If you’re searching for a good thriller this Christmas, Netflix just released a new espionage drama starring Keira Knightley and Ben Whishaw. Titled Black Doves, the series follows a spy named Helen Webb (Knightley) who goes undercover within the UK government. According to showrunner Joe Barton, his “Black Doves” operation is partly based on a real-life ‘Spy cops’ scandal that engulfed the Metropolitan Police roughly a decade ago.

Black Doves takes inspiration from the event and runs in a new direction. In the Netflix series, Helen is undercover as the wife of the secretary of defence (Andrew Buchan). They even share two children together. All the while, Helen reports her husband’s day-to-day meetings with foreign officials to her handler, Reed (Sarah Lancashire). It’s a bizarre business.

The Black Doves are a private, independent spy organization that sells its information to the highest bidder. Helen doesn’t know where her husband’s secrets are headed or why. She also has more pressing matters on her plate. She had an affair with a mysterious man who was just murdered, and now the killers are hunting her, too. If that sounds thrilling, just wait until Knightley and Co. come back around for season 2.

Black Doves stars Keira Knightley as an undercover spy. Ludovic Robert/Netflix – Netflix

Is Black Doves season 2 confirmed?

Yes! Netflix announced the news before the series even premiered. Barton is already in the writers room figuring out what Knightley’s Helen Webb uncovers next. “We’re going to be filming next year, so hopefully, it won’t be too long a wait between series for people,” he told The Hollywood Reporter.

Barton also teased that he’s searching for a perfect new cast member to play season 2’s main villain. “One of the things I felt watching the first series was that Sam and Helen, they don’t really have a ‘Moriarty.’ They don’t have the big bad,” he shared with THR. “One of the things I think would be really fun to do is actually to give them a proper onscreen antagonist, a proper villain for them to have to deal with. So that’s big on my list of things for series 2.”

What does Black Doves have in store for season 2? Ludovic Robert/Netflix – Netflix

When can I watch Black Doves season 2?

The first season just premiered on December 5, 2024. I would expect at least a year to pass before season 2 arrives. If you ask the series creator, Barton said he wouldn’t bet on a Christmas 2025 release.

“To have something ready for next Christmas would be impossible,” Barton told THR. “Then you’d be in a situation where we’d have to make people wait two years for the Christmas after that, which should just be too long. So I think inevitably it’s not going to be a Christmas show. But it’ll be interesting to see them out of their winter coats.”