Black Doves

Black Doves
Genre	Action drama Spy thriller
Created by	Joe Barton
Written by	Joe Barton
Directed by	Alex Gabassi Lisa Gunning
Starring	Keira Knightley Ben Whishaw Sarah Lancashire
Ending theme	"Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" by Raye
Composer	Martin Phipps
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	6
Production
Executive producers	Jane Featherstone Chris Fry Joe Barton Keira Knightley
Producer	Harry Munday
Production location	London
Cinematography	Giulio Biccari Mark Patten
Editors	Simon Brasse Richard Graham Johnny Rayner
Running time	52–56 minutes
Production companies	Noisy Bear Sister
Original release
Network	Netflix
Release	5 December 2024 (2024-12-05) – present

Black Doves is a British spy thriller television series created by Joe Barton. The series, starring Keira Knightley, Ben Whishaw and Sarah Lancashire, is developed by Sister and Noisy Bear for Netflix. Ahead of its premiere on 5 December 2024, it was renewed for a second series.

Synopsis

Helen, wife of the Secretary of State for Defence, learns that her secret identity as a Black Dove is in danger after her lover is killed by London's underworld. Her employers, a spies-for-hire organisation – retrieving industrial, political or diplomatic secrets for the highest bidder – send Sam, an old friend, to protect her.

Cast

Starring

• Keira Knightley as Helen Webb
• Ben Whishaw as Sam Young
• Sarah Lancashire as Reed

Recurring co-stars

• Andrew Buchan as Wallace Webb
• Andrew Koji as Jason Davies
• Omari Douglas as Michael
• Sam Troughton as Stephen Yarrick
• Ella Lily Hyland as Williams
• Isabella Wei as Kai-Ming
• Adam Silver as Arnie
• Nathan Stewart-Jarrett as Zack
• Hannah Khalique-Brown as Maggie
• Thomas Coombes as Phillip
• Lizzie Hopley as Beth
• Agnes O'Casey as Dani
• Tai Yin Chan as Wu Lin
• Charlotte Rice-Foley as Jacqueline Webb
• Taylor Sullivan as Oli Webb
• Molly Chesworth as Marie
• Ken Nwosu as Bill
• Kathryn Hunter as Lenny Lines
• Gabrielle Creevy as Eleanor
• Paapa Essiedu as Elmore Fitch
• Luther Ford as Hector Newman
• Adeel Akhtar as the Prime Minister Richard Eaves
• Tracey Ullman as Alex Clark
• Finn Bennett as Cole Atwood
• Dan Li as Change Hao

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
1	"To Love Then"	Alex Gabassi	Joe Barton	December 5, 2024 (2024-12-05)
Helen Webb is married to Wallace Webb, the Secretary of State for Defence. Unbeknownst to Wallace she is a "Black Dove", a spy who has been giving information to a mercenary organisation. At a Christmas party her handler, Reed, informs her that her lover, Jason Davies, has been murdered along with two others. Jason was a civil servant and Helen believes his death is unconnected to her, though Reed is not so sure. Reed calls in Sam, who has been absent for seven years, to protect Helen and investigate Jason's murder. Sam discovers that shortly before his death Jason was calling Kai-Ming, the daughter of the late Chinese ambassador to the UK, whose death may have been more complicated than originally reported.
2	"A Little Black Dove"	Alex Gabassi	Joe Barton	December 5, 2024 (2024-12-05)
In 2014, Helen, going by the name Daisy, is recruited by the Black Doves. On her first job she has a one night stand with Wallace but returns when she realises she left her deceased mother's lighter in his room. In the present Helen learns that Jason was killed by a man named Elmore Fitch. He attacks her in her home seeking information about Kai-Ming and a mysterious video, but Helen turns the tables on Fitch and ends up executing him. Meanwhile Sam is approached by his former boss, Lenny Lines, who threatens to kill his ex and his daughter unless he finishes a job he abandoned 7 years ago.
3	"The Coming Night"	Alex Gabassi	Joe Barton	December 5, 2024 (2024-12-05)
In 2014 Sam begins working as a trigger man. In 2017 he is assigned to assassinate the Newman brothers, but fails to complete the job when he discovers one of them, Hector, is a child. Hector sends assassins after Sam, destroying his life and forcing him to flee. In the present Sam teams up with unlikely allies to kill Newman and rescue Kai-Ming. Helen discovers that her friend Yarrick might be involved with Jason's murder. She has Sam steal his phone but as a result, Yarrick is being killed and his captors threaten to come after Helen. Wallace learns through private Chinese backchannels that the ambassador to China may have been killed by the US with support from Britain.
4	"Go Bang Time"	Lisa Gunning	Joe Barton	December 5, 2024 (2024-12-05)
Sam is able to save Kai-Ming, who he leaves in the care of Williams and Eleanor. They realise they are being watched. Helen learns Jason may have had another partner. Reed convinces her to infiltrate the American embassy to give CIA agent Cole Atwood money to betray his country. Cole reveals he did not kill Kai-Ming's father but was instead using her to access her drug connection, Trent Clark, who is part of an international crime family. When he asks for his family to be released Helen realises that she was set up. Wallace learns that Yarrick is dead and struggles with what that means.
5	"The Cost of It All"	Lisa Gunning	Joe Barton	December 5, 2024 (2024-12-05)
The Clarks kidnap Eleanor and Kai-Ming. With the wounded Williams, Sam, Helen and Cole flee to Michael's apartment. Reed tells Sam to kill Alex Clark. Dani tells Wallace that Helen is having an affair, which leads him to tell Helen he has always loved her. Dani later confirms to Helen that she is also a Black Dove, who is training to be Helen's replacement with Wallace. A suspicious Helen realises that the video recording everyone is looking for might be at the jewellery shop where Jason bought her Christmas present. She locates the recording and discovers that actually Trent killed the Chinese ambassador, and the Prime Minister was involved in covering up the crime.
6	"In the Bleak Midwinter"	Lisa Gunning	Joe Barton	December 5, 2024 (2024-12-05)
Helen takes the recording of the murder to Alex Clark in exchange for freeing Sam, Eleanor, and Kai-Ming. Helen tries to kill Alex but discovers that she didn't order the hit on Jason and that it was Trent, trying to cover his tracks. To save Helen, Sam kills Alex and Trent, though he is warned by an anonymous voice that this has been seen. Helen gives the recording of the murder to the CIA who use it to clear themselves to China. It is implied that Wallace, who truly knew nothing of the Prime Minister's involvement, will be his replacement. Reed welcomes Helen back to the fold, and informs her that Jason was actually a spy for MI5 sent to investigate Helen. Though she confessed to him she was a Black Dove, his final report cleared her of any wrongdoing. Sam tries to reunite with Michael, but is offered a job working with Newman, which he accepts. Helen invites him for Christmas, and he finally meets her family, though he warns her that people like them do not get happy endings.

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 premiere, Netflix renewed the show for a second series.

Release

The series premiered on Netflix on 5 December 2024.

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rating of 94% based on 47 reviews, with an average rating is 7.8 out of 10. However, the all audience rating is at 64%. The website's critics consensus reads, "Blending multiple genres into a truly unique action-thriller, Black Doves hits its target dead on." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 78 out of 100 based on 26 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

Accolades

For her performance, Knightley was nominated for Best Actress in a Drama Series at the 30th Critics' Choice Awards. She also received a nomination at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards.

External links

• Black Doves on Netflix
• Black Doves at IMDb