Neve Campbell Joins Netflix’s Spy Thriller Black Doves As Season 2 Kicks Off Production
Scream icon Neve Campbell joins Keira Knightley in Netflix’s Black Doves as season 2 kicks off production with a fresh slate of co-stars.
Black Doves is back on the board. Netflix says season 2 is officially in production, and the cast list is stacked with familiar faces plus a few very cool additions. If you liked the first batch of episodes, it sounds like the new season leans even harder into the mess our spies got themselves into last time.
Who is back
Keira Knightley, Ben Whishaw, and Sarah Lancashire are all returning. They are joined again by Andrew Buchan, Kathryn Hunter, Ella Lily Hyland, Gabrielle Creevy, Agnes O'Casey, and Molly Chesworth.
New faces (and where you know them from)
- Ambika Mod (One Day) as Laila, a sharp, chaos-friendly Black Doves operative sent to help Helen.
- Babou Ceesay (Alien: Earth) as Mr Conteh, a Black Doves higher-up whose motives are, let’s say, not squeaky clean.
- Sam Riley (Firebrand) as Patrick, an envoy from a shadowy outfit who throws Sam a lifeline. Yes, the actor is Sam and he is helping the character Sam (Ben Whishaw). Try to keep your Sams straight.
- Neve Campbell (Scream) as Cecile Mason. That is some A+ thriller casting right there.
What the new season is about
Netflix’s setup for season 2: Helen is still funneling her country’s secrets to the covert group she serves, the Black Doves. The timing could not be worse, because her husband Wallace (Andrew Buchan) is gearing up to become Prime Minister. Meanwhile, Helen’s ice-cold handler Mrs Reed (Sarah Lancashire) gets pulled into a scheme meant to knock her off her perch inside the Doves. Helen reconnects with her best friend Sam (Ben Whishaw), once an elite triggerman now killing time with cheap jobs and cheaper drinks in Soho. Their search drags them back through old alliances and grudges, forcing them to weaponize loyalties, question every bit of trust, and risk everything to protect the people they actually care about. The show promises the same sharp bite as season 1, with choices and sacrifices that lead straight to the core of the Black Doves operation.
A couple things to flag
The personal stakes are spicier now that Helen’s home life is headed to 10 Downing Street. Also, worth noting again: Sam Riley plays Patrick, who steps in to help Ben Whishaw’s Sam. Not confusing at all.
Quick look back at season 1
Our Alex Maidy dug the first season, giving it a 7/10. He praised how the show focused on Helen and Sam as damaged, ride-or-die friends instead of forcing a romance, and he liked that Knightley and Whishaw got to kick heads and still feel human. He also called it a brisk six-episode binge with enough humor, action, and intensity to carry a long weekend.