Ben Whishaw, Sarah Lancashire to Join Keira Knightley in Netflix Spy Thriller ‘Black Doves’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Ben Whishaw (“Paddington”) and “Happy Valley’s” Sarah Lancashire are set to join Keira Knightley in Netflix’s upcoming spy series “Black Doves,” Variety can exclusively confirm.

More details about the series, which was written and created by “The Lazarus Project” showrunner Joe Barton, have also emerged.

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A story of friendship and sacrifice, “Black Doves” is set during Christmastime in London. It revolves around Helen Webb (Knightley), a politician’s wife, doting mother — and professional spy. For years, Helen has been passing on her husband’s secrets to the Black Doves, the shadowy organization for whom she works. But when her lover Jason is assassinated, Helen’s life is turned upside down and only her old friend Sam Young (Whishaw) can keep her safe.

Helen and Sam set out to discover who killed Jason and why. But Sam, a suave, champagne-drinking assassin, also has problems of his own. Out of the game since his last job went wrong, he soon realizes his past is coming back to haunt him.

“Together, they set off on a mission that will lead them to uncover a vast, interconnected conspiracy,” reads the logline. “One that links the murky underworld of London to a looming geopolitical crisis — and leads them to question the cost of the moral choices they’ve made.”

Lancashire will play Helen’s enigmatic spymaster Reed.

Joining Knightley and Whishaw in the six-part series, which began shooting in London last week, are Andrew Buchan (“Carnival Row”), Omari Douglas (“It’s A Sin”), Andrew Koji (“Warrior”), Kathryn Hunter (“Andor”), Sam Troughton (“Chernobyl”), Ella Lily Hyland (“Fifteen Love”), Adam Silver (“The Diplomat”), Ken Nwosu (“Look the Other Way and Run”) and Gabrielle Creevy (“In My Skin”).

“I started writing the scripts for this show over last year’s Christmas holidays, fuelled by turkey sandwiches and discarded bottles of cream liquor,” said Barton. “To be now going into production with a cast and crew full of people whose work I admire so much is unbelievably exciting and I couldn’t be more thrilled to get to see this show come to life.”

“Black Doves” is produced by Joe Barton’s Noisy Bear and Elizabeth Murdoch-founded Sister (“Chernobyl”) for Netflix. Barton exec produces for Noisy Bear alongside Jane Featherstone (“This Is Going To Hurt”) and Chris Fry (“Giri/Haji”) for Sister and Keira Knightley. The series is directed by Alex Gabassi (“The Crown”) and Lisa Gunning (“The Power”). Harry Munday (“Kaos”) is producing.

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