Netflix’s James Bond Replacement Confirms Its Own Version Of SPECTRE

Published Nov 10, 2026, 2:30 PM EST Sean is a senior writer for ScreenRant and has been writing about new TV releases since December 2023. He has received multiple advance screenings of popular shows and ideated his own coverage read by hundreds of thousands of readers. Sean is a self-published author of a Western novel. Sean has also written award-winning opinion pieces related to local politics while getting his Bachelor's degree in journalism. Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Black Doves season 2.Netflix's answer to James Bond, the action spy thriller Black Doves, finally has the last piece it needed to fully emulate 007: an enemy to rival SPECTRE. Since it began, Netflix's Black Doves has drawn natural comparisons to James Bond. Both are spy thrillers based in Great Britain, both have a mastery of espionage and tension, and Black Doves has the great reviews to match 007. There's even some overlap in the cast of Black Doves, as Ben Whishaw plays both Sam Young and Q in Daniel Craig's Bond films. Black Doves and James Bond, obviously, do have their fair share of differences. The Black Doves organization, for example, is a private espionage corporation, while Bond works for the British government. Keira Knightley's Helen Webb is also much more morally gray than 007, as she steals state secrets and sells them to the highest bidder. While Black Doves has been compared to James Bond endlessly, it hasn't been a perfect replacement for the legendary film series. Now, however, Black Doves has introduced a new element that brings it even more in line with Bond. Across most of the 25 James Bond movies, Bond has had a unifying villain to fight against in SPECTRE, an international crime syndicate and group of ne'er-do-wells. SPECTRE has been invaluable to Bond as a franchise, and it's one of 007's most recognizable features. Black Doves has found its own version of SPECTRE. Black Doves Season 2’s Kestrel Organization Is Just Like SPECTRE Image via Netflix Black Doves season 2 largely revolves around introducing a new spy organization to rival the Black Doves. This group, dubbed Kestrel in similar avian fashion, has its roots in East Berlin during the 1980s, where it operated as a quasi-anarchist spy network and terrorist cell. Though Elizabeth Reed and the Black Doves decimated the Berlin cell, by the end of Black Doves season 2, it was revealed that Kestrel was alive and well in the present day. Vita, Reed's estranged daughter, reestablished Kestrel with the help of her father. Under her leadership, Kestrel became a global spy network that was even strong enough to target Reed and the Black Doves directly. Though Vita, aka Katia Chernov, was killed in the finale, another Kestrel member survived. Patrick was seen departing to Tokyo, no doubt to continue Kestrel's mission of spreading terror across the globe. Kestrel is to Black Doves what SPECTRE is to James Bond, namely an evil, independent, and international organization that indulges in terrorism and acts as a direct threat to a British espionage agency that largely acts as the protagonists. With any luck, Kestrel will also prove to be a driving force for the Black Doves going forward. Helen and Reed could have their hands full thwarting terrorist schemes across the globe, not just in Britain. Kestrel Will Only Get More Villainous In Black Doves Season 3 Image via Netflix Black Doves season 2 only showed viewers the tip of Kestrel's iceberg. Though it isn't confirmed yet, Black Doves season 3 should be an opportunity for Kestrel to grow even more villainous going forward. Kestrel managed to do quite a bit in season 2, but it wasn't nearly as big or bad as it could have been. Their entire attack on the Black Doves and Wallace's peace summit was largely just a vehicle for Vita to get revenge against Reed. Now that Vita is dead and Kestrel is presumably under new management, their goals should be changing significantly. They won't be tied to London anymore, and, more importantly, they'll be able to go back to their actual mission of spreading terror and anarchy across the globe. There's no telling what Kestrel will do next without Vita to guide them, which is one of the most exciting parts of Black Doves season 3. Kestrel could do proper terrorist attacks on civilians anywhere in the world, or it could topple governments, sell state secrets, or any other number of dastardly deeds. Kestrel's expanded villainy could also makes it even more like SPECTRE. Vita's revenge quest is quite reminiscent of Skyfall's Raoul Silva, and without that guiding Kestrel, they can turn their attention back to doing more broadly evil things like SPECTRE. Additionally, without a reason to go after the Black Doves directly, Black Doves season 3 can make the titular organization much more like MI6 as they try to catch up to Kestrel's plans. Release Date December 5, 2024 Network Netflix Directors Lisa Gunning