Is Ben Whishaw’s Netflix spy drama Black Doves worth watching? Here’s what the critics are saying

The first reviews for Ben Wishaw’s new Netflix spy thriller Black Doves are overwhelming positive, with one calling his performance “dazzling.”

Paddington and James Bond star Wishaw plays gay special agent Sam Young in Black Doves, which also features Pride & Prejudice‘s Keira Knightley and Sarah Lancashire (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie), alongside It’s a Sin‘s Omari Douglas.

The official synopsis reveals that: “Helen [Knightley] embarks on a passionate affair with a man who has no idea [about] her secret identity. Caught in the crosshairs when her lover falls victim to the dangerous London underworld, Helen’s employers call in Sam to protect her.”

Kristen Baldwin, writing in Entertainment Weekly, said: “Whishaw makes Sam believable as an efficient killer but also a gentle, sad-eyed sweetheart who could really use a hug,” adding that “returning to London puts him in painful proximity to his now-estranged soulmate Michael (Douglas).”

Paste magazine‘s Lacy Baugher Milas said the series was “utterly delightful precisely for all the ways it manages to shake up the tried-and-true formula so many recent dramas like it have embraced,” while Laura Jane Turner tells Digital Spy readers it “really is a great bit of telly, bringing something fresh to the table while hitting familiar beats and carrying an atmosphere befitting any good, modern gangster movie”.

Nick Curtis in the Evening Standard called it “great, escapist fun [and] part of the enjoyment, of course, lies in the subconscious awareness that it’s Elizabeth Bennet and Paddington offing baddies with shotguns and throwing knives”.

The Telegraph was more cynical, with Chris Bennion saying that while the “crash-bang, helter-skelter ride improves across every one of its six episodes, with enough moments of high entertainment to get you through the kinks, the problem is it’s all a bit of a mishmash”.

David Craig, writing in Radio Times tended to agree, saying: “The starry trio are fantastic in these exciting and, arguably, trailblazing roles, but alas, the plot they are tasked with unravelling feels rather paint-by-numbers in comparison.”

Black Doves also stars veteran funny lady Tracey Ullman, Broadchurch‘s Andrew Buchan and Finn Bennett, who is lined up to appear in Game of Thrones prequel A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.

Black Doves will be available on Netflix from 5 December.

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