What To Expect From New Cold War Killing Eve Prequel Honey
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The series will star House of Guinness's Ann Skelly as Carolyn Martens, who was played by Fiona Shaw in the original series
When Killing Eve was released on 8 April 2018, it captivated the nation. The black comedy spy thriller tells the story of bored MI5 officer Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh) and her dangerous, mutual obsession with stylish and ruthless female assassin Villanelle (Jodie Comer). Based on Luke Jennings’s novel Codename Villanelle, the will-they-won’t-they game of cat-and-mouse was adapted for screen by Fleabag’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge, with subsequent series penned by Emerald Fennell (Wuthering Heights and Saltburn), Suzanne Heathcote and Laura Neal.
With its twists, turns and sapphic undertones, it was the television show on everyone’s ‘must-watch’ list, and was showered with extensive awards and nominations from the BAFTAs, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes and more. And now, four years on from its controversial conclusion, it’s getting a Cold War prequel named Honey. Here’s everything we know about the new series.
Ann Skelly as Carolyn Martens and Jannis Niewöhner as Friedrich Baumann in Honey. © BBC/Sid Gentle Films
What Is Honey About?
In the original Killing Eve series Fiona Shaw (who most recently starred as Mrs Jennings in the 2026 adaptation of Sense & Sensibility and is best known as Mrs Dursley in the Harry Potter films) portrayed Carolyn Martens – the eccentric and ruthless head of MI6’s Russia department who sets Eve on the trail of Villanelle. This new prequel will delve deeper into Martens’ backstory, following her in her formative years as she works as a deep cover agent for MI6, under the psuedonym of Martha (pronounced Marta).
Set in 1982 in East Berlin, the 24-year-old Carolyn has been set to work by the ‘press attaché; (a common Cold War euphemism for ‘handler’) Graham Anderson (Rory Kinnear). Owing to his long friendship with Martha’s late father, a fellow MI6 officer, Graham endorses Martha’s assignment reluctantly, wanting her to realise her potential while keeping a close eye on her.
Nate Mann as Kurt Fischer in Honey. © BBC/Sid Gentle Films
Surrounded by enemies and constantly under threat of her cover being blown, she tries her hardest to avoid detection by Friedrich, the new Stasi Head of Counter-espionage against British Targets in Berlin. Finding herself caught between his tragicomic character and the reckless, arrogant, casually misogynistic (and irresistibly attractive) CIA operative Aaron Neeland (posing as Kurt Fischer), she is blind-sided by desire in this Cold War ménage à trois. As the synopsis reads: ‘The risk of being garrotted or incarcerated is nothing compared to the horrifying ordeal of falling in love. Allowing yourself to be vulnerable and bearing your heart and soul? She’d rather have her fingernails pulled out.’
Brought to the small screen by the BBC and Killing Eve producers Sid Gentle, this new prequel has been penned by showrunner Emma Moran (of Disney sitcom Extraordinary). She told The Times that she was excited by the prospect of writing ‘a classic love triangle in a very dangerous, brutal place. And it’s living history, so there’s a responsibility that comes with that.’
As for how much overlap there will be with its predecessor, she said: ‘Killing Eve is a really nice part of the show. Not in your face, but always in the background; the same universe, but very different worlds. I like to describe them as sisters, but not twins.’
The Trailer
Watch the trailer for Honey below.
Who Will Star?
In the prequel Fiona Shaw’s character of Carolyn will be portrayed by Ann Skelly (House of Guinness). Last year, Shaw told Radio Times that she was ‘quite excited to see who’s going to play me 30 years younger! They told me about it, but you know, that’s the awful thing, isn’t it? Decades later, you’re somebody else. I don’t know who that is.’
Starring alongside Skelly in the six-part series are Nate Mann (Masters of the Air) as Kurt Fischer, Jannis Niewöhner (Munich: The Edge of War) as Friedrich Baumann, and Rory Kinnear (The Diplomat) as Graham Anderson.
Release Date
The thriller will arrive on BBC iPlayer and BBC One on Saturday 14 November.
All four series of Killing Eve are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
