A new "darkly funny" thriller series with a perfect Rotten Tomatoes score just landed on Netflix – and a second season is already on the way

Ben Whishaw as Sam and Keira Knightley as Helen in Netflix's Black Doves
(Image credit: Netflix)

Keira Knightley and Ben Whishaw's new spy thriller series Black Doves has just landed on Netflix – and it's proving to be a festive, fun treat.

Both critics and subscribers seem to be loving the show already, judging by its perfect 100% Rotten Tomatoes score and the praise it's getting on social media.

Also starring True Detective: Night Country's Finn Bennett, Fool Me Once's Adeel Akhtar, and Happy Valley's Sarah Lancashire, the six-parter released in entirety on December 5 and follows undercover agent Helen (Knightley), who's posing as a politician's wife while feeding government secrets to the group she works for. Later, she teams up with her bestie Sam (Whishaw), who just so happens to be an assassin, to exact revenge on those who killed her boyfriend.

"Black Doves is a little bit Slow Horses, a little bit John Wick, a little bit Killing Eve... But still it's own VERY entertaining beast," gushed one viewer on Twitter. "Keira Knightley and Ben Whishaw have incredible BFF chemistry, would happily watch multiple seasons of them together.

"Am I already on ep 4 of Black Doves? Yes I am, thank-you very much. #glued," wrote another.

"Black Doves: stumbles a bit at the end but the vast majority of this is a fun, poppy 90's spy thriller in the Shane Black framework. Knightley tapping into her movie star charisma and ably paired with Whishaw doing his best John Wick, their chemistry keeping it all together," tweeted a third.

Black Doves is streaming now. Those who've enjoyed season 1 need not worry about its future, either, as a second chapter was greenlit way back in August. Looks like it'll avoid Netflix's all too frequent one-and-done fate...

For more, check out our picks of the best shows on Netflix for some further viewing inspiration, or have a look at our guide to the most exciting new TV shows heading our way.

Amy West

I am an Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, covering all things TV and film across our Total Film and SFX sections. Elsewhere, my words have been published by the likes of Digital Spy, SciFiNow, PinkNews, FANDOM, Radio Times, and Total Film magazine.