The Night Manager is officially returning

The Night Manager season two is officially happening. Eight years after the phenomenal series debuted on the BBC, Tom Hiddleston is set to reprise his role as Jonathan Pine, and we could not be more excited.

The first series aired in 2016 starring Tom Hiddleston, Olivia Colman, Hugh Laurie, Tom Hollander and Elizabeth Debicki, and was inspired by the novel of the same name by John Le Carré.

For years, we’ve been waiting to see if a second season would be confirmed, and now it looks like it’s been given the green light. Here’s everything you need to know about the potential The Night Manager season 2.

When was The Night Manager season 2 confirmed?

Announcing the new series in April 2024, BBC’s Chief Content Officer, Charlotte Moore, said: “After years of fervent speculation, I’m incredibly excited to confirm that The Night Manager is returning to the BBC for two more series.”

Whisperings of a season two first came in February 2023 thanks to a report from Deadline. They claimed Amazon Prime Video and the BBC are pairing up to bring a sequel season, with David Farr, the writer of season one, on board to write the second season.

The Night Manager series 2 might happen after ‘a bit of time’ has passed

In the past few years, the cast and crew have given a few hints the series could be making a comeback. In March 2017, director Susanne Bier confirmed that scripts for a second season were “slowly being developed”.

She told Broadcast: “We all very much want to do a season two, but the thing we absolutely do not want is to do something that does not live up to the level of season one. That would be a really bad idea.”

The BBC and AMC also released a statement saying that season 2 is in the “early stages” of development. “[We] are in the early stages of developing a potential second series of The Night Manager, but nothing is definite yet and we have nothing to announce,” they said.

When asked if The Night Manager season 2 was definitely happening, executive producer and son of original author John le Carré, Simon Cornwell, didn’t give the answer everyone was desperately hoping for. He told Television magazine. “Actually, not being cute, I really don’t know.

“We don’t have scripts for it yet, and we would only think about making a second series of The Night Manager if it was going to be really good. And I’m sure that Hugh [Laurie] and Tom [Hiddleston] and Olivia [Colman], who are not exactly underemployed actors, won’t want to come back unless it’s excellent, frankly. And, you know, we have all of le Carré’s body of work to pick from.”

What’s The Night Manager about?

According to IMDb, The Night Manager is about a hotel night manager called Jonathan Pine (played by Tom Hiddleston) who becomes involved with the girlfriend of a local gangster, who has information linking illegal international arms sales with an English billionaire (played by Hugh Laurie).

The woman is soon found dead and fearing for his own life, the night manager flees to Switzerland where he finds work in a remote hotel. Four years later, when the English billionaire visits, Jonathan becomes hungry for revenge, and is enlisted by British Intelligence to spy on the billionaire. As IMDb puts it, ‘What follows is a very dangerous game of intrigue and deception.’

What will The Night Manager season 2 be about?

The first series was based on a book – and there was one book and one book alone – so the possibilities for season two are endless!

The show’s producer (who also happens to be John Le Carre’s son) Simon Cornwell said: “There’s no book and there’s never been a Le Carre story that has been extended beyond the confines of the novel. It would be interesting to try that.”

According to The Telegraph, the hotel-manager-turned-spy will film the second story across London and South America later this year. The new adaptation is set to follow Pine “facing a new and more deadly challenge after being informed that arms dealer Richard Roper, played by Hugh Laurie, is dead.”

Who is in The Night Manager season 2?

Announcing his return for the series, Tom Hiddleston, 43, who plays the lead, said in April 2024, ” 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.”

There’s no word yet on if other key cast members will return, of it Tom will be joined by a whole host of new faces.