Sadie Bell
Netflix celebrated the 2024 holiday season by releasing a show that deserves a modern version of the "Is Die Hard a Christmas movie?" debate. Starring Keira Knightley and Ben Whishaw, Black Doves is an excellent spy thriller set in London during Christmastime. The aforementioned Queen of Period Pieces plays a "Black Dove," an undercover agent whose shadowy organization sells government secrets to the highest bidder.
The must-watch series garnered widespread acclaim from viewers and critics, including a Golden Globe nomination for Knightley. Luckily for viewers who binged the six-episode season, Netflix has already revealed its fate. Read on for everything we know about Black Doves season 2 so far.
Sam (Ben Whishaw) and Helen (Keira Knightley) amid their investigation in Black Doves.
Has 'Black Doves' been renewed for season 2?
Netflix has confirmed that Black Doves season 2 is on the way. During the Edinburgh TV Festival in August 2024, the streaming giant announced that the espionage thriller would return, over three months before the show's debut.
When will 'Black Doves' season 2 come out?
According to a casting announcement in November 2025 (more on that below!), Black Doves began production in the fall of 2025. The show should have a low-lift production, but it's unclear whether season 2 will also be set at Christmas—inevitably setting up for a fall 2026 release—or outside of it, and therefore, could be due out by summer 2026. For what it's worth, filming in London in the fall would mean that the city is adorned in its classic holiday lights!
Shortly after the season 1 debut, series creator Joe Barton spoke about his vision to set the show at Christmas, but being unsure if that made sense due to the release schedule. "If it was down to me, I’d probably set everything at Christmas. I just like writing about it," Barton told The Hollywood Reporter. "But no, I think mostly because of schedules and release, to have something ready for next Christmas would be impossible. And 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."
Either way, we'll take episodes sooner than later or another holiday appointment viewing!
Helen (Knightley) dancing with her husband (Andrew Buchan) who doesn't know her true identity.
Who in the cast will return for 'Black Doves' season 2?
Most of Black Doves's main roster makes it out of season 1 alive, so the show's cast will return to reprise their roles. This includes Keira Knightley (Helen Webb), Ben Whishaw (Sam Young), Sarah Lancashire (Reed), Andrew Buchan (Wallace Webb), Kathryn Hunter (Lenny Lines), Ella Lily Hyland (Williams), Gabrielle Creevy (Eleanor), Agnes O’Casey (Dani), and Molly Chesworth (Marie).
Sam (Whishaw) and Helen (Knightley) are expected to continue their espionage missions in season 2.
Are there any new cast members in 'Black Doves' season 2?
Yes! A handful of exciting names will join Knightley for her next dangerous mission. In November, Variety reported that scream queen Neve Campbell, One Day breakout Ambika Mod, Babou Ceesay (Alien: Earth, Wolfe), and Sam Riley (Maleficent, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies) all join the series in major roles. According to the outlet, Mod joins as Laila, "an acerbic and anarchic Black Doves agent who is sent to help Knightley’s agent Helen on a mission;" Ceesay's character is "Mr. Conteh, a Black Doves executive with suspicious motivations;" and Riley portrays "Patrick, an emissary from a mysterious organisation, who offers Whishaw’s Sam a lifeline." Campbell, meanwhile, will play a woman named Cecile Mason, though her character details haven't been revealed.
A few other names are joining the ensemble in largely undisclosed roles, including Sylvia Hoeks as Katia Chernov, Goran Kostic as Alexi Chernov, and Samuel Barnett as Jerry. We'll have to wait to see if they're Helen's adversaries or allies!
What will 'Black Doves' season 2 be about?
By the end of Black Doves season 1, Helen's season-long quest to avenge her lover Jason's (Andrew Koji) murder comes to an end with her and Sam wiping out the Clark crime family. Sam is the one to pull the trigger, to save Helen from the emotional burden of killing Trent Clark (Angus Cooper). With his selfless act towards Helen, Sam sacrifices his chance to leave life as an assassin behind and live with Michael. Instead, the show teases that Sam forms an alliance with Hector to stay in London.
Meanwhile, after learning that Jason was really an MI5 agent who'd been investigating her, Helen makes big decisions regarding her future. Rather than leaving London, she reconciles with Reed and Wallace, who are on track to become the prime minister.
Speaking to Tudum, creator Joe Barton confirmed that season 2 will follow Helen as Wallace's career success "increases the pressure and the danger on her as a spy."
He added, "Just seeing the tension of that, seeing Sam back in London…I would like to see more Eleanor and Williams, Kai-Ming, all those people. I’d like to start to throw them up against one another again, and maybe make things more dangerous and challenging for them."
Season 2 may delve deeper into Helen, a.k.a. Daisy's, (Knightley) backstory.
He also told Variety that he's looking forward to showing more of Helen and Sam's backstories, including Helen, or Daisy's, childhood.
"We’re still early in the process...We filmed some flashbacks, which didn’t make the final cut, of young Helen and her stepdad and her sister Bonnie," he revealed. "I think that would be really interesting to find out more about. With the second series, I think it’s quite interesting to discover more about the characters, and Sarah’s character. We know quite a lot about Sam, but there’s always more. And just the opportunity to open the scope up a little bit, but that’s all kind of TBC at the moment."
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Barton also revealed that he hopes to give Helen and Sam a "proper on-screen antagonist, a proper villain" to deal with in the second season. However, Barton was tight-lipped about who he wants for the role.
"It’s too early to say because I don’t even know exactly the age or even gender of the villain," he said. "We’re still playing around with it. What’s been amazing about series 1 is getting all these incredible actors together. So we do feel quite excited about who we can add to the group. Some names have been flying around. I’ve got one idea, but we’ll see."
