One of the best TV shows of 2024, the first season of Giri/Haji creator Joe Barton’s Black Doves arrived as the perfect Christmas gift from Netflix: a ridiculously smart, incredibly fun spy thriller starring Keira Knightley and Ben Whishaw as Helen and Sam, a spook and an assassin whose double-lives cross dangerously following an alarmingly close-to-home murder. Two years later, the duo are coming back with a bang this Bonfire Night, bringing some new pals — and some old foes — with them. Check out the trailer below;
Mrs. Reed’s gone missing. Black Doves are dropping like flies. Helen’s hubby’s about to become prime minister while she’s off bonking baddies on their bonces with bottles of bubbly, while Sam’s in it up to his neck (again) dealing with mysterious emissaries (Sam Riley) and suspiciously Neve Campbell-looking defence envoys. Ah, Black Doves, how we’ve missed you! Despite the fact that the stakes have clearly been raised for round two of Barton’s propulsive spy-thriller series, this first trailer for Season 2 — bringing the likes of One Day‘s Ambika Mod and Babou Ceesay into the fray while welcoming back the brilliantly droll Eleanor (Gabrielle Creevy) and Williams (Ella Lily Hyland) — is everything we’ve come to expect from the show: whipsmart, frenetic, twisty-turny espionage hijinks shot through with wicked humour and slick action.
The official synopsis for Black Doves Season 2 reads: “In S2, Helen is still betraying her nation’s secrets to the covert organization she serves, the Black Doves. But after the misadventures of last Christmas, and with her husband, Wallace, preparing to become prime minister, she’s walking a more treacherous line than ever. As Helen’s enigmatic handler, Mrs. Reed (Sarah Lancashire), is ensnared in a ruthless plot to undermine her position in the Black Doves, Helen is reunited with her best friend, Sam (Ben Whishaw). The once high-end triggerman is now reduced to lonely drinks in Soho bars and low-rate hits. As they search for answers, loyalties are weaponized, trust is shattered, and the fight to protect the people they love could cost everything.”
With all six hour-long episodes of Black Doves due to hit Netflix on November 5, it looks like Christmas is coming early this year for fans of British spycraft at its very best. And whether you’re going out or staying in, expect sparks to fly this Bonfire Night.
