Finished ‘Black Doves’? Here are 4 spy shows to watch next
Finished ‘Black Doves’? Here are 4 spy shows to watch next
Gary Oldman, Sandra Oh, Keri Russell, and Tom Hiddleston lead four very different takes on espionage.
“Black Doves” brings together a lot of the things I love in a show: great spy action, dark comedy, and two leads who love each other but bicker constantly. And now that the bigger, badder Season 2 has come and gone, we all need a few more spy shows that capture that same balance. All of these share something similar with “Black Doves” while delivering a distinct style all of their own. Here’s what to watch next if you loved the second season of “Black Doves.”
Black Doves
When a spy posing as a politician’s wife learns her lover has been murdered, an old assassin friend joins her on a quest for truth — and vengeance.
Loved ‘Black Doves’? Watch: ‘Slow Horses’
If you love “Black Doves” but haven’t watched “Slow Horses,” well, I don’t know what to tell you other than the obvious: watch it! It’s got so many of the things you’re going to love: funny, sarcastic British banter, secret ops, action set-pieces, and political conspiracies all inside British intelligence agencies. The series follows the slow horses at Slough House, particularly River Cartwright (Jack Lowden… aka James Bond?!), all of whom are disgraced spies who have really screwed up and are basically exiled to waste away what’s left of their careers under department head Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman). He farts a lot, if that gives you a sense of the humor this show leans into. Now, these spies aren’t as useless as MI5 assumes, and each season they uncover (and spoil) some threat that the rest of MI5 can’t handle.
I mentioned some of the obvious overlap, but the big difference between “Black Doves” and “Slow Horses” is that where Helen and Sam are super competent, the Slow Horses are less so. They stumble and bumble their way into conspiracies, with moments of genius interspersed between obvious character flaws. But that’s also what drives a lot of the comedy. Their mistakes and dysfunctional relationships are what make it funny. Lamb hates pretty much everyone and unleashes a constant stream of insults to anyone within earshot… or nose shot, as is sometimes the case. But when it comes to that British dark comedy that’s still kept alive even under life-and-death circumstances, “Slow Horses” does it even better than “Black Doves.”
Slow Horses
Follow a dysfunctional team of MI5 agents—and their obnoxious boss, the notorious Jackson Lamb—as they navigate the espionage world’s smoke and mirrors to defend England from sinister forces.
Try out: ‘Killing Eve’
If you really liked Sam’s character and the look you get of the man behind the killer, then you’re going to love Villanelle in “Killing Eve.” Jodie Comer plays an international assassin who’s being hunted by a bored MI5 security officer, Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh). Villanelle is ruthless, sure, but she also loves the finer things in life: expensive clothes, luxury living, and fun (for her) elaborate murders. As Eve gets closer, she starts becoming obsessed with Villanelle… and she with Eve.
Both shows obviously have professional assassins working for clandestine organizations. You also get the same mix of intense violence undercut by comedy, especially with Villanelle being this playful, bizarre assassin who has a lot of fun with each one of her kills. But it’s really the central relationship that’s different here. Villanelle and Eve are enemies instead of friends, and the strange obsession / sexual chemistry that builds becomes really dangerous and complicated. It’s also one of the big reasons the show is worth watching.
Killing Eve
A security consultant hunts for a ruthless assassin. Equally obsessed with each other, they go head to head in an epic game of cat-and-mouse.
Watch next: ‘The Americans’
An ordinary married couple is anything but in “The Americans.” Elizabeth (Keri Russell) and Philip Jennings (Matthew Rhys) are good parents and community members in suburban Washington, D.C. during the 1980s. They also happen to be undercover Soviet KGB agents. They steal info, recruit informants, and work to build out their elaborate false identities to continue passing info to the Soviet Union. Their kids don’t know they’re spies, and their neighbor, Stan Beeman (Noah Emmerich), happens to be an FBI counterintelligence agent sniffing their trail.
Elizabeth’s double life looks a lot like Helen’s — both are mothers who have a seemingly ordinary family life while working undercover for another org. And each show is interested in how that undercover life impacts their personal relationships. But in “The Americans,” at least Philip and Elizabeth have each other to confide in, while Helen has to hide the truth from Wallace, often risking her marriage to do it. And there’s a lot less comedy in “The Americans” — it takes espionage and the violence inherent in it a lot more seriously. Still, if you liked the domestic double life aspect of “Black Doves,” then watch it.
The Americans
Set during the Cold War period in the 1980s, The Americans is the story of Elizabeth and Philip Jennings, two Soviet KGB officers posing as an American married couple in the suburbs of Washington D.C. and their neighbor, Stan Beeman, an FBI Counterintelligence agent.
Wild card pick: ‘The Night Manager’
I read “The Night Manager” early this year, and the show does a pretty great job of living up to the tension of John le Carré’s novel. The series follows Jonathan Pine (Tom Hiddleston) as a former British soldier now working as a luxury hotel night manager. British intelligence officer Angela Burr (Olivia Colman) recruits him to infiltrate the organization of Richard Roper (Hugh Laurie), a wealthy international arms dealer who’s staying at the hotel. Pine has to basically convince Roper he can trust him, while also gathering info against him.
The pace of “The Night Manager” is a little slower than “Black Doves.” It spends a lot more time building a carefully planned, undercover operation where Pine has to build trust while making sure not a hair is out of place. There are fewer gun battles and more battles of wits between Pine and Roper (and his crew). Instead, you get more luxurious locations, and powerful, dangerous people who can have someone killed with a nod of their head.
The Night Manager
Former British soldier Jonathan Pine navigates the shadowy recesses of Whitehall and Washington where an unholy alliance operates between the intelligence community and the secret arms trade. To infiltrate the inner circle of lethal arms dealer Richard Onslow Roper, Pine must himself become a criminal.
More to watch after finishing ‘Black Doves’:
‘Bodyguard’ | Netflix
Bodyguard
A troubled war veteran is assigned to protect a controversial politician who may be the target of a terror plot.
‘The Day of the Jackal’ | Peacock
The Day of the Jackal
An unrivalled and highly elusive lone assassin, the Jackal, makes his living carrying out hits for the highest fee. But following his latest kill, he meets his match in a tenacious British intelligence officer who starts to track down the Jackal in a thrilling cat-and-mouse chase across Europe, leaving destruction in its wake.
‘Kleo’ | Netflix
Kleo
After the fall of the Berlin Wall, a former East German spy resolves to find out who betrayed her and why — and use her lethal skills to exact revenge.
‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’ | Prime Video
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Meet the Smiths: two lonely strangers, John and Jane, who have given up their lives and identities to be thrown together as partners – both in espionage and in marriage.