Dept Q is currently filming its much-anticipated second season in Edinburgh, after the first became a Netflix juggernaut that drew comparisons to Slow Horses.
But the streaming platform has now confirmed to Metro that James Corden will be joining the cast as a guest star, leaving fans of the darkly comic crime thriller fearing he might ‘ruin’ the second outing by being ‘miscast’.
It had previously been reported that the former Late Late Show host – who can be a divisive figure among audiences – will join Dept Q as ‘eccentric but brilliant’ forensic psychologist Dr Ben Smith.
He will star opposite Matthew Goode, whose abrasive but brilliant detective Carl Morck might have something in common with Dr Smith, based on those descriptions.
The first season saw a traumatised Morck buried in the back office of the Edinburgh police department, with a rogues’ gallery of misfits to take on cold cases. In the end, they managed to crack one, a missing prosecutor case that had long gone neglected.
Corden’s addition to the cast was initially reported by The Sun, which touted it as his first serious acting role and claimed he starts filming this week.
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The second season began filming in the Scottish capital in June and is due to continue until October.
A TV insider told the publication: ‘Everyone tends to associate James with comedy roles, which is completely understandable given he is best known for Gavin & Stacey.
‘But this will show a different side to James by placing him in a drama which, although it has a streak of sardonic humour running throughout, is ultimately about grisly murders and kidnappings.
‘It also sees him take on his first series with Netflix, which is something of a coup as they remain the dominant streamer with a reputation for delivering quality dramas.’
It might be a reported coup for Corden, but many Dept Q fans have not taken it as such.
Senior TV Reporter Rebecca Cook shares her thoughts…
Not to stick my head above the parapet, but I doubt James Corden’s maybe-casting in Dept Q will be as ruinous as fans believe.
Yes, I too find it irksome to be reminded of all those years I was forced to hear him sing on Carpool Karaoke (nobody likes going to a concert to hear their fav, only for a shouty neighbouring attendee to drown out the real thing).
