In ​​film and TV, we’re often primed to think of romantic love as the ultimate happy ending for every kind of story. But in Black Doves, a spy thriller series starring Keira Knightley and Ben Whishaw, it’s the unlikely friendship between two undercover agents that becomes the beating heart of the whole shebang. “It was always, to me, going to be a story about friendship,” says the show’s writer and creator, Joe Barton. “I’m fascinated with the platonic loves of our lives, the people that we love [in ways] that aren’t romantic or familial. And actually, those [loves] often last longer and are stronger. I just find that dynamic gets underexplored. That was always my North Star when I was writing it.”

In the show, Knightley plays Helen, the seemingly perfect wife of a Tory politician, who has a secret second life as a ruthless spy.