Black Doves returns with Knightley’s assassin now living in Downing Street

The latest:

Helen Webb is now married to the British prime minister and still working as a contract killer for a clandestine spy network in the second season of Netflix’s Black Doves. Writing in the Financial Times, Rebecca Nicholson said the show has lost none of its nerve, opening in Paris shortly before her husband Wallace takes office.

Details:

• The plot: The season opens in Paris with a side job involving a powerful Russian businessman and his wife, according to the review. The disappearance of handler Reed, played by Sarah Lancashire, then triggers a conspiracy that widens to take in a rival mercenary network, with hints the Black Doves organisation itself may be nearing its end.
• The lead: Keira Knightley plays Helen Webb, the undercover assassin. Her new status demands far more caution every time she cracks a safe, steals classified files or shoots her way out of a hotel room, all while under surveillance by Britain’s domestic security service MI5.
• The marriage: Helen’s marriage to Wallace, played by Andrew Buchan, is in crisis, the review said, even though she is convinced nobody asks for a divorce while their spouse is prime minister. He has finally begun asking where she keeps vanishing to late at night.
• The standout: Ben Whishaw returns as Sam, the hired killer with perfect aim who is sick of killing for money and whose weakness remains his love for Helen. The review called the character’s convincing humanity and pain a considerable achievement despite the cartoonish skill set.
• The newcomer: Ambika Mod joins as Lyla, an assassin who carries none of the same professional anxiety and instead appears to enjoy the work, cracking jokes through an enormous body count. The review praised her performance as excellent, describing a character with no tolerance for nonsense.
• Supporting cast: Kathryn Hunter returns as Lenny, running the operatives with a striking absence of emotion. Sam is accompanied on several jobs by assistants Williams, played by Ella Lily Hyland, and Eleanor, played by Gabrielle Creevy, described as a Shakespearean double act armed with submachine guns.
• The comparisons: The review placed the series alongside Bodies and Slow Horses for its playful tone, and alongside The Night Manager, Star City and The Agency for its atmosphere of total paranoia, while noting the spy drama field is currently crowded.
• The production: The series was created by Joe Barton, whose credits include Giri/Haji and Amadeus. Its first season arrived in late 2024 and succeeded despite its bleak streak. The review pointed to large-scale action sequences indicating Netflix did not skimp on the budget.
• The criticism: The review judged that housing a professional assassin and expert sniper inside the prime minister’s residence without attracting attention stretches belief past breaking point, and said the show at times resembles a glossier, shallower version of Slow Horses.

Background:

The first season aired in late 2024 and introduced Knightley as the wife of a prominent politician secretly working as a contract killer inside a shadowy network called Black Doves, moving between London’s political elite and the criminal underworld.

Between the lines:

The review argues the show’s strength comes not from the logic of its plot but from its characters and humour, which is why it urges viewers not to examine the details too closely. With Helen’s marital crisis and Reed’s disappearance advancing together, the pressure on her now arrives from Downing Street and the network at once.

What’s next

The review signalled the plot is heading toward a possible end for the Black Doves network itself, the clearest thread to follow for the fate of the characters across the rest of the season.