“It is a truth universally acknowledged” by Pride and Prejudice devotees that the Netflix audience adores seeing actresses move outside of their former comfort zones. Even better: if those projects in question fuel a hefty appetite from Netflix viewers for stories about spies and intrigue and hidden agendas. With Black Doves, those twin goals are happening.
Much like Keri Russell has moved into wry comedy mode with The Diplomat, Keira Knightley will be abandoning the ball gowns and period-drama attire that she wore in Anna Karenina, Atonement, and the above-mentioned Jane Austen adaptation. She’ll now be in action-revenge mode, and Netflix is so confident in Black Doves that the streaming service already announced a second season. Let’s clear out the clutter on what to expect from this series.
Plot
Look for a pre-holidays trinket to arrive with Black Doves being set around Christmastime in London, where Keira Knightley’s character, Helen Webb, has been living her spy life while being married-in-name to a powerful politician, whose intel is valuable to Helen’s bosses at the Black Doves org. Everything has been going according to plan until Helen’s lover (Andrew Koji) winds up dead under sketchy circumstances. This propels Helen to seek help from her spymaster (Sarah Lancashire) and a long-time friend, Sam (Ben Whishaw, also moving into semi-unfamiliar territory by dropping his Paddington voice), and of course, this new mission is of utmost peril.
The series was created and written by Joe Barton (The Lazarus Project) and produced by SISTER (Chernobyl, The Power) along with Noisy Bear. Things could get explosive, so watch out.
The series will also have a recurring banger on tap with a cover of Nancy Sinatra’s “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down).” This song is featured in the trailer and surfaces at several points throughout the first season, which does come with a synopsis:
BLACK DOVES is a sharp, action-filled, and heartfelt story of friendship and sacrifice. It follows Helen Webb, a quick-witted, down-to-earth, dedicated wife and mother – and professional spy. For 10 years, she’s been passing on her politician husband’s secrets to the shadowy organisation she works for: the Black Doves. When her secret lover Jason is assassinated, her spymaster, the enigmatic Reed, calls in Helen’s old friend Sam (Ben Whishaw) to keep her safe. Together, Helen and Sam set off on a mission to investigate who killed Jason and why, leading them to uncover a vast, interconnected conspiracy linking the murky London underworld to a looming geopolitical crisis.
Additionally, Knightley could soon become a Netflix fixture with the currently filming The Woman In Cabin 10 film (that co-stars Guy Pearce and Hannah Waddingham), which we’ll revisit when that project grows closer.
Cast
Led by Keira Knightly and Ben Whishaw, Black Doves also stars Andrew Buchan, Tracey Ullman, Andrew Koji, Sarah Lancashire, Adeel Akhtar, Tracey Ullman, Finn Bennett, Sam Troughton, Adam Silver, Luther Ford, Kathryn Hunter, Ella Lily Hyland, Gabrielle Creev, Omari Douglas, and Ken Nwosu.
Release Date
Almost out of nowhere, Netflix’s Black Doves is scheduled to take flight on December 5.
Trailer
Keira Knightley in full-on action mode? Yes please.
And some key art arrived for good measure.
