Black Doves

This article is about the television series. For the bird species, see Black dove.

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.^[1]

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 series	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

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 organisation – that retrieves industrial, political or diplomatic secrets for the highest bidder – send Sam, an old friend, to protect her.^[2][3]

Cast

Keira Knightley as Helen Webb

Ben Whishaw as Sam Young

Sarah Lancashire as Reed

The lead actors in Black Doves

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 jewelry 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

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
1	"To Love Then"	Alex Gabassi	Joe Barton	December 5, 2024 (2024-12-05)
Helen Dawson is married to Wallace Webb, the Secretary of State for Defence. Unbeknownst to Wallace, Helen is a "Black Dove", a spy who has been giving information to a mercenary organization that buys and sells information. At a Christmas party, Helen's handler Reed informs her that Jason Davies, a civil servant and Helen's lover, has been murdered along with tabloid reporter Phillip and store clerk Maggie. Helen believes his death is unconnected to her, though Reed is not so sure. Reed calls in Sam, a hitman 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 United Kingdom. The latter's 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 of Daisy, is recruited by the Black Doves. On her first job, she has a one-night stand with Wallace but returns to his place after realizing that she left her deceased mother's lighter in his room. In the present, Helen learns that Jason was killed by a sniper named Elmore Fitch. He attacks Helen in her home seeking information about Kai-Ming and a mysterious video, but Helen fights and ends up executing him. Meanwhile Sam is approached by his former boss, Lenny Lines, who threatens to kill his ex-lover and daughter unless Sam finishes an assassination he abandoned seven 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 for Lenny. In 2017, he is assigned to assassinate the four Newman brothers, but fails to complete the job fully when he discovers the last of them, Hector, is a child. Hector sends assassins after Sam at the flat he shares with Mike. While heavily pregnant, Helen rescues Sam and Mike, staying with Reed's organisation to ensure their further safety as Sam flees the country. In the present, Sam teams up with Williams and Eleanor to kill Newman and rescue Kai-Ming. Helen discovers that her friend Yarrick might be involved with Jason's murder. Helen sends a message to a mysterious number on Yarrick's phone but as a result, Yarrick is captured and killed. 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. It is revealed that Sam's first hit was his own father, who had also been an assassin.
4	"Go Bang Time"	Lisa Gunning	Joe Barton	December 5, 2024 (2024-12-05)
Sam is able to save Kai-Ming, whom he leaves in the care of Williams and Eleanor. They realize they are being watched. Sam visits his ex-boyfriend. Helen learns Jason may have had another partner. Reed convinces her to infiltrate the American embassy to bring CIA agent Cole Atwood an envelope with an offer of money to betray his country. Cole reveals he did not kill Kai-Ming's father but was instead using the young woman to access her drug connection, Trent Clark, who is part of an international crime family. When Cole asks for his family to be released, Helen realizes that Reed's envelope contained a threat, and she was set up. Wallace learns that Yarrick is dead and struggles with what that means. Wallace’s recently hired secretary Dani, who Helen suspects was planted by Reed, flirts with Wallace. Dani alludes to Helen’s affair with Jason without naming him.
5	"The Cost of It All"	Lisa Gunning	Joe Barton	December 5, 2024 (2024-12-05)
The Clarks kidnap Eleanor and Kai-Ming. Sam, with Helen, Cole and the wounded Williams, flee to Michael's apartment. Reed tells Sam to kill Alex Clark. Dani tells Wallace that Helen is having an affair. He tells Helen that he has always loved her. Later, Helen realizes that the video recording everyone is looking for might be at the jewelry shop where Jason bought her Christmas present. She locates the recording in the shop safe and discovers Dani waiting at the front of the shop. She confirms to Helen that she is also a Black Dove, and is training to be Helen's replacement with Wallace. Dani and Helen get into a knife fight, with Helen winning, but sparing Dani's life. On watching the recording, Helen discovers that Trent is the one who killed the Chinese ambassador, albeit accidentally. The recording reveals that the British 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 crime family matriarch Alex Clark in exchange for freeing Sam, Eleanor, and Kai-Ming. Helen is about 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 both Alex and Trent. He is warned by an anonymous voice that his executions have been seen. Helen gives the recording of the ambassador's death 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 – Maggie was working for him, and selling gossip to Phillip, with Phillip revealing all to Yarrick, thus setting in motion the first four murders. Though Helen confessed to Jason she was a Black Dove, his final report cleared her of any wrongdoing. Sam tries to reunite with Michael, but is offered a job by Hector Newman (who Sam refused to kill when Hector was still a boy), which he accepts. Helen invites him for Christmas, and he finally meets her family, including her two children with Wallace. He warns her that people like them do not get happy endings. Williams, Eleanor, and Kai-Ming are seen spending Christmas together, while Reed celebrates with her daughter – who is revealed to be the nanny of Helen's children.

Production

The project was announced by Netflix in April 2023.^[4] Barton also produces through Noisy Bear, alongside production company Sister.^[5]

Filming began in London in October 2023.^[6] 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.^[7] In March 2024, Adeel Akhtar, Tracey Ullman, Finn Bennett and Luther Ford were added to the cast.^[8] In August 2024, ahead of its première, Netflix renewed the show for a second series.^[9]

Barton derived the series name from the Black Dove, his local pub in Brighton.^[10]

Release

The series premièred on Netflix on 5 December 2024.^[11]

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 94% of 70 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.8/10. The website's consensus reads: "Blending multiple genres into a truly unique action-thriller, Black Doves hits its target dead on."^[12] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 78 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.^[13]

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.^[14] 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".^[15]

Accolades

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Recipient(s)	Result	Ref.
Golden Globe Awards	January 5, 2025	Best Actress – Television Series Drama	Keira Knightley	Nominated	[16]
Critics' Choice Awards	February 7, 2025	Best Actress in a Drama Series		Nominated	[17]
Royal Television Society Programme Awards	March 25, 2025	Leading Actor – Male	Ben Whishaw	Nominated	[18][19]
GLAAD Media Awards	March 27, 2025	Outstanding New TV Series	Black Doves	Nominated	[20][21]
Gotham TV Awards	June 2, 2025	Breakthrough Drama Series	Joe Barton, Jane Featherstone, Chris Fry, Keira Knightley	Nominated	[22][23]
		Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Drama Series	Ben Whishaw	Won