The problem: You watched all six episodes of Netflix's spy thriller Black Doves, and now you're at a complete loss as to what to do with yourself. Choices include: a) waiting around for someone to recruit you as a spy, b) harassing all your friends and family members about why they haven't stopped everything to watch this show, and c) figuring out as much as you can about Black Doves season 2, because it cannot come fast enough.
Can't help you with A, and fully support you in B, but let's get into option C.
Is Black Doves season 2 happening?
Yes! In fact, Netflix was so confident in the show's success that they announced the second season before the first season had even premiered.
Black Doves creator Joe Barton previously told Radio Times that having a show immediately renewed has “never happened” to him before, joking, “Most things I work on get canceled almost instantly. So, I was all prepared to have a really nervous Christmas this year.”
He also told Deadline that coming back for season two is “a different kind of pressure,” especially since it's already been giving a green light. As he put it, “When you do a show you are always wanting it to do well to get a second season but now they’ve already let us come back the pressure is about hoping it does well to reward that faith.”
When will Black Doves season 2 drop?
Filming on season one began in October 2023, and the series hit Netflix just over a year later. So...seeing as Netflix just confirmed that production has begun in London, we probably can't expect to see Black Doves season 2 premiere until late 2026.
For the record: Barton previously told Variety that Black Doves might not be set at Christmas if it doesn't drop in December, explaining, “It’s all about when it would be released. It doesn’t need to be constrained by the Christmas holiday. So it might be that there’s a different [holiday]—Easter maybe?”
Who is in the cast?
Happily, none of the main players died during the first season, so you can expect the core cast to return. That includes:
- Keira Knightley / Helen
- Ben Whishaw / Sam
- Sarah Lancashire / Reed
- Andrew Buchan / Wallace
- Ella Lily Hyland / Williams
- Gabrielle Creevy / Eleanor
- Kathryn Hunter / Lenny
- Agnes O’Casey / Dani
- Molly Chesworth / Marie
And according to Tudum, new additions to the season 2 cast include the following actors:
- Ambika Mod
- Babou Ceesay
- Sam Riley
- Neve Campbell
- Sylvia Hoeks
- Goran Kostic
- Samuel Barnett
What will Black Doves season 2 be about?
We'll Find Out More About Helen's Backstory
Barton previously told Variety, “We filmed some flashbacks, which didn’t make the final cut, of young Helen and her stepdad and her sister Bonnie. I think that would be really interesting to find out more about. With the second series, I think it’s quite interesting to discover more about the characters, and Sarah’s character. We know quite a lot about Sam, but there’s always more. And just the opportunity to open the scope up a little bit, but that’s all kind of TBC at the moment.”
Micheal and Sam Are Over
“Michael isn’t even an option, so it’s kind of over," Barton previously explained to Tudum. "Sam knows when he goes back to Michael’s flat that it’s impossible [to be with Michael], but he can’t say it, so they have a little dance.”
We Haven't Seen the Last of Eleanor, Williams, and Kai-Ming
“You could definitely see them forming a little group," Barton teased. "Kai-Ming would have to stop being a heroin addict party girl, probably. Maybe they could start their own little assassin agency working out of their canal boat. I’d like to see that.”
Things Are Going to Get More Dangerous for Helen
Barton said he wants to see Helen “getting pulled deeper into the world of spies having been so close to leaving.” Plus, Wallace potentially becoming Prime Minister “increases the pressure and the danger on her as a spy. Just seeing the tension of that, seeing Sam back in London... I would like to see more Eleanor and Williams, Kai-Ming, all those people. I’d like to start to throw them up against one another again, and maybe make things more dangerous and challenging for them.”
Let's also not forget that Helen and Wallace's nanny was revealed to be working for the Black Doves—so that'll presumably factor into season 2!
