim	Administrative Assistant	Police Caledonia	30 Mar 1982	AA34891
Rose Dickson	Detective Constable	Police Caledonia	22 Jul 1995	DC12654
James Hardy	Detective Inspector	Police Caledonia	14 Aug 1973	DI65879
Moira Jacobson	Detective Chief Superintendent	Police Caledonia	25 Apr 1971	DCS45961
M. Clark	Detective Constable	Police Caledonia	18 Sep 1991	DC45789
N. Wilson	Detective Constable	Police Caledonia	07 Feb 1992	DC67851
Logan Bruce	Detective Chief Inspector	Police Caledonia	12 Aug 1977	DCI41023
Lewis Anderson	Police Constable	Police Caledonia	08 Mar 1999	PC67135
Merritt Lingard	Advocate Depute	The Law Society of Caledonia	unknown	4404001248
Liam Taylor	Advocate Depute	The Law Society of Caledonia	unknown	4404004598
Stephen Burns	Lord Advocate	The Law Society of Caledonia	unknown	4404005689

• Hardy’s wife is called Donna, they have two sons (ages unknown but look to be maybe 8-ish and 12-ish), Akram has two daughters aged 9 and 11, the youngest is called Mina.
• The names and ages of Hardy’s two sons or the name of Akram’s oldest daughter are unknown.
• Jasper’s and Victoria’s last name is Stewart. Martin’s last name is Fleming.

The Leith Park Shooting

• Carl and Hardy responded to a call nearby that was not meant for them after PC Anderson called in that he found a dead body (Archie Arran Allen) in a council estate flat. Upon investigating the crime scene, a masked shooter appeared and fired three shots. The first bullet hit PC Anderson in the neck and killed him, the second went through Hardy and then through Carl’s neck, the third also hit Hardy. DCI Bruce is one of the officers first on scene after the shooting, as part of the initial response team for Archie Allen’s murder.
• The damage from the bullets resulted in partial paralysis of Hardy’s legs and his right arm. He was hospitalised for at least four months. One of his physicians, Dr. Loo, pursued an aggressive therapeutic approach because she thought he might be able to walk again, contrary to what another doctor on Hardy’s medical team suggested. Hardy did not disclose that possibility to Carl until Carl finds out from Dr. Loo in episode 1×05.
• The bullet that hit Carl went through his neck. The entry wound is below his right earlobe, the exit wound is on the left side of his throat in the larynx area and is significantly more visible than the entry wound. Although this is not explicitly mentioned, it is to be assumed that the bullet didn’t cause permanent damage to any vital structures but there would likely be nerve damage and some internal scarring from the injury.
• The bullet trajectories are a bit inconsistent if you compare the crime scene reconstruction videos and Carl’s statement that the bullet first went through Hardy’s spine and then into his neck. There is also medical imaging in the Leith Park file that shows the bullet lodged in Hardy’s back, so it’s unclear whether it’s still in there or not.
• According to the police file, Carl and Hardy were treated at Edinburgh Central Hospital (a fictional hospital).
• Carl returns to work four months after the shooting. Hardy is still hospitalised at the time and has suicidal thoughts, even attempts suicide but doesn’t succeed. The only other person who knows about this is Carl, Hardy asks him to help him end his life which Carl refuses.
• DCI Bruce, together with DC Wilson and DC Clark are investigating the Leith Park shooting. Four months in, they don’t have any meaningful leads and neither the shooter nor the motive have been identified.
• Carl developed PTSD after the Leith Park shooting and it is implied he is now significantly more short-fused and irritable. He is currently taking antidepressants and was forced to attend department-mandated counselling sessions when returning to work. 
• Carl also has resulting anxiety episodes and had a full-blown panic attack, triggered by the press conference in episode 1×03. It’s been theorised by fans that Carl might also be on anti-anxiety medications, which may be what he’s taking in episode 1×01 when he watches the Leith Park videos (antidepressants are not taken on-demand, unlike some anti-anxiety medications).

Character Backstories

Carl + Spouse

• Matthew Goode has said in interviews that Carl did something else before he became a police officer. This was cut from dialogue they filmed. He has not revealed any more details.
• Carl mentioned twice that he had a terrible childhood (episodes 1×01 and 1×03) and said he grew up in a building like the council estate in Leith Park where he and Hardy got shot (episode 1×02). We can only assume that Carl grew up in England.
• We don’t know when Carl got married to Victoria, when they divorced, how long they’ve been together or how long Carl has known Jasper (there are children’s photos of Jasper around age 6 or so in the flat but these could have been put there by Victoria). The reason for their divorce was also not given but it was mentioned that Victoria has slept with someone from her workplace (“the guy in duty free” as per Carl, a pilot as per Victoria). Carl tells Jasper it was his fault that their marriage didn’t work out but gave no further details (episode 1×07).
• Victoria’s last name is Stewart. We don’t know if she took Carl’s name when they married and then changed it back to her maiden name. We also don’t know if she was previously married to Jasper’s biological father. Jasper has the same last name as Victoria: Stewart.
• Perhaps somewhat unusually, Carl has sole custody of Jasper despite Jasper not being his biological son. Victoria works as a flight attendant, thus she is not home very much and felt it would be better for Jasper to live with someone who was a more stable presence in his life. Carl did not accept the sole custodian role easily and resents Victoria for her absenteeism (episode 1×04).
• Carl has mentioned he “married into” moving to Scotland (episode 1×04), which implies he came to Edinburgh when he married Victoria. We don’t know when this was, but likely several years ago since he and Moira have known each other for a long time and he cares deeply about Jasper which assumes a longer term stepfather/stepson relationship.
• We don’t know who Jasper’s father is or why he’s not in the picture.
• Carl and Moira have worked together for a long time and have some history. We don’t know any more details.
• Let’s talk about tea, because, hey, we’re in the UK here! It’s a small detail that might be insignificant, but in canon it is suggested that Carl likes to drink his tea with milk, no sugar.

Hardy

• Carl and Hardy have been partners for many years, they are also best friends outside of work.
• Carl knows Hardy’s wife and children well, he will have spent time with Hardy and his family outside of work in the past.
• It is implied that Jasper knows Hardy and vice versa.
• Both Carl and Hardy love football (soccer in the US) and enjoy discussing/bickering about it.

Akram

• Akram is a Syrian refugee whose wife died in Syria because she operated “on the wrong person”.
• He came to Scotland almost eight years ago and has raised his daughters there as a single father (he mentions he finds it cute that they have Scottish accents).
• In Edinburgh he worked in admin part time, mostly IT before he joined Dept. Q. His rationale to switch to a full time job now is that his youngest has started school.
• Akram worked for the police in Syria but it is unclear in what capacity or whether he was an actual police officer. He seems to be trained in interrogation and attack/defence techniques. He knows how to throw knives and handle shotguns.
• Akram writes in his notebook in Arabic. Photos of it have been posted by the set designer on Instagram. A Tumblr post has tried to decipher some of the information in it.
• As for how Akram likes his tea, he’s been seen to drink it straight black – no milk, no sugar.

Rose

• Rose’s father was a police officer and Hardy’s training officer.
• Rose’s relationship with her mother is strained, she seems to expect Rose to have a steady romantic partner by now. Rose’s father divorced Rose’s mother when she was five. He married his dental hygienist and has other children with her. Rose only sees him at family events like birthdays or holidays and does not have a close relationship with him.
• Rose mentions that she has several mental health diagnoses: obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and binge eating disorder (BED). She saw Dr. Sonnenberg at some point and is currently taking psychiatric drugs to help her deal with her mental disorders.
• Rose had a mental breakdown after an incident at work when her car hit a pedestrian during a pursuit. She tried to commit suicide but didn’t cut her wrist deeply enough that she would have bled to death. Hardy checked on her when she didn’t attend work and found her after the suicide attempt. She said he didn’t technically save her life then but saved it afterwards by being nice.
• It’s not quite clear whether Rose actually drove the car that hit the elderly couple since she tells Rachel that she was a passenger but later tells Akram that she hit an elderly couple in her car when she was in pursuit of someone. Presumably she was not honest with Rachel but was with Akram and was actually the driver.

Rachel

• When we meet Rachel, she says she is filling in for therapist Dr. Sonnenberg who is on medical leave.
• It is not clear if she is generally attached to Police Caledonia or if she is only working as a police counsellor temporarily. She does mention that she has talked to other police officers in a professional capacity in the past, which implies she is attached to Police Caledonia as a therapist.
• She introduces herself as Dr. Irving, but it’s unclear whether she’s a psychologist or psychiatrist. She tells Carl in episode 1×03 that she’s a person of science, which might indicate psychiatrist more than psychologist (i.e. she’s studied medicine), but this is not a clear indication either way since psychology is also considered a science degree.
• Rachel married or almost married a man named Albert who it turns out also had another family in Leeds. She also has an ex who is a lawyer and met Merritt Lindgard once at a party. The lawyer ex may or may not have been Albert.

Set and Prop Photos