Is Killing Eve based on a true story?

The tale of Villanelle and Eve Polastri is one for the TV history books — but is Killing Eve based on a true story? Here’s what you need to know.

The Brits sure know how to put together a good spy thriller. From Sherlock to Tom Hiddleston’s The Night Manager, plenty of series have become hits across the pond — such as Killing Eve, one of the best TV shows of the past few years.

Following jet-setting assassin Villanelle on a European cat-and-mouse chase with frazzled MI5 agent Eve Polastri, Killing Eve unexpectedly developed into a love story, even if some thought it overstayed its welcome.

It’s been two years since the show wrapped, but thanks to Netflix, it’s now available to watch all over again.

Is Killing Eve based on a true story?

No. Killing Eve is adapted from the novella series of a similar name by Luke Jennings. However, Jennings has stated Villanelle is loosely based on famed hitwoman Idoia López Riaño.

BBC

Originally released between 2014 and 2016 online, the Killing Eve story was republished by Jennings in the form of the 2017 book Codename Villanelle. From there, the concept was adapted for the BBC by Fleabag’s own Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who later left the series to focus on other projects.

When promoting the book, Jennings cited Idoia López Riaño as a source of inspiration when creating Villanelle. Riaño was a hitwoman for Basque nationalist paramilitary group ETA in the 1990s. She was convicted of killing 23 people in the same decade. At the time, her nickname was ‘La Tigresa’, or ‘The Tigress.’ She was known for her lack of empathy but incredibly strong sexual prowess.

Thanks to the show’s success, Jennings released a sequel to the novel titled Killing Eve: No Tomorrow. This was released in 2018, with 2020 threequel Killing Eve: Die For Me releasing around the same time as Season 3 did.

Are there real assassins like in Killing Eve?

Not exactly. Villanelle herself is based on fantasy, but the show does take elements of real life as inspiration — particularly surrounding MI5.

BBC

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, the show’s security consultant Gordon Corera said: “Killing Eve is kind of fantastical, and it’s in another world, but there are also bits of it which are rooted in the real world, in the real world of assassins and spies.

“You kind of can take real-life examples and they sound like the stuff of fiction, that’s what’s crazy about the world of spies,” he added.

While aspects such as Villanelle’s kill list are more on the fictitious side, Killing Eve‘s grounding in its MI5 intelligence officers is much more like real life. Eve Polastri is technically more of an officer than a spy, with the BBC using a variety of real-life spies and assassins as references to flesh both characters out.

If Killing Eve isn’t enough on its own, find even more amazing movies, TV shows, true crime documentaries, and K-dramas to stream this month.