Netflix releases new details about upcoming spy thriller - and it sounds incredible

Netflix is not short of crime thrillers on the service but that doesn't mean that we don't get excited every time a new one is announced - and this latest sounds like one of the best yet.

Black Doves is a new spy thriller from the mind of Joe Barton. He is the man behind the script of the incredible Netflix horror movie The Ritual, as well as the writer of crime thriller Giri/Haji, The Lazarus Project and The Bastard Son & the Devil Himself (which unfortunately only got one series).

He is back with Black Doves, a secretive crime thriller with an all-star cast. All Netflix has said about the show so far is that: “The series follows Helen embarking on a passionate affair that endangers her carefully constructed web of subterfuge.”

Variety has more information, though, noting that the thriller will be set around Christmas and focuses on Helen, who is a spy with a family, who has been passing on details of her husband's political life to her spymasters.

Her life is turned upside down, by a series of events, and the only person she can turn to is old friend Sam Young.

The Helen in question is played by Keira Knightley and a number of new cast members have just been announced, on Netflix's Instagram account.

Sam Young will be played by Paddington himself - well, his voice - Ben Wishaw. UK favorite Sarah Lancashire (Happy Valley) is also in the cast as Helen's spymaster.

While Barton is on scripting and showrunning duties, the series is directed by Alex Gabassi (The Crown) and Lisa Gunning (The Power).

Barton has been busy at Netflix, with a spy movie called The Union currently in post-production. That one stars Mark Wahlberg, JK Simmons and Halle Berry. He's also busy writing a new entry in the Cloverfield franchise.

No release date has been revealed as of yet for Black Doves but the show is in production now.

Until then, here are the best Netflix crime dramas you should be streaming.