Black Doves is a British spy thriller series from Netflix, made by Noisy Bear and Sister. It is created and written by Joe Barton. It stars Keira Knightley as Helen Webb and Ben Whishaw as Sam Young, with Sarah Lancashire as Reed and Andrew Buchan as Wallace Webb. Season 2 adds Neve Campbell, Ambika Mod, Sam Riley, Babou Ceesay and Sylvia Hoeks. It was filmed mostly in London, with a few scenes in other places.
Helen is a spy for the Black Doves, a spies-for-hire group, and is also the wife of a senior politician. In Season 1, her lover is murdered, and Sam, an old friend and hitman, is sent to protect her. In Season 2 she is now married to the Prime Minister, and a new danger pulls her and Sam back together.
Season 1 premiered on December 5, 2024, with six episodes. Season 2 arrived on November 5, 2026, with all six episodes released at once. It is a crime and thriller series.
Table of Contents
When and Where Was Black Doves Filmed?
| Series Name | Black Doves |
|---|---|
| Genres | Spy, Thriller, Action, Drama |
| Filming Locations | London, England (Season 1 and 2); Uxbridge; Paris and Nazzano, Italy (Season 2); Luton area |
| Filming Dates | Season 1: October 2023 to March 2024. Season 2: from autumn 2025 (reported) |
| Cinematography by | Season 1: Giulio Biccari and Mark Patten. Season 2 not confirmed |
| Release Date | December 5, 2024 (Season 1); November 5, 2026 (Season 2) |
Time Out says Season 1 filmed in 85 locations over 93 days. The first three episodes were shot from mid-October to late December 2023, and the last three between January and March 2024. According to Wikipedia, Season 2 began filming in London by November 2025. We could not find a wrap date for Season 2, and we could not confirm who shot it, so we will add both as soon as they are shared.
Season 1 Filming Locations
📍South Bank, London
The opening murder of Helen’s lover, Jason, was shot on a bench along the South Bank near the Golden Jubilee Bridge. Producer Harry Munday told Time Out that the crew filmed there on five occasions, either before 8 a.m. or between midnight and 3 a.m., to avoid the crowds. The bench appears again in later scenes with Helen and Sam.
Visiting: The South Bank is a public riverside walk, and you can walk along it any time of day.
📍Crystal Palace, South London (The Webb Family Home)
Crystal Palace House Featured in Black Doves
Crystal Palace House In Real
The Webb family home, which is set in north London, is a six-bedroom house in Crystal Palace in the south of the city. The production looked at 85 houses before choosing it, and it shot all the interiors there, including the long fight with the assassin Elmore Fitch over two nights, according to Munday. The house faces a set of flats, and the crew liked how plain the rest of the street looked.
Visiting: Since it is a private home, please do not visit.
📍Paternoster Square (St Paul’s Angel’s Wings), London
Reed and Helen’s first meeting takes place beside the stainless steel Angel’s Wings sculpture in Paternoster Square, in the shadow of St Paul’s Cathedral. Munday says it was filmed at night with blue light. Director Alex Gabassi had asked the team to find more interesting places than an office for the spies’ meetings, and location manager Adam Schwarz kept a list called “Interesting London”.
Visiting: The square is public, and the sculpture is easy to find beside the cathedral.
📍Leadenhall Market and Liberty, London
The Christmas scenes were shot in several places. Leadenhall Market was filmed before Christmas for its real decorations, and the production also used the exterior of Liberty department store, and the Pines and Needles Christmas tree market in Victoria Park. Munday says they spent several December days capturing the city’s festive look.
Visiting: Leadenhall Market and Liberty are public, and the Christmas tree market is a seasonal event.
📍London Pubs (The Coal Hole, The Market Coffee House, The Westminster Arms)
Time Out lists three pubs: The Coal Hole in Covent Garden, where Jason drinks before he is killed, The Market Coffee House and Bar in Spitalfields, where Sam meets his old boss Lenny, and The Westminster Arms in Whitehall, where Helen watches Wallace. The Palm Tree in Mile End was also used.
Visiting: All are working pubs, so you can visit, but please check the opening times.
📍Granada Tooting, South London
Granada Tooting Featured in Black Doves
Granada Tooting In Real
Sam hands Reed a hard drive in the huge Granada building in Tooting, which opened in 1931 as one of Britain’s grandest cinemas and later became a bingo hall. Munday says the crew had a time limit and had to be done before bingo players arrived that morning.
Visiting: It is a working building, so please check before visiting.
📍Other Season 1 Places
Other reported Season 1 places include the Royal Lancaster London hotel near Hyde Park, where Sam meets Reed, Holland Park School in Kensington, which stood in for the US embassy interiors, and St Augustine’s Church in Kilburn for the finale. A few scenes were shot in a studio in Slough, and Sam and Helen’s jump from the flat in episode 2 used a studio set after a Brentford exterior. Please treat these as reported, because each comes from one or two sources.
Season 2 Filming Locations
📍Gray’s Inn, Holborn (10 Downing Street)
The exterior of 10 Downing Street and Whitehall in Season 2 was filmed at Gray’s Inn in Holborn, according to Netflix Tudum. Time Out names the street as Jockey’s Fields. Some of the Downing Street interiors were filmed at Harefield Grove in Uxbridge. Real Downing Street is closed to film crews.
Visiting: Gray’s Inn is a working legal complex, and Jockey’s Fields is a public street, but please respect the offices around it.
📍St Mary le Strand and Somerset House, London
In episode 2, Helen and Laila talk in the courtyard of St Mary le Strand before masked men try to abduct Laila. They then run through Somerset House, through its gallery, alleyways and riverside corridors, in the chase scene. Time Out says the chase goes through an art exhibition.
Visiting: Both are public landmarks on the Strand, and Somerset House has courtyards and galleries open to visitors.
📍Battersea Park, London
Helen and Reed’s regular bench meetings in Season 2 were filmed in Battersea Park, on the south bank of the Thames, according to Tudum. The first one is in episode 1, when Reed fails to appear.
Visiting: The park is public and free to enter.
📍National Theatre and Trafalgar Square, London
Helen meets Mr. Conteh on the South Bank walkways outside the National Theatre in episode 2. Her goodbye with Sam in episode 6 was shot at night outside the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square.
Visiting: Both places are public.
📍Soho and Chinatown (Gerrard Street, Jack Solomons), London
Laila’s flat is on Gerrard Street in Chinatown, according to Time Out. Tudum says the scenes mix real Soho streets with interiors filmed at the Truman Brewery. The club and jazz bar scenes in episodes 4 and 5 were shot at Jack Solomons on Great Windmill Street, and the restaurant above it, Sophie’s, doubles as a tapas restaurant.
Visiting: Gerrard Street is a public street, and Jack Solomons is a bar, so please check the opening times.
📍Corbet Place and Truman Brewery, Spitalfields, London
Sam and the new fixer Patrick walk down Corbet Place beside the Truman Brewery, which Time Out says also stood in for the exterior of the Black Doves’ Cold War Berlin headquarters in flashbacks.
Visiting: Corbet Place is a public alley near Spitalfields.
📍Rosewood London, High Holborn
Sam stays at the Rosewood hotel in Season 2, where he grows close to the concierge, Jerry, according to Tudum. Time Out calls it central London’s biggest five-star hotel.
Visiting: It is a hotel, so please respect guest areas.
📍Luton Hoo, near Luton
The country house where Reed is held in episode 5 was filmed at the Luton Hoo Hotel and a private estate nearby. Netflix places it in Hertfordshire, though it is more often listed in Bedfordshire. Joe Barton said it is the same house used for the party scenes in Eyes Wide Shut.
Visiting: The hotel is open to guests, but the private estate is not, so please check before going.
📍Hôtel Plaza Athénée, Paris
The opening hotel raid in Season 2 was shot at the Hôtel Plaza Athénée in Paris, according to Time Out. Our Paris page lists more titles shot in the city.
Visiting: It is a luxury hotel, so please respect guest areas.
📍Nazzano, Italy
Sam’s Italian flashback scenes in episode 4 were filmed in Nazzano. The village bar scenes were shot at Bar Punto di Riferimento, and the church exterior at Via Della Chiesa, according to Tudum.
Visiting: Nazzano is a public village, but the bar is a working business.
📍Other Areas
We could not confirm any other exact places, and we will update this guide as soon as they are named. Our London and England pages list more titles shot in the city, including Cunk on Cinema.
Black Doves Behind the Scenes
To make your search for Black Doves filming even more interesting, here are some details. Joe Barton named the series after the Black Dove, his local pub in Brighton, according to Wikipedia. Season 2 is directed by Julian Farino and Kieron Hawkes, and Barton wrote the six episodes. Barton told Netflix that he wanted to widen the world and show more of how the Black Doves work.
Fun fact: Season 1 was set at Christmas, and the producers wanted London’s festive look without the usual postcard feel. Barton has called the series a Christmas thriller.
We will add more cast and crew Instagram posts and set photos here as soon as they are shared.
Is There Any Trailer Available for Black Doves?
Yes. Netflix released a Season 2 trailer before the November 5 premiere, and it is on Netflix’s YouTube channel and Tudum. We could not open the video, so we will add the link here as soon as we can confirm it.
Both seasons stream only on Netflix. Season 1 is available now, and all six episodes of Season 2 were released on November 5, 2026. It is a Netflix original, so we do not expect it on other streaming services.
FAQs
Q1: Where was Black Doves filmed?
A1: It was filmed mostly in London, with a few scenes in Paris, Italy and the Luton area in Season 2.
Q2: When was Black Doves filmed?
A2: Season 1 was filmed from October 2023 to March 2024. Season 2 began filming around November 2025.
Q3: Where is the Webb family house?
A3: It is a six-bedroom house in Crystal Palace, south London, although the story places it in north London.
Q4: Where is Downing Street filmed in Season 2?
A4: The exteriors were shot at Gray’s Inn in Holborn, and some interiors at Harefield Grove in Uxbridge.
Q5: Who is in the cast of Black Doves?
A5: Keira Knightley, Ben Whishaw, Sarah Lancashire and Andrew Buchan return in Season 2, with Neve Campbell, Ambika Mod, Sam Riley and Babou Ceesay new.
Q6: Where can I watch Black Doves?
A6: Both seasons are on Netflix.
Black Doves was filmed mainly in London across both seasons, with Season 2 adding Paris, Italy and Luton Hoo.
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