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Two women, a psychopathic assassin and a brilliant MI5 agent. Both tasked with the same deadly mission: Find Her. The first series premiered on BBC America on 8 April 2018, and on BBC iPlayer on 15 September 2018 through BBC Three. On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has an approval rating of 96% based on 98 reviews: “Seductive and surprising, Killing Eve’s twist on the spy vs. spy concept rewards viewers with an audaciously entertaining show that finally makes good use of Sandra Oh’s talents.“. |
| Episode 1 – “Nice Face“ MI5 security officer Eve is bored in her job and yearns for a more exciting life. When a Russian politician is murdered, Eve is tasked with protecting the only witness and soon finds herself on a collision course with an assassin, Villanelle. |
April 8, 2018
44min 8.7 |
| Episode 2 – “I’ll Deal with Him Later“ In the aftermath of her recent assignment, Villanelle is ordered to take a break. Never one to do as she’s told, she goes ahead with her next mission. Meanwhile, Eve is given a dream opportunity to join a secret MI6 unit tracking Villanelle. |
April 15, 2018
43min 8.6 |
| Episode 3 – “Don’t I Know You?“ When Villanelle kills a Chinese colonel at a kink clinic in Berlin, Eve and Bill travel out to investigate. While Eve and Bill chase up a number of promising leads, Villanelle enjoys the cat-and-mouse of their proximity. |
April 22, 2018
42min 8.7 |
| Episode 4 – “Sorry Baby“ Intel from Berlin points to the existence of a mole, prompting Eve to undertake her first surveillance operation. Meanwhile, Villanelle is sent to England to eliminate a member of British Intelligence. Villanelle wonders, could it be Eve? |
April 29, 2018
42min 8.7 |
| Episode 5 – “I Have a Thing About Bathrooms“ Having survived a close call with Villanelle, Eve now has the mole in a safe house. They have an opportunity to glean information and crack this open. But Villanelle hasn’t finished with Eve, and forces an escalation in their relationship. |
May 6, 2018
42min 8.7 |
| Episode 6 – “Take Me to the Hole!“ A female assassin is taken into custody in Russia, and Eve and Carolyn head to Moscow to negotiate access. Meanwhile, Villanelle is smuggled into the same Russian jail. It’s a grim and brutal place, where not even Villanelle is safe. |
May 13, 2018
42min 8.3 |
| Episode 7 – “I Don’t Want to Be Free“ The situation in Moscow escalates, and Eve starts to question who she can trust. Despite the danger, with her sights firmly set on Villanelle, Eve goes rogue. Meanwhile, Villanelle is given her next target – and it’s astonishing. |
May 20, 2018
42min 8.5 |
| Episode 8 – “God, I’m Tired“ Villanelle’s mission is proving anything but straightforward, forcing her to take drastic measures. Meanwhile, Eve has made a shocking discovery, which leads her right to Villanelle and a confrontation from which neither will emerge unscathed. |
May 27, 2018
42min 8.5 |
Sally Woodward Gentle optioned Luke Jennings’ “Codename Villanelle” in 2014, saying that “the notion of a female assassin was not unique,” but that Jennings’ take was “fresh, intelligent and tonally much bolder than others“, adding that she was particularly interested because “It wasn’t exploitative. We really enjoyed the character of Villanelle and the inventiveness of her kills, but we were particularly engaged with the mutual obsession between the women“. Following the stage success of Fleabag, Phoebe Waller-Bridge was recruited to write the show, which was then commissioned by BBC America in November 2016.
Sandra Oh was the first to be cast in June 2017, as the title character Eve Polastri. For the role of Villanelle, the production considered over 100 actors before Jodie Comer was cast, about a month after Sandra Oh. Her first audition involved acting out the kitchen scene from “I Have a Thing About Bathrooms” with Sandra, where the two clicked. Initially, Phoebe Waller-Bridge had considered casting herself as either Eve or Villanelle, but discarded this as she wanted the larger age gap between the two leads.
Filming for the first series began on 17 July 2017 in Tuscany, extending to further locations in Paris, Berlin, Bucharest, Cheshunt, Turville, London and West London Film Studios.
Shortly before its premiere, Killing Eve was renewed for a second series.
2018: Gold Derby Awards – Best Drama Actress (Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh), Best Drama Series
2018: Gotham Awards – Breakthrough Series – Long Form
2018: Primetime Emmy Awards – Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (Sandra Oh), Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series
2019: British Academy Television Awards – Best Leading Actress (Jodie Comer)
2019: Critics’ Choice Television Awards – Best Actress in a Drama Series (Jodie Comer, Sandra Oh won)
2019: Golden Globe Awards – Best Actress – Television Series Drama (Sandra Oh)
2019: Golden Globe Awards – Best Television Series – Drama
2019: Golden Globe Awards – Best Television Series – Drama
BBC America made 7 out of the eventual 8 episodes available to critics, along with a preview of the finale. Nothing feels like it’s going to be neatly wrapped up, though, and that’s a good thing. The time we spend with Villanelle and Eve goes by far too quickly, and the show’s exceptional cast (including Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Fiona Shaw, David Haig, and Owen McDonnell) all add wonderful layers to the story that give Villanelle’s killing sprees real stakes, especially as Eve gets closer to discovering who she is. Killing Eve is a spy story, a murder mystery, a spellbinding character drama, and a gloriously wicked comedy. It all comes together to make one of the year’s most delightful and captivating series that will hopefully play on for many seasons to come. (Allison Keene – Collider, April 5, 2018)
Critics Consensus: Seductive and surprising, Killing Eves’ twist on the spy vs. spy conceit rewards viewers with an audaciously entertaining show that finally makes good use of Sandra Oh’s talents.