Black Doves is an all-action spy thriller on Netflix that has top British stars Keira Knightley, Ben Whishaw and Sarah Lancashire heading up the cast. And we now know it will hit Netflix in December 2024.
Keira is playing Helen Webb, a dedicated wife and mother who has been secretly operating as a spy for a decade. She works for a shadowy organization called The Black Doves, to whom she’s been passing on her politician husband’s secrets. But when her secret lover is murdered her own life comes under threat. Her mysterious spymaster Reed, played by Happy Valley star Sarah Lancashire, calls in Helen's old friend Sam (Ben Whishaw) to protect her but the pair discover a global conspiracy that forces them to question their own moral compasses.
Set in London during the Christmas period, the six-part series is written by Joe Barton, the man behind The Lazarus Project, so you can expect twists and turns, humor and a rollercoaster of emotions. "I started writing the scripts for this show over last year’s Christmas holidays, fuelled by turkey sandwiches and discarded bottles of cream liquor," says Joe. "To be now going into production with a cast and crew full of people whose work I admire so much is unbelievably exciting and I couldn’t be more thrilled to get to see this show come to life."
Here’s everything you need to know about the thriller series Black Doves…
Black Doves season 1 release date
Black Doves launches worldwide on Netflix on Thursday December 5 2024. It's a six-part series which will be released as a box set.
Is there a trailer for Black Doves season 1?
Yes two official trailers for Black Doves have now been released by Netflix which give you a sense of what you can expect from this thriller set at Christmas. it's intense action with comedy moments! Take a look below...
Black Doves season 1 plot
Set against the backdrop of London at Christmas, Black Doves follows Helen Webb (Keira Knightley) who is a wife, mum and professional spy. She has been passing on her politician husband’s secrets to the organization she works for, The Black Doves, for a decade. Then her secret lover Jason (Andrew Koji) is assassinated, and it looks as though she could be in serious trouble herself. Helen’s boss Reed (Sarah Lancashire) tasks Helen’s old friend, deadly assassin Sam (Ben Whishaw) with protecting her while she investigates who killed Jason. But Sam has been out of the game for a long time, after a job went badly wrong. Together they embark on a mission that leads them to uncover a vast conspiracy linking London’s dark underbelly to a geopolitical crisis and the pair are soon forced to question their own choices in life.
Black Doves season 1 cast — Keira Knightley on playing Helen Webb
Keira Knightley plays whip-smart spy Helen Webb, the lead character in Black Doves. At a recent Netflix event, Keira told us much more: "Black Doves is a very exciting spy thriller set at Christmas in London. Helen is an undercover spy that works for the secret organization that is run by Sarah Lancashire whose character is called Reed, a spy mistress working for the Black Doves organization. She recruited Helen in good faith, and Helen has been a bit of a loose cannon.
"It's been great fun to do all of the fighting. I've really enjoyed learning all of the different martial arts that I have been taught. I don’t know the names of any of them."
"Helen and assasain Sam have got that friendship where they know each other the best in the world."
Helen is harbouring dark secrets: not only is she a professional spy, but for 10 years, she’s been stealing government information from Wallace for a private espionage company called Black Doves. What’s more, she’s been having an affair and her lover, Jason Davies (Bullet Train’s Andrew Koji), is murdered as the series begins. Is her cover about to be blown?
Helen’s shadowy handler, Reed (Kiri and Last Tango in Halifax star Sarah Lancashire), isn’t taking any chances and sends Champagne-swilling assassin Sam Young (This Is Going to Hurt and Paddington star Ben Whishaw) to protect her. Although he’s been out of the game for years, Sam vows to help his old friend Helen uncover the truth about Jason’s death, even when it means confronting a brewing geopolitical catastrophe with links to London’s nefarious criminal underworld…
"The idea of the quintessential Tory politician’s wife, who publicly would have to be so proper but is actually an undercover agent and spy who goes on a deranged killing spree with her assassin best friend? The juxtaposition of those things is excellent!’ says Keira, 39, who’s also known for her roles in Love Actually (2003), Atonement (2007) and Anna Karenina (2012). "Helen is whatever she needs to be to whoever she needs to be it to,’ says Keira. ‘But there’s almost a schizophrenic break in her. She doesn’t have to go off with Jason, but she needs to play with fire and needs that violent part of herself to come out again so she can feel alive.
"In the centre of the madness, though, is this beautiful, very strange friendship with Sam,’ adds Keira, who trained in hand-to-hand combat for the role. ‘But her relationship with Reed is weirdly maternal and deeply dysfunctional. Reed is perhaps the only person that Helen is frightened of.
"Sam is the only person that has known her full self. That's what the friendship is for both of them, that’s the relief they give each other. They're the only people who can allow all of their monstrous, amazing, horrific, wonderful sides to be shown, where everybody else only ever sees small versions. The most important relationship Helen has in this is with Sam: it's the idea that your most significant other doesn't necessarily have to be the person that you're in a relationship with, it can be that friend who allows you to be your whole, true self. It’s this beautiful, very strange friendship in the centre of this madness."
* Keira Knightley is best known for her roles in Pirates of the Caribbean, Bend it Like Beckham and Love Actually. Kiera has also starred in the recent Disney Plus/Hulu movie Boston Strangler, plus films such as The Imitation Game, Atonement, The Duchess and Pride and Prejudice.
Sarah Lancashire on playing Reed
Sarah Lancashire stars as the mysterious spymaster for The Black Doves called Reed.
"I was sent this wonderful script and it was quite unlike anything I’d been asked to read previously,’ says Sarah, 60. "Black Doves is taut, witty, clever, audacious and thrilling, and Reed is a puppetmaster of the highest order, pulling strings in the corridors of power. She’s exquisitely deft, controlled and controlling, but she isn’t at the top of the food-chain, which makes her intriguing to me. She’s sacrificed the best years of her life for this organisation, and she recognises something of herself in Helen, but she’s often exasperated by her free spirit and reluctance to stay in lane."
"The history, power, majesty and scale of London is rarely seen in contemporary drama and Black Doves takes it to another ambitious level. I adored working with Keira and Ben, too. They’re both at the top of their game: brilliant actors and lovely people. It would be a shame if I had to have either of them killed!"
* Sarah Lancashire produced an acting masterclass playing Sergeant Catherine Cawood in BBC1 series Happy Valley. She's also starred in Coronation Street, Clocking Off, Yesterday, Last Tango in Halifax and Kiri. American viewers will know her well from her main role in series Julia about TV chef Julia Child and the hit Prime Video musical movie Everybody's Talking About Jamie.
Ben Whishaw on playing assassin Sam
In Black Doves, Ben Whishaw is playing Champagne-swilling gay assassin, Sam, who has to keep Helen safe.
At a recent Netflix event Ben told us: "Sam is an assassin and he's returned to London to assist his friend HElen who's trying to revenge the murder of her secret lover, sometimes not very successfully, sometimes actually making it worse. We think of Sam and Helen as being almost a bit like brother and sister at times."
Ben Whishaw has previously starred as doctor Adam Kay in the series This is Going to Hurt and Q in the James Bond movies No Time to Die and Skyfall. Ben also voices Paddington in all those hit movies and lent his voice to the famous Peruvian bear in his famous sketch with the late Queen Elizabeth. He’s also had roles in the movie Perfume and TV series Criminal Justice, Fargo, A Very English Scandal, London Spy and The Hour.
Who else is starring in Black Doves series 1?
Other cast for Black Doves include Andrew Buchan (Broadchurch) is playing Helen's husband Wallace Webb, who is the Conservative Minister of State for Defence. Wallace entered politics as an idealist and genuinely believed he could be a force of change for good. Over the years he’s learnt that there’s more to the game of politics than pure principle and his ego and desire to reach the upper echelons of government have allowed him to let some of those principles slide ever so slightly. He’s been happily married to Helen for the last eight years and he’s grateful for her being the perfect home-maker.
Andrew Koji (Bullet Train) is Helen's lover Jason Davies, who met Helen by accident and they instantly fell in love, and embarked on an affair. With Jason, Helen felt she could finally be a real version of herself. .
Omari Douglas (It’s A Sin) is Sam’s ex-boyfriend, Michael, Adeel Akhtar (Fool Me Once) is British Prime Minister Richard Eaves, Luther Ford (The Crown) is London crime family member Hector Newman and Paapa Essiedu (The Lazarus Project) as reluctant hitman Elmore Fitch.
Finn Bennett (True Detective: Night Country), Kathryn Hunter (Andor), Sam Troughton (Chernobyl), Ella Lily Hyland (Fifteen-Love), Adam Silver (The Diplomat), Ken Nwosu (Run) and Gabrielle Creevy (In My Skin) also star.
Behind the scenes, locations and more on Black Doves season 1
Filming of Black Doves took place in London in the latter half of 2023. The series is produced by Joe Barton’s Noisy Bear and SISTER (Chernobyl, This Is Going To Hurt, The Power) for Netflix. Executive Producers are Joe Barton for Noisy Bear, Jane Featherstone (Chernobyl, This Is Going To Hurt), Chris Fry (Kaos, Giri/Haji) for SISTER and Keira Knightley. The series is directed by Alex Gabassi (The Crown) and Lisa Gunning (The Power). Harry Munday serves as producer.
