close
close

The True Story of Black Doves, Explained

Posted on by Taylor Reeves
The True Story of Black Doves, Explained

Keira Knightley and Ben Whishaw star Black pigeonsa thrilling and outrageous new spy drama on Netflix that creator Joe Barton says is inspired by true stories.

“I also read about these spy cops, these guys, and they infiltrated this environmental group and ended up having children with it,” he said Radio Times. “I mean, a really terrible story, much darker than this.”

Barton continued: “But I thought, OK, this duplicity of having a marriage of convenience that goes on for years and years and years and then it disappears. I think that was really part of the inspiration for it.”

Two people sit in a car and focus on the interior and atmosphere

Ludovic Robert/Netflix

The shadowy and mysterious Black Doves organization employs Sam (Ben Whishaw) and Helen (Keira Knightley).

The “spy cop” scandal broke in the United Kingdom in 2010, and a public inquiry into the matter took place in 2020 Guardian“The existence of a group of police officers sent undercover to political groups was so top secret that many of the UK’s most senior civil servants were completely unaware of it.” According to the newspaper, at least 139 police officers were given false identities for more than four decades, to infiltrate political groups and had close relationships with women in the groups.

In 2015, the Metropolitan Police apologized in a lengthy statement, in which Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt wrote: “Thanks in large part to the courage and tenacity of these women in bringing these matters to light, it became clear that some officers in the process “operated undercover,” attempted to infiltrate protest groups, and engaged in long-term intimate sexual relationships with women who were abusive, deceitful, manipulative, and false.”

He added: “Firstly, none of the women with whom the undercover agents had a relationship attributed it to themselves.” They were simply deceived. I would like to make it clear that the Metropolitan Police do not give the impression that any of these women could be criticized in any way for the way in which these relationships developed.”

A person stands on a snow-covered promenade at night

Ludovic Robert/Netflix

Keira Knightley’s Helen sets out for revenge after her lover is murdered.

Barton was also inspired to write Black pigeons by the recent drama A spy among friendswhich was about the real British spy Kim Philby and his defection to the Soviet Union. “I like to work within established genres, but I try to put a twist on them or incorporate Trojan horse ideas into human characters. I’ve done science fiction, horror and crime before, but never (spies),” he said deadline.

He also enjoyed filming the series during the holidays. “I’ve always wanted to do something for Christmas, but I haven’t really managed it yet,” says Barton Radio Times. “It’s so sweet and happy, but actually it’s a pretty dark time of year for a lot of people, literally a dark time of year. It’s all these conflicting ideas, so it seemed like a natural time to make a thriller.”

All six episodes of Black Doves are now available to stream on Netflix. Watch now

Headshot by Emily Burack

Emily Burack (she/her) is the senior news editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, celebrities, the royals and a variety of other topics. Before joining T&C, she was deputy editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Twitter and Instagram.

Related Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *