BBC hit series The Night Manager making return to screens after almost a decade

It was the biggest TV drama of 2016, now The Night Manager is to return for two further series on BBC1, complete with star Tom Hiddleston.

More than 10 million viewers tuned in to see his character, soldier turned hotel manager Jonathan Pine, do battle with Hugh Laurie as arms dealer Richard Roper. Now, nearly a decade after the series won 11 major awards, it will film again this summer for a second series to air in 2025, and a third the following year.

The action will be set eight years after the last one ended with Laurie’s arms dealer character Richard Roper being taken away by the Syrians, seemingly facing certain death having cost them $300m. It is not yet known whether Olivia Colman will return as Foreign Office task force boss Angela Burr or Elizabeth Debicki as Roper’s bullied girlfriend Jed Marshall, who embarked on a dangerous fling with Pine.

But Laurie, 64, has been named as an executive producer on the new series – along with Hiddleston – making it likely that Roper will return in some form, even if only for flashback scenes.

As the BBC announced the two new series last night, Hiddleston said: “The first series of The Night Manager was one of the most creatively fulfilling projects I have ever worked on. The depth, range and complexity of Jonathan Pine was, and remains, a thrilling prospect. I’m so looking forward to telling the next chapter of our story. I can’t wait.”

The Night Manager

This time around the John le Carré adaptation will again be made by The Ink Factory – run by le Carré’s sons Stephen and Simon Cornwell – and involve many of the original team including writer David Farr and producer Stephen Garrett. Farr said he had thought long and hard about writing the sequels, which extend the story beyond the novel, first published in 1993.

“John le Carré’s work has long been an inspiration to me and working closely with him on Season 1 was an honour and a pleasure,” he explained. “I did not tread lightly into extending The Night Manager beyond the original book, but an idea came to me a couple of years ago which felt truthful to that unique world of dark corners and shady identities.”

Farr said that no other novelists managed to marry “the suspense of espionage with a deep exploration of the human soul” quite like le Carré. He added: “I hope that in some way we can pay homage to his uneasy genius in this new exploration.”

Simon and Stephen Cornwell agreed: “Revisiting the story of Pine also means going beyond the events of John le Carré’s original work: that is a decision we have not taken lightly, but his compelling characters and the vision David has for their next chapter were irresistible.”

The first series of The Night Manager won multiple BAFTAs, Emmys and Golden Globes – including Best Actor for Hiddleston.

BBC content boss Charlotte Moore said she was “incredibly excited” to confirm the return of The Night Manager after years of “fervent speculation” following the huge success of the first series. “Glamorous and sophisticated, it had the nation hooked,” she told Deadline. “Bold storytelling and a stellar line up in front of and behind the camera made it unmissable viewing and the scale and ambition behind the new season will take it to even greater heights.”

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