The BBC is doubling down on high-stakes espionage with Honey, a gritty Cold War crime thriller expanding the world of Killing Eve.
Packed with covert operations, counterintelligence warfare and shifting loyalties, the new series dives deep into the dangerous underbelly of MI6 at a time when one wrong move could ignite an international crisis.
Although the broadcaster has stopped short of officially labeling Honey as a prequel, the series is firmly rooted in the world of Killing Eve, the critically acclaimed thriller that ran for four seasons between 2018 and 2022.
Created by Phoebe Waller-Bridge and based on Luke Jennings’ novellas, Killing Eve followed the obsessive cat-and-mouse dynamic between MI6 officer Eve Polastri and psychopathic assassin Villanelle, earning multiple BAFTA and Emmy nominations. One of its standout characters was Carolyn Martens, the enigmatic and razor-sharp MI6 spymaster portrayed by Fiona Shaw.
In Honey, rising star Ann Skelly takes the lead as Martha Schmitt, a deep-cover MI6 operative operating at the height of Cold War tensions. It has been revealed that Martha Schmitt is in fact a young Carolyn Martens, the iconic character originally played by Fiona Shaw in Killing Eve. The cast also includes Rory Kinnear, Nate Mann and Jannis Niewöhner.
Set against the backdrop of Cold War espionage, the series follows Martha as she navigates life undercover while facing the constant threat of exposure, particularly from Friedrich Bauman, the newly appointed head of Stasi counterespionage targeting British agents.
The show is produced by Sid Gentle Films, the company behind Killing Eve. The screenplay is written by Emma Moran.
Honey is a co-production between the BBC and German broadcaster ZDF. Commissioned for BBC iPlayer and BBC One, the series is being positioned as one of the BBC’s biggest drama launches of 2026.
Source: Episode Magazine
