Black Doves is a British spy action thriller television series created by Joe Barton. The series, starring Keira Knightley, Ben Whishaw, and Sarah Lancashire, is developed by Sister and Barton's production company Noisy Bear for Netflix. The series is about a spies-for-hire organisation that obtains secrets for the highest bidder. Ahead of its premiere on 5 December 2024, it was renewed for a second series.
The series was well received by critics, and Knightley was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama for her performance.
Synopsis Helen, the wife of the Secretary of State for Defence of the United Kingdom, learns that her secret identity as a spy is in danger after her lover is killed by London's underworld. Her employers, "the Black Doves", a 'Spies-for-hire' organisationthat retrieves industrial, political or diplomatic secrets for the highest biddersend Sam, an old friend, to protect her.
Cast
Main Keira Knightley as Helen Webb (née Dawson) Ben Whishaw as Sam Young Sarah Lancashire as Reed
Recurring
Andrew Buchan as Wallace Webb, Secretary of State for Defence and Conservative MP for Skipton and Ripon. Andrew Koji as Jason Davies, a Ministry of Justice civil servant. Omari Douglas as Michael, Sam's ex-boyfriend Sam Troughton as Police Commissioner Stephen Yarrick Ella Lily Hyland as Williams Isabella Wei as Kai-Ming Chen Adam Silver as Arnie Nathan Stewart-Jarrett as Zack Agnes O'Casey as Dani, Wallace's new assistant Tai Yin Chan as Wu Lin Charlotte Rice-Foley as Jacqueline Webb, Wallace and Helen's daughter Taylor Sullivan as Oliver "Oli" Webb, Wallace and Helen's son Molly Chesworth as Marie, the Webb family's nanny Ken Nwosu as Bill Andy Cheung as Ambassador Jun Chen, Kai-Ming Chen's father Kathryn Hunter as Lenny Lines Gabrielle Creevy as Eleanor Luther Ford as Hector Newman Finn Bennett as Cole Atwood, a CIA agent and Kai-Ming Chen's associate Dan Li as Chang Hao, a Chinese envoy Adeel Akhtar as Richard Eaves, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom William Hope as Mitch Porter, CIA station chief
Guest
Hannah Khalique-Brown as Maggie Jones, an assistant in a jewellery shop Thomas Coombes as Phillip Bray, a tabloid reporter Lizzie Hopley as Beth Antonia Campbell-Hughes as Georgina "George" Julian Wadham as Andy Jennifer Armour as Vanessa Robinson, the diplomatic secretary at the Embassy of the United States, London Timothy Harker as Les Mullery, Director General of MI5 Paapa Essiedu as Elmore Fitch Adam Best as Jim Perryman Steve Wall as Frank Tracey Ullman as Alex Clark Angus Cooper as Trent Clark, Kai-Ming Chen's boyfriend
Episodes
Production The project was announced by Netflix in April 2023. Barton also produces through Noisy Bear, alongside production company Sister.
Filming began in London in October 2023. That month, Sarah Lancashire and Ben Whishaw were added to the cast, along with Andrew Buchan, Omari Douglas, Andrew Koji, Kathryn Hunter, Sam Troughton, Ella Lily Hyland, Adam Silver, Ken Nwosu and Gabrielle Creevy. In March 2024, Adeel Akhtar, Tracey Ullman, Finn Bennett and Luther Ford were added to the cast. In August 2024, ahead of its première, Netflix renewed the show for a second series.
Barton derived the series name from the Black Dove, his local pub in Brighton.
Filming for Season 2 started in London by November 2025, with announcements that Neve Campbell, Ambika Mod, Babou Ceesay and Sam Riley had been added to the cast.
Release The series premiered on Netflix on 5 December 2024. The second series premieres on 5 November 2026.
Reception Critical response Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 78 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
Writing in The Guardian, Rebecca Nicholson described the series as "gleefully pulpy" and was mildly critical of Knightley and Whishaw's portrayals, but praised cameo appearances by numerous well-known actors in supporting roles. In Digital Spy, David Opie singled out the on-screen depiction of Sam having gay sex in the first episode, stating that the series "ventures where James Bond would never dare go".
Accolades Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Golden Globe Awards January 5, 2025 Best Actress – Television Series Drama Keira Knightley Critics' Choice Awards February 7, 2025 Best Actress in a Drama Series Royal Television Society Programme Awards March 25, 2025 Leading Actor – Male Ben Whishaw GLAAD Media Awards March 27, 2025 Outstanding New TV Series Black Doves Gotham TV Awards June 2, 2025 Breakthrough Drama Series Joe Barton, Jane Featherstone, Chris Fry, Keira Knightley Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Drama Series Ben Whishaw
References
External links