5 TV Shows To Watch If You Like Black Doves – TVLine

The Netflix series “Black Doves” is a thrill for Keira Knightley fans, who got to see the British actor trade her corsets for guns in a thoroughly modern spy series. Knightley plays Helen, a spy working for a private intelligence company. As part of a deep cover operation, she’s married to the U.K.’s Secretary of State for Defence (Andrew Buchan) — but when her lover is murdered, things start to unravel. Thankfully, her best friend, retired assassin Sam (Ben Whishaw), comes to the rescue.

One of the best British spy shows on TV, Season 2 of “Black Doves” is out on Netflix now, and there’s a good chance that some of you will plow through those new episodes pretty quickly. In that case, you might need a new series to dig into. Luckily, we’ve compiled this handy list of five shows that you’re almost guaranteed to enjoy if “Black Doves” is your jam. 

Before creating “Black Doves,” Joe Barton wrote the BBC Two drama “Giri/Haji,” which takes a deep dive into the international criminal underworld. The series follows Kenzo Mori (Takehiro Hira), a Tokyo detective in London in search of his younger brother, who’s gotten himself involved with the Yakuza. If Kenzo doesn’t return his brother, a gang war is sure to commence. Meanwhile, Kenzo befriends a Scottish policewoman (Kelly Macdonald) and a half-Japanese sex worker (Will Sharpe), and he must also look after his wayward teenage daughter (Aoi Okuyama).

Though centered on crime and violence, “Giri/Haji” is a wonderfully sensitive, tender show with a refreshing streak of humor running through it. It’s even more gorgeous to look at than “Black Doves” and features spellbinding style choices, including animated sequences, episode recaps done in watercolor, aspect ratio-shifting flashbacks, and a black-and-white interpretive dance sequence. Though a bit of a slow burn, this is a show that rewards your patience and emotional investment, and it’s worth taking the time to settle into.

Netflix’s “The Night Agent,” which has dominated the Nielsen streaming charts, is a spy thriller that should appeal to anyone looking for a bit of easy fun. Like “Black Doves,” each season tells a high-stakes tale of espionage led by attractive people with great gun skills. Gabriel Basso plays Peter, an FBI agent who becomes involved with a government spy group known as the Night Agents. While working alongside tech entrepreneur Rose (Luciane Buchanan), Peter uncovers a conspiracy that may reach the highest echelons of the U.S. government.

The following seasons — “The Night Agent” will end with Season 4 — track Peter as he continues to work as a Night Agent, ferreting out corruption and conspiracies and putting himself in harm’s way at every turn. Basso is great as a likeable everyman, charming without putting on airs and always the believable action hero. Though not breaking any molds of the genre, the plots of “The Night Agent” are solid and satisfying, featuring a great supporting cast that includes Hong Chau, Brittany Snow, Robert Patrick, and Stephen Moyer.

John le Carré was one of the all-time greatest espionage writers, so it’s no surprise that a BBC adaptation of his work would be a major winner. In “The Night Manager,” Tom Hiddleston plays Jonathan Pine, a British Army veteran working at a swanky hotel in Switzerland. Angela Burr (Olivia Colman) of the International Enforcement Agency recruits Pine to take down slippery arms dealer Richard Onslow Roper (Hugh Laurie), who frequently stays at the hotel.

As in “Black Doves,” Pine is motivated by the loss of a former flame. Pine was in Egypt during the 2011 revolution, where he fell in love with Sophie (Aure Atika), the mistress of a powerful criminal. Roper’s criminal organization led to Sophie’s death, and now Pine is intent on destroying Roper to avenge his love.

“The Night Manager” is supremely stylish and has the air of sophistication that one expects from any le Carré adaptation. The psychological warfare between Pine and Roper is immensely compelling, and the cast, which also includes Elizabeth Debicki and Tom Hollander, are all operating at the top of their game.

The heart of “Black Doves” is the relationship between Keira Knightley and Ben Whishaw’s characters, and Whishaw gives a wonderful performance as a retired assassin torn between his violent occupation and the promise of domestic bliss. In the BBC Two drama “London Spy,” Whishaw is once again caught up in a tale of love and spycraft — but this time, he’s the outside man.

Whishaw plays Danny, a listless warehouse worker living in London who, after a night out on the town, encounters a handsome runner, Alex (Edward Holcroft). Though Alex keeps much of himself from Danny, the pair fall in love … and then Alex suddenly disappears. Danny is determined to find out what happened to Alex, and, along the way, he’s plunged into a world of deceit, mystery, and death. By this point, it’s pretty obvious that Alex is a spy, though now Danny has become something of a sleuth himself.

“London Spy” is both a gorgeous, heartbreaking love story and a twisty spy thriller, with the two genres alternating from episode to episode, or even scene to scene. Moody in both visuals and tone, the series succeeds by virtue of its solemn, evocative atmosphere and the immense talent of its cast. In addition to Whishaw, the series features Jim Broadbent as Danny’s friend, Scottie, and Charlotte Rampling as his nemesis.

“The Day of the Jackal” features confidently crafted thrills and two killer lead performances that make it a blast to watch. One of the best shows streaming on Peacock, it stars Eddie Redmayne as the titular Jackal, a notorious assassin known for his daring, precise handiwork. He’s on the radar of Bianca (Lashana Lynch), an MI6 agent who’s obsessed with tracking him down. Both parties are extremely skilled and equally ruthless, and they show little regard for the collateral damage they leave in their wake. This moral ambiguity — Bianca would be the hero in another version of this story — makes the show all the more compelling.

It’s also gorgeously shot, as the duo traipses across Europe in style. The action sequences are all expertly crafted, with weapons and gadgets that recall the best Bond films, only with a bit more emotional depth. Similar to “Black Doves,” the backstories and motivations of the characters are unspooled as the series skips along at a snappy pace, and the magnetism of the show’s leads draws us deeper into the story.