As if Netflix’s huge catalogue of shows wasn’t enough, the streamer has dropped another thriller that is sure to rocket right to the top of the charts.
Adding to this week’s The Madness and the still-relevant true crime doc about the death of JonBenet Ramsey, a new thriller show is surely set to overtake both.
The series stars Keira Knightley and Ben Whishaw, as well as Andrew Koji and Happy Valley star Sarah Lancashire.
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The series has dropped today and already has a perfect 100 percent on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of writing, with 19 reviews.
And the critics are raving; fans can’t wait to see Knightley in another big project, and the concept sounds killer, so you can understand the excitement around it.
Check out the trailer here:
The show is called Black Doves, and the synopsis reads: “Helen (played by Knightley) embarks on a passionate affair with a man who has no idea what her secret identity is; caught in the crosshairs when her lover falls victim to the dangerous London underworld, Helen's employer's call in Sam (played by Whishaw) to protect her.”
One of the most interesting things an actor can do is play against their type, so seeing Ben Whishaw as a ruthlessly competent spy, when he’s the guy who voices Paddington and plays the lovely Q in Daniel Craig’s Bond films, is a treat.
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This also marks Knightley’s first foray into a major film or series in a few years, and she has received praise for her performance in the show.
One journalist posted on twitter regarding the show, saying: “Impressed by Netflix casually dropping the ridiculously entertaining Black Doves at the end of the year without much fanfare as if it wasn't an absolute triumph.
“People are going to be quoting the dialogue for years.”
In their review of the show for RogerEbert.com, Kaiya Shunyata said: “From shootouts to tender admissions of love, Black Doves feels like a revelation in a genre that grows staler by the year.”
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Another, from Kristen Baldwin of Entertainment Weekly, said in their A- review: “The spirited Netflix thriller from Joe Barton (The Lazarus Project) is a remarkably fresh, exciting, and laugh-out-loud funny caper, driven by a sharp comedic sensibility and wildly entertaining performances from stars Ben Whishaw and Keira Knightley.”
Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times summed it up in simple fashion, saying: “Fundamentally, it’s a detective show, with the protagonists trying to work out who killed whom and why, while various parties fight for control of a black box. It’s as good as that sounds.”
Empire gave the show four stars, with Olly Richards saying in their review: "All the work put into the characters culminates in a series of immensely satisfying face-offs and enough twists to leave you spinning.
"A second series has already been announced, and the foundations have been so firmly laid that it’s a very exciting prospect indeed.
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"Knightley and Whishaw are an A+ team in a spy show that flies above a very crowded genre."
Sounds like a perfect weekend watch to me.
Topics: Netflix, TV, TV and Film, Rotten Tomatoes, Reviews, Entertainment
Michael Slavin