Black Doves ending spoilers follow.
Black Doves may have only just released on Netflix (December 5), but we already know that the Christmassy spy show will be back for a second season.
The renewal news came back in August at the Edinburgh TV Festival, and it was also confirmed on the streaming platform's official social media account.
But what will happen in Black Doves season two, how long do we have to wait for new episodes and who from the show's epic cast will be back? Here's everything you need to know – and another gentle warning, that Black Doves spoilers follow.
What is the likely release date for Black Doves season 2?
A good question – but not one we have the answer to at the moment. But according to Netflix, work has already begun on Black Doves season two.
The first batch of episodes was set in London at Christmas time, and this had a surprising influence on the plot, visuals and – let's not overlook – the soundtrack. Whether this theme will carry through into a second instalment, marking a future festive December release, remains to be seen.
What to Read Next
It sounds like Black Doves had a rare two-season order from the get-go (according to Deadline) – something which put a bit of extra pressure on show boss Joe Barton.
"It's a different kind of pressure now," he told the publication. "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."
What will happen in Black Doves season 2?
By the end of Black Doves' finale episode, we know who killed Helen's lover Jason – and also his true identity as an MI5 Agent, who was genuinely in love with Helen.
In a tense showdown at gun point with Alex, the head of crime family the Clarks, it comes to light that it was her son Trent – who was also responsibly for the accidental death of Ambassador Chen, nearly causing an international incident – that had pulled the trigger.
A furiously vengeful Helen seemed conflicted about whether to follow through on her intentions of exacting revenge by death, considering his age and also the possible implications for her own family's safety. (It's made fairly clear that the Clarks are not an organisation you want to be on the wrong side of.)
Related: Sarah Lancashire's Black Doves character is different to anything she's done before
But with Helen's gun aimed at Trent's head, it was actually Sam that did the deed. He did so out of love for his best friend Helen, but it would come at a huge personal cost. The "trigger man" had previously decided to leave his hitman days behind him, wanting to reconcile and settle down with the love of his life Michael – only now, he's a wanted man.
It was also a full circle moment for Sam and Helen's friendship; let's not forget that earlier in the season we'd learned that Helen had tried to walk away from the Black Doves organisation before the arrival of her first child, before receiving an SOS call from Sam who had been compromised.
Helen arrived on the scene to save Sam's life, shooting his attacker dead. Helen then made a deal with her boss Reed; she would stay at the organisation, if it meant protection for Sam's love Michael and a full-scale professional clean up of Sam's gun fight.
So not only did Sam kill Trent to save Helen's conscience, but he also acted in the way he knew his friend would have for him.
Who will be in the Black Doves season 2 cast?
If there's one thing to take away from this show above everything else, it's that we're now deeply invested in the characters and their relationships – so we'd hope to see them all back for the return of Black Doves.
By the end, Helen and her husband Wallace are still together. Despite having had an affair with Jason, falling in love with him and planning to escape, Helen seems to have come around to realising that there's a comfort in her marriage that's worth staying for.
Heartbreakingly, the same cannot be said for Sam and Michael – whose plans of getting back together were torn apart by the deadly events of the finale. Sam is now presumably on the run, and London is a dangerous place for him to be. We'd still hold out hope that fate might allow for their happy ending at some point in the future though... And with Sam's newfound alliance with Hector, perhaps they'll be able to take the Clarks down.
And then of course there's assassin tag-team Williams and Eleanor (with her flame thrower), who definitely seem to be a bit more than friends if you ask us.
With all of this in mind, we'd expect a lot of the main cast to be back for a second season:
- Keira Knightley as Helen
- Ben Whishaw as Sam
- Sarah Lancashire as Reed
- Andrew Buchan as Wallace
- Omari Douglas as Michael
- Ella Lily Hyland as Williams
- Gabrielle Creevy as Eleanor
- Isabella Wei as Kai-Ming
- Kathryn Hunter as Lenny
Joe Barton has already spoken about the possibility of some of these characters being seen again in season two (via Netflix's Tudum).
Talking about Williams, Eleanor and Kai-Ming – who ended up spending Christmas together – he said that "you could definitely see them forming a little group..."
"Kai-Ming would have to stop being a heroin addict party girl, probably," he added. "Maybe they could start their own little assassin agency working out of their canal boat. I'd like to see that."
And as for Lenny, who survived a stand-off with Sam after he refused to kill Hector one too many times, Barton revealed that it was originally intended for Lenny to die.
"But we just love Kathryn Hunter so much that we were like, 'We can't. We've got to keep her around," he said. "[There’s] going to be a second [season].'"
More generally, Barton revealed that he likes the idea of seeing Helen deeper entrenched in the world of spies, with the "danger" of her position becoming greater as Wallace's political career grows.
He also mentioned "seeing Sam back in London", as well as the prospect of throwing lots of the same characters "up against one another again, and maybe make things more dangerous and challenging for them."
We can't wait.
Black Doves is available on Netflix, and a season 2 is on the way.
TV Editor, Digital Spy Laura has been watching television for over 30 years and professionally writing about entertainment for almost 10 of those. Previously at LOOK and now heading up the TV desk at the UK's biggest TV and movies site Digital Spy, Laura has helped steer conversations around some of the most popular shows on the box. Laura has appeared on Channel 5 News and radio to talk viewing habits and TV recommendations. As well as putting her nerd-level Buffy knowledge to good use during an IRL meet with Sarah Michelle Gellar, Laura also once had afternoon tea with One Direction, has sat around the fire pit of the Love Island villa, spoken to Sir David Attenborough about the world's oceans and even interviewed Rylan from inside the Big Brother house (housemate status, forever pending).
