Thrillers don’t tend to be high up on my TV watchlist, especially ones that veer into the world of fear and horror. I don’t enjoy feeling scared or having adrenaline pumping through my veins, so I usually stick to a good old drama or romcom. This isn’t to say that I’m not open to the occasional cortisol spike, and with Black Doves being described as sexy spy thriller with a tale of love and betrayal woven throughout, my curiosity was certainly piqued. And it did not disappoint. If anything, it’s quickly become one of my favourite TV shows of 2024.

Black Doves follows Helen Webb (Keira Knightley), a quick-witted and dedicated wife and mother. Oh, and a professional spy. For the last decade, she’s been passing on her politician husband’s secrets to the secret organisation she works for, the Black Doves. But when her secret lover, Jason, is assassinated, her boss, the cool and shadowy Reed (Sarah Lancashire), calls in Helen’s old friend to keep her safe.

Sam Young (Ben Whishaw) is a suave, champagne-drinking assassin. But having been out of the game since a failed job, he’s come home to a London that’s moved on without him. As his past threatens to catch up with him, Sam’s task is to protect Helen as she tries to find out who killed Jason and why. And Helen is out for revenge. Together, they set off on a mission that will lead them to uncover a dark and interconnected conspiracy. One that links the murky underworld of London to a looming geopolitical crisis – and leads them to question the moral choices they’ve made and will make again in the future.

This is a series that gets straight into the action. While some shows can have a relatively slow preamble to the story, Black Doves gets stuck in from the very first scene and doesn’t let up until the last episode. Not only is it a story of conspiracies, secrets, and betrayal, but there’s also a really beautiful friendship at its heart.

The relationship between Helen and Sam is complicated, especially in their deceitful worlds, but these are two people who, against all odds, always have each other’s backs. Even though he’s struggling with a disastrous end to his relationship with Michael (Omari Douglas) and a broken heart, Sam still returns to help Helen. And when Helen was heavily pregnant with twins and Sam needed her as backup in a pretty hairy situation, Helen was there in a flash, guns blazing.

Setting a thriller within the context of the Christmas period could have pushed Black Doves into a slightly gimmicky environment, but the show never feels cringe or contrived. The darkness, grit and violence of the story are balanced out by the bright and colourful decorations, festive tunes and even a Christmas dinner. It feels slightly unnerving and eerie to hear a Christmas classic accompany a bloody and intense gunfight, but that eeriness is what keeps the viewer well and truly hooked.

Black Doves also feels like a love letter of sorts to London, too. Albeit, with a lot of murder. I often found myself looking at a particular scene and thinking, I was there last week or I’ve walked across that street, which isn’t all that common for such a huge TV show. It’s very cinematic but also feels very familiar and like home.

A thriller that I’m still thinking about a week later, Black Doves is a sexy, action-packed and emotional thriller that I inhaled in one evening. It’s been a long time since I watched an entire series in one session, but I just couldn’t turn the TV off. I had to know what happened next. And the fact that a second season has already been confirmed, I’m already excited to see what the Black Doves get up to next.

Images: Netflix