Black Doves season 2 release date speculation, plot theories and news

Netflix also recently shared a teaser (scroll down to watch) for the hotly-anticipated second season, featuring Keira Knightley making a toast as she raises a glass with her co-star Ben Whishaw.

"Here's to Black Doves season 1," she says, to which he responds: “Don't forget season 2, darling."

The series follows the story of Knightley's Helen Webb, an undercover agent for a shady organisation known as the Black Doves, who has found her way into the heart of a senior British politician (who could very well end up as the next prime minister).

Whishaw co-stars as her assassin mentor-turned-friend Sam, who helps her get to the bottom of a dangerous conspiracy – but lands himself in even deeper trouble in the process.

Creator Joe Barton previously opened up about the “pressure” of working on two seasons before the first had even been released.

"It's a different kind of pressure now," he told Deadline. "When you do a show, you are always wanting it to do well to get a second season.

Wondering when the next instalment could land? Read on for everything we know so far about season 2. Though be warned, there are major spoilers on this page for season 1!

Black Doves season 2 release date speculation

There's no confirmed release date for Black Doves season 2, but we're estimating that the show could return within 18 months – which would mean a predicted release date in summer/autumn 2026.

That's based on the production cycle of the first season, which was announced in April 2023, began filming that October, and was dropped onto our Netflix accounts a little over a year later.

Thanks to the show's early season 2 renewal, creator Joe Barton and his team may well have had a chance to get a head start on planning the next batch of episodes, which could help to slightly shorten the wait time for viewers.

In August 2024, Netflix announced via X (formerly Twitter) that it had renewed Black Doves for a second season in advance of the show's debut, which was a reassuring vote of confidence for fans of Barton's work.

Barton recently told Radio Times magazine that the season 2 renewal came as a huge surprise.

“It’s never happened before. Most things I work on get cancelled almost instantly," he said.

He continued: “So, I was all prepared to have a really nervous Christmas this year. I was on holiday, and in an Italian supermarket, when I got a call from the producers saying, ‘Come home, you need to start writing, we’re doing more.’ ”

Black Doves season 2 cast: Who could return?

We expect the trio of high-profile leads to reprise their roles in Black Doves season 2 – those are Keira Knightley as Helen, Ben Whishaw as Sam and Sarah Lancashire as Reed.

There were plenty of familiar faces in the supporting cast too, with Omari Douglas, Andrew Buchan, Ella Lily Hyland and Gabrielle Creevy among the players that seem likely to continue with the series.

Alas, it appears that comedy legend Tracey Ullman's appearance was a one-and-done after the shocking events of the season 1 finale, while Andrew Koji may also have filmed his last scenes as Jason – barring any additional flashbacks.

Here's a refresher on the Black Doves season 1 cast:

• Keira Knightley as Helen
• Sarah Lancashire as Reed
• Ben Whishaw as Sam
• Andrew Koji as Jason
• Andrew Buchan as Wallace
• Omari Douglas as Michael
• Kathryn Hunter as Lenny
• Ella Lily Hyland as Williams
• Gabrielle Creevy as Eleanor
• Sam Troughton as Stephen Yarrick
• Adam Silver as Arnie
• Ken Nwosu as Bill
• Paapa Essiedu as Elmore Fitch
• Adeel Akhtar as Prime Minister Eaves
• Tracey Ullman as Alex
• Finn Bennett as Cole Atwood
• Luther Ford as Hector Newman
• Isabella Wei as Kai-Ming

Black Doves season 2 plot theories

As well as wrapping up a number of mysteries, the Black Doves season 1 ending also hinted at things to come, with two big status quo changes seemingly on the horizon.

The first is that Helen's husband, politician Wallace Webb, seems poised to be a frontrunner to become the next prime minister of the United Kingdom as Adeel Akhtar's PM Eaves is set to step down for his role in a cover-up.

That would place Helen in a very powerful – yet precarious – position, opening the door to even more confidential information than she was already receiving, but also placing more eyes on her from security chiefs.

Meanwhile, Sam is also making some big moves, having agreed to take up a role as an enforcer for the Newman crime family, working directly for Hector (whose father and brothers he assassinated years earlier).

The job offer came somewhat under duress, with Hector essentially giving Sam the offer of accepting the gig or leaving London for good, with the latter option being undesirable so long as a life with Michael remains on the table.

Can he keep both sides of his life from merging catastrophically, as was the case years earlier? That's one of the many questions we expect to be answered in Black Doves season 2.

Is there a Black Doves season 2 trailer?

Alas, there's no full-length trailer for Black Doves season 2 just yet – but we'll update this page when we have one.

However, we do have a short teaser. Watch below:

Black Doves is available to stream on Netflix.

Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.