2024 is giving fans of pulse-pounding spy thrillers like me a handful of new releases to enjoy, both in terms of already-released titles (like FX’s The Veil) and series that are still to come — including Season 4 of Apple TV+’s Slow Horses, Paramount’s The Agency, and a new Keira Knightley drama coming to Netflix titled Black Doves.
As a hardcore fan of the genre, I’ll be the first to admit that Netflix doesn’t exactly have the greatest track record when it comes to espionage dramas — The Recruit and Fubar are two of the misfires that come to mind. However, the streaming giant also has enough of these shows that work that I’m pretty hopeful about Black Doves, its latest entry from the genre. Especially with a top-notch cast that includes Knightley and Ben Whishaw.
Black Doves, created and written by Joe Barton, stars Knightley as a down-to-earth mother, wife, and professional spy named Helen Webb. Her husband is a politician, and for a decade, Helen has been slipping his secrets, as one does, to the shadowy group she works for called the Black Doves. “I started writing the scripts for this show over last year’s Christmas holidays, fueled by turkey sandwiches and discarded bottles of cream liquor,” Barton told Netflix back in October 2023.
“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.”
When Helen’s secret lover Jason is assassinated, Helen’s spymaster calls in her old friend (Whishaw) to keep her safe. Per Netflix, he’s a “suave, Champagne-drinking assassin. But having been out of the game since a failed job with disastrous consequences, he’s come home to a London that has moved on without him. As his past threatens to catch up with him, his task is to protect Helen as she investigates who killed Jason and why.
“Together, they set off on a mission that will lead them to uncover a vast, interconnected conspiracy. One that links the murky underworld of London to a looming geopolitical crisis — and leads them to question the cost of the moral choices they’ve made.”
Black Doves is coming soon, as in later this year, and you can set a reminder right here to be notified when it’s available in the Netflix app. Suave, sophisticated espionage vibes are all over this one.
\