‘Black Doves’ season two review: ludicrously enjoyable spy thriller continues

Black Doves was a surprise hit – with critics and audiences – when it dropped on Netflix in December 2024. Created by Joe Barton (Giri/Haji, The Lazarus Project), it was a bingeable treat with high stakes, nimble plotting and some brutal action. But what made it properly compelling was the pairing of Keira Knightley and Ben Whishaw as Helen and Sam; she’s a spy for the black-ops organisation known as the Black Doves, and he’s a friend/mentor/hitman-for-hire. Helen also happened to be embedded in the upper echelons of British politics, having gone deep undercover and starting a family with politician Wallace Webb (Andrew Buchan), who ended the first season on the cusp of becoming the British Prime Minister. READ MORE: The best TV shows of 2026… so far! After a two-year gap, you’ll find yourself looking for a dossier to help you recap the scandals of the first season that put him into Number 10. But that’s one of the only downsides to a second outing that clearly understands what made the first tick, and delivers more of the same with gusto. This new batch of six hour-long episodes is sharp, pacy and features even more explosive action than the first. What makes it such an easy-to-de...