BBC reportedly producing shadowy Killing Eve prequel

Honey has been described as a "cold war thriller," but sources say it actually follows Killing Eve MI6 boss Carolyn Martens.

By Emma Keates | April 2, 2025 | 1:55pm

Photo: Anika Molnar/BBCA

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BBC reportedly producing shadowy Killing Eve prequel

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Amazon still hasn’t seen a single new show from Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s recently-renewed and still very expensive first look deal, but the BBC may be getting a whole new title out of her original creation. In a slightly bizarre update, Deadline reports that the BBC’s new Cold War spy drama, Honey, is actually a Killing Eve prequel, despite the fact that the connection between the two shows has not been explicitly advertised. (The BBC did not immediately respond to The A.V. Club‘s request for comment on this story.)

Announced last week, the channel describes Honey as a “flirty,” darkly comic thriller, set in ’80s East Berlin. “Marta, 24, is a deep cover agent for MI6. Surrounded by enemies and constantly under threat of her cover being blown, she tries her hardest to avoid detection by Friedrich Bauman, the new Head of Counter Espionage for the Stasi,” the official logline reads. “Finding herself caught between Friedrich and the reckless, arrogant (and incredibly attractive…) CIA operative Aaron Neeland, she is blind-sided by desire in this Cold War menage-a-trois. The risk of being garrotted or incarcerated is nothing compared to the horrifying ordeal of falling in love.”

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Now, the trade is reporting that “Marta” is none other than a young version of the inimitable Carolyn Martens (Fiona Shaw), head of MI6’s Russia desk in Killing Eve. There are some connections between the two shows. Other than the distinctly Eve-esque tone of the logline, Honey also shares a producer, Sid Gentle Films, with the 2018 Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer-led series. BAFTA-nominated Honey writer Emma Moran (Extraordinary) did not work on the previous title, but “has a Waller-Bridge-esque dramedy flair to her writing,” per the outlet. While it’s unclear if Honey is the direct result, Deadline also reported that Sid Gentle Films was in the early stages of developing a Carolyn-focused Killing Eve prequel back in 2022.

Why all the secrecy around what should be a pretty exciting announcement? Honestly, it may take a Carolyn-caliber intelligence agent to figure that one out.