With Keira Knightley, Ben Whishaw and a frostily fantastic Sarah Lancashire, Black Doves is one of the better spy dramas around right now
“Everything will go back to normal, just in time for Christmas”
Created by Joe Barton and streaming now on Netflix, Black Doves bucks the trend of the recent glut of prestige spy dramas by actually being fun as well as twisty and devious. It is serious-minded to be sure but there’s a slyness to it that borders on a touch of camp, an embracing of the inherent ridiculousness of the duality of the life lived undercover alongside all the shenanigans that accompany being a spy.
Keira Knightley plays Helen Webb, by day the wife of the Secretary of State for Defence (Andrew Buchan) and mother of two, by night a Black Dove, part of a spy network with Sarah Lancashire’s Reed at its heart. Helen has been carrying on with the dishy Jason (Andrew Koji) but when he gets assassinated along with two associates, Reed calls in Ben Whishaw’s Sam, a triggerman and old friend, to protect her just in case.
It’s a good call because it turns out Jason was in touch with the daughter of the Chinese ambassador to the UK who has also just turned up dead and as Helen pushes for the truth about the death of her lover, a huge international conspiracy comes to light. At the same time, flashbacks show us how Helen was recruited into the Black Doves and the importance that Sam has played in her training and her life.
Directed by Alex Gabassi and Lisa Gunning, it’s all very sleek and sophisticated but at the same time, it’s not too self-regarding which keeps things fun. Knightley is cracking, so entertaining whether she’s working out her frustrations with screaming kids or murderous assassins. Whishaw is excellent as hitman Sam too, returning to London after 7 years with a former boyfriend (Omari Douglas) to deal with along with everything else.
A strong supporting cast is par for the course in these shows but it really is in evidence here. Kathryn Hunter’s gangster matriarch, Paapa Essiedu’s killer, Sam Troughton’s hapless police chief, Adeel Akhtar’s wheeling PM, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Ken Nwosu, Justine Mitchell and more as well. And at just six episodes, it is neatly fleet of foot, meaning the promised second series is something you’re left keen for rightaway.
