Have yourself a merry little first look at Keira Knightley's spy thriller Black Doves
Black Doves premieres on Netflix on December 5
Photo by: Netflix/Ludovic Robert
The iconic image of Keira Knightley at Christmastime in London is her standing in the doorway, looking on silently as Andrew Lincoln reveals “To me, you are perfect.” But Netflix’s Black Doves, premiering on December 5, is going to give us a new Keira Knightley Christmas, and this time she’s got a little more agency. An entire espionage agency, in fact!
Described as a “sharp, action-filled, and heartfelt story of friendship and sacrifice,” the new series “follows Helen Webb (Keira Knightley), a quick-witted, down-to-earth, dedicated wife and mother—and professional spy,” according to a synopsis from Netflix. “For 10 years, she’s been passing on her politician husband’s secrets to the shadowy organization she works for: the Black Doves. When her secret lover Jason (Andrew Koji) is assassinated, her spymaster, the enigmatic Reed (Sarah Lancashire), calls in Helen’s old friend Sam (Ben Whishaw) to keep her safe. Together, Helen and Sam set off on a mission to investigate who killed Jason and why, leading them to uncover a vast, interconnected conspiracy linking the murky London underworld to a looming geopolitical crisis.”
Helen is “a bit of a loose cannon,” as Lancashire describes her, while Sam is a “suave, Champagne-drinking assassin” who failed a previous mission “with disastrous consequences,” according to Netflix’s Tudum. Knightley has embraced her turn as an action star, sharing at a Netflix UK event, “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.”
