New Netflix Spy Thriller Adds Paddington, Happy Valley Stars

Ben Whishaw and Sarah Lancashire join Keira Knightley in Netflix's Black Doves.

By Timothy Adams

The Keira Knightley-led Netflix spy series Black Doves is adding even more star power with the additions of Ben Whishaw (Paddington) and Sarah Lancashire (Happy Valley), per Variety. The streamer has found some recent success with spy-centered content, including Red Notice starring Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, and Gal Gadot, and The Gray Man starring Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jessica Henwick, and Regé-Jean Page. While those were movies, Black Dovie is being set up as a six-part series written and created by Joe Barton of The Lazarus Project fame. The outlet also reports Black Dove started shooting in London last week. 

"I started writing the scripts for this show over last year's Christmas holidays, fuelled by turkey sandwiches and discarded bottles of cream liquor," said Barton. "To be now going into production with a cast and crew full of people whose work I admire so much is unbelievably exciting and I couldn't be more thrilled to get to see this show come to life."

Ben Whishaw will play Sam Young, an old friend of Keira Knightley's Helen Webb, who is the wife of a politician. She also happens to be a spy that is sending her husband's secrets to her Black Doves organization. When Helen's lover is assassinated, she turns to Sam for help. Sarah Lancashire plays Reed, Helen's enigmatic spymaster in the Black Doves.

What is Netflix's Black Doves spy series about?

The description of Black Doves from Variety reads, "A story of friendship and sacrifice, Black Doves is set during Christmastime in London. It revolves around Helen Webb (Knightley), a politician's wife, doting mother — and professional spy. For years, Helen has been passing on her husband's secrets to the Black Doves, the shadowy organization for whom she works. But when her lover Jason is assassinated, Helen's life is turned upside down and only her old friend Sam Young (Whishaw) can keep her safe.

"Helen and Sam set out to discover who killed Jason and why. But Sam, a suave, champagne-drinking assassin, also has problems of his own. Out of the game since his last job went wrong, he soon realizes his past is coming back to haunt him.

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"Together, they set off on a mission that will lead them to uncover a vast, interconnected conspiracy. One that links the murky underworld of London to a looming geopolitical crisis — and leads them to question the cost of the moral choices they've made."

Written and created by Joe Barton, Black Doves stars Keira Knightley, Ben Whishaw, Sarah Lancashire, Andrew Buchan (Carnival Row), Omari Douglas (It's A Sin), Andrew Koji (Warrior), Kathryn Hunter (Andor), Sam Troughton (Chernobyl), Ella Lily Hyland (Fifteen Love), Adam Silver (The Diplomat), Ken Nwosu (Look the Other Way and Run) and Gabrielle Creevy (In My Skin).

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