What Do We Know About Black Doves Season 2?
By
3 weeks ago
Some fresh faces will star
It heralded the phenomenal return of Keira Knightley to the small screen (who has since starred in twisted thriller The Woman in Cabin 10), so it’s safe to say we are very excited to see Black Doves season 2. Having launched just before Christmas in 2024, the six-part action thriller cast London in a glow of festive lights, while also highlighting the espionage in the shadows.
Renewed for season 2 before the first season even aired, it sadly won’t launch in time for this Christmas, but here’s everything else we know so far about the return of Black Doves.
Kiera Knightly in Black Doves. (Netflix)
Black Doves Season 2: Plot, Cast, Release Date & More
Black Doves season 2 was confirmed by Netflix four months before the series was even released. The news broke at 2024’s Edinburgh TV Festival, which took place in August. ‘It’s never happened before,’ series creator Joe Barton said on the news. ‘Most things I work on get cancelled almost instantly,’ he added, referring to The Lazarus Project which was cancelled after two seasons, and Giri/Haji which survived only one.
‘I was all prepared to have a really nervous Christmas this year,’ Barton added, referring to season 1’s festive launch. ‘I was on holiday, and in an Italian supermarket, when I got a call from the producers saying, “Come home, you need to start writing, we’re doing more”.’ He added it’s a good feeling to have ‘everyone feeling very, very confident about the show, that we’ve made something that we can all stand behind and can’t wait for people to watch.’
So what’s in store for the reprise? Before we get into that, here’s a recap of season 1.
Andrew Koji as Jason in Black Doves. (Netflix)
Season 1 Ending Explained
Helen (Keira Knightly) and Sam (Ben Whishaw) fortunately made it out of Black Doves season 1 alive, with a showdown making for an explosive season finale. After making it her personal mission to uncover the killer of her lover Jason (Andrew Koji), Helen discovered the truth: Trent (Angus Cooper) – the son of crime boss Alex Clark (Tracey Ullman) – ordered the hit on Jason, Maggie and Phillip to cover his tracks after accidentally killing Ambassador Chen (Andy Cheung) in a heated argument.
Helen demanded justice, aiming her gun at Trent – but in the end it was Sam who pulled the trigger, and also he who will have to deal with the fallout. Sam also offed Alex, all in an attempt to save Helen from the strife of killing. ‘He does it because he loves her and because he owes her and because he’s trying to protect her from the burden of killing that kid,’ series creator, writer, and executive producer Joe Barton said on the explosive ending. ‘He’s always lived his life by this code of not killing innocent people. Though you can argue that Trent isn’t innocent, that he’s done bad things, he’s still a gentle soul who’s made a terrible mistake.
‘The idea was that Sam makes a personal sacrifice for his friend because he loves her, and because, as you see in Episode 3, she sacrificed her own chance to get out in order to help him,’ Barton explains. ‘He’s there to do anything for her, so he does it.’
(© Ludovic Robert/Netflix)
This also means Sam doesn’t manage to get back with his ex-boyfriend Michael, who he started fixing his relationship with over the course of season 1. ‘He knows that he’s just not able to be with the man that he loves because he’s dangerous,’ Barton explains. ‘That’s emphasized by the fact that Hector (Luther Ford) turns up at Michael’s (Omari Douglas) house and gives him an ultimatum: “You can either come work for me and continue being in the criminal world, or you can leave – but you leave forever”.
‘Sam knows when he goes back to Michael’s flat that it’s impossible [to be with Michael],’ Barton adds. ‘But he can’t say it, so they have a little dance.’
After the showdown, Reed (Sarah Lancashire) gave Helen a hard drive containing all of the information she has gathered on Jason – who, it turns out, was actually an MI5 agent investigating Helen over concerns that she was leaking government secrets. (Of course, Jason hit the nail on the head.) Instead of delving into Jason’s life, Helen throws the hard drive into the Thames. ‘She has enough information about him, which is that he loved her, and he saved her, and the details are superfluous because she’s invented a whole new set of details for herself,’ Barton explains. ‘What was in his heart, ultimately, was the one thing that she knew was real, so that act of saving her was real, and that’s all she needed.’
With Wallace on track for prime minister and no more spies on her tail, Helen remains a member of the Black Doves – setting the stage for season 2.
Keira Knightley & Andrew Buchan in Black Doves. (Ludovic Robert/Netflix)
What Will Happen In Black Doves Season 2?
According to Netflix, Black Doves season 2 will return us to Helen’s life – and she is still spilling government secrets to the Black Doves (via her husband, who’s firmly on track for PM). But with Reed ensnared in a ruthless plot that threatens to undermine her power in the secret organisation, Helen is toeing a more treacherous line than ever.
Sam meanwhile has been reduced from high-end hits to a career as a low-rate London triggerman. As Reed is evermore undermined, Helen and Sam must bind together to uncover answers about the Black Doves, taking them right into the heart of danger.
(© Ludovic Robert/Netflix)
Having been so close to abandoning the secret group in season 1, series creator Barton quite liked the idea of Helen ‘getting pulled deeper into the world of spies’ – especially with Wallace approaching 10 Downing Street. ‘[That] increases the pressure and the danger on her as a spy,’ the writer says.
And will Black Doves season 2 be set at Christmastime? There’s no indication just yet, though executive producers Jane Featherstone and Chris Fry tease that ‘Keira Knightley, Ben Whishaw and Sarah Lancashire have packed away the Christmas jumpers’ ahead of a ‘bigger, bolder and just as delightfully unpredictable’ second season.
‘I started writing the scripts for this show over last year’s Christmas holidays, fueled by turkey sandwiches and discarded bottles of cream liquor,’ Barton told Netflix in 2024. But with filming now underway in London as of November 2025, we think Black Doves could well be set in winter once again.
Image courtesy of Netflix
Who Will Star?
Keira Knightley, Ben Whishaw and Sarah Lancashire will all return to their leading roles as Helen, Sam and Reed in Black Doves season 2. They will be joined by Andrew Buchan as Helen’s politician husband Wallace, along with Agnes O’Casey as his assistant Dani and Molly Chesworth as the family nanny Marie. And in the shadows, Kathryn Hunter will return as Sam’s occasional handler Lenny Lines, along with Ella Lily Hyland and Gabrielle Creevy as fellow assassins Williams and Eleanor.
But there are also some fresh faces on the scene, including One Day star Ambika Mod as Laila, an anarchic Black Doves agent sent to help Helen on a mission. As we delve deeper into the group, we will also meet Mr Conteh (Babou Ceesay), an executive with suspicious motivations. And emerging from a different secret organisation is Patrick (Sam Riley), who comes to the fore to offer Sam a lifeline.
Also joining the cast for season 2 are Neve Campbell, Sylvia Hoeks, Goran Kostic and Samuel Barnett, though we don’t know the roles they will play in the plot just yet.
L-R: Gabrielle Creevy, Katherine Hunter & Ella Lily Hyland in Black Doves © Netflix
The full cast we know so far is as follows:
- Keira Knightley as Helen Webb
- Ben Whishaw as Sam
- Sarah Lancashire as Reed
- Andrew Buchan as Wallace Webb
- Kathryn Hunter as Lenny Lines
- Ambika Mod as Laila
- Babou Ceesay as Mr. Conteh
- Ella Lily Hyland as Williams
- Gabrielle Creevy as Eleanor
- Sam Riley as Patrick
- Agnes O’Casey as Dani
- Molly Chesworth as Marie
- Neve Campbell as Cecile Mason
- Sylvia Hoeks as Katia Chernov
- Goran Kostic as Alexi Chernov
- Samuel Barnett as Jerry
‘I couldn’t be more excited to delve back into the world of our murderous little spy family,’ says Black Doves creator Barton. ‘To have so many of our amazing cast returning and also being able to add some of my absolute favourite actors into the mix is such a great joy. Downing Street will never be the same again…’
Release Date
No official news just yet on when Black Doves season 2 will land on Netflix, but with filming now underway in London, we know it won’t be in time for Christmas 2025. Our money is on a festive 2026 debut.
All six episodes of Black Doves are available to stream exclusively on Netflix.
