Harsh Vardhan
The English capital city will remain home to Keira Knightley’s upcoming spy thriller! The filming of the second season of Netflix’s ‘Black Doves’ will start in London, England, in early 2025. Joe Barton, who created the series, remains as the writer, with Alex Gabassi and Lisa Gunning returning to helm the episodes. The first installment, which also stars Ben Whishaw, Sarah Lancashire, Andrew Koji, and Tracey Ullman, will premiere on the streaming platform later this year.
The first season centers on Helen, who embarks on a passionate affair that jeopardizes her hidden identity. As her lover gets entangled in London’s criminal underworld, her employers dispatch an old acquaintance to keep her safe, further complicating her already perilous situation.
Knightley stars as Helen Webb, a smart, grounded wife and mother who leads a secret double life as a spy. For the past decade, she has been covertly passing her husband’s political secrets to the clandestine group called the Black Doves. Her world takes a dark turn when her lover, Jason (Andrew Koji), is murdered. In response, her handler, Reed (Sarah Lancashire), sends an old ally to look after her.
The aforementioned ally is Sam Young (Ben Whishaw), a once-elite assassin who has stepped away from the dangerous world after a failed mission. As Sam returns to a London that no longer feels like home, he must protect Helen while facing the demons of his own past. Together, they delve into Jason’s murder, uncovering a web of conspiracy that ties the city’s criminal underworld to a larger, global political crisis. As they dig deeper, both Helen and Sam are forced to confront the moral compromises they have made along the way.
For the role of Helen Webb, Knightley had to learn hand-to-hand combat. “It’s been great fun to do all of the fighting. I’ve really enjoyed learning all of the different martial arts that I have been taught,” she told Netflix’s Tudum.
The series’ cast also includes Luther Ford, Finn Bennett, Adeel Akhtar, Andrew Buchan, Kathryn Hunter, and Sam Troughton. They are joined by Ella Lily Hyland, Adam Silver, Ken Nwosu, Gabrielle Creevy, and Omari Douglas. It is too early to predict the returning cast of the sophomore season since the first installment hasn’t premiered yet.
Barton has a strong penchant for espionage-themed stories. His latest endeavor is ‘The Union,’ which follows a construction worker named Mike, who is drawn into the world of espionage when his high school sweetheart, Roxanne, recruits him for a critical intelligence mission. He also wrote several episodes of ‘The Lazarus Project’ and created ‘The Bastard Son & the Devil Himself.’ Additionally, his work includes the spy thriller series ‘Giri/Haji,’ in which a Tokyo detective conducts a search in London for his missing brother.
London is also the backdrop for other notable spy and crime dramas, such as ‘Slow Horses’ and ‘Gangs of London.’ Moreover, Barton’s previous projects, including ‘The Union’ and ‘The Bastard Son & the Devil Himself,’ were shot in the same city.
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