Dept Q Crew Member Dies After Serious Injury at Edinburgh Studio
A crew member on the Netflix series Dept Q died after being seriously injured at the FirstStage film studio in Leith, Edinburgh, on Thursday. Police Scotland said the death is not being treated as suspicious, and the Health and Safety Executive said it is aware of the incident.
A crew member on the Netflix crime series Dept Q died after being seriously injured at the FirstStage film studio in Leith, Edinburgh, on Thursday, November 13, 2026. Emergency crews were called at about 15:00, and the man was pronounced dead a short time later.
Police Scotland said the death was not being treated as suspicious. Inquiries into the full circumstances are continuing.
The Health and Safety Executive, Britain's workplace safety regulator, said it was "aware" of the incident.
The man has not been named, and his age has not been given. Specific details of how he was injured have not been reported.
Left Bank Pictures, the production company involved in making the show, issued a statement. "We are deeply shocked and saddened by the tragic death of a member of our Dept Q crew," a spokesperson said.
"Our thoughts are with their family, friends and colleagues at this incredibly difficult time, and we are offering support for those affected," the spokesperson added.
Filming on the show's second season had already wrapped. The death happened after cameras stopped rolling, so the incident could have taken place while sets were being dismantled. That has not been confirmed.
Representatives for Netflix did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Variety.
The show and the studio
Dept Q stars Matthew Goode as the detective Carl Morck. The series is based on books by Danish writer Jussi Adler-Olsen. Its first season aired on Netflix in May 2025, and the streamer renewed it for a second season a few months later.
Season two is filmed and set in Edinburgh. Mark Bonnar, Kate Dickie, Aaron McVeigh and Sanjeev Kohli are among the returning cast.
FirstStage was started by Jason Connery, son of Sean Connery. It took over an empty former warehouse unit in Leith in 2020. The site, known as the "big blue shed", has five sound stages and production office space.
Screen Scotland invested £1m towards the initial set-up of the facility. Besides Dept Q, the studio has hosted the Amazon thriller The Rig and part of the production of Marvel's Avengers: Infinity War.
