After seven years of speculation, a second series of The Night Manager has been given the go-ahead, with the mesmeric Tom Hiddleston set to return as the hotel night manager turned spy, Jonathan Pine.
According to Deadline, the new series has not yet been formally greenlit by Amazon and the BBC. However, it is understood that the production has been given a season two order.
Based on the book by the spy novel grandmaster John le Carré, the first series follows Englishman Jonathan Pine, the night manager of a Cairo hotel. He becomes romantically involved with the girlfriend of Freddie Hamid, Sophie Alekan (played by David Avery and Aure Atika respectively). Through Sophie’s relationship with the gangster Freddie, she acquires information linking illegal international arms sales with the English billionaire Richard Roper (Hugh Laurie). When possession of this information gets Sophie killed, a guilt-ridden Pine flees, winding up working as a night manager of a hotel in Switzerland. Four years later, Roper visits the hotel, and seeing his old foe reignite Pine’s desire for revenge. He is recruited by British intelligence officer Angela Burr (Olivia Coleman) to infiltrate Roper’s inner circle, beginning a perilous game of intrigue and subterfuge.
The series was highly acclaimed upon its release in 2016, and cast and crew were showered with awards and nominations. Coleman, Hiddleston and Laurie each bagged a Golden Globe for their performances, while Susanne Bier received an Emmy for outstanding direction. Reviews were generally favourable; Collider declared it “splendid television,” and The Irish Times praised the series for its “nuanced characters and layers of mystery.”
Little has been confirmed about the plot of series two, though it is understood that it is to be set in the present day. After Roper is hauled away by the Syrians at the end of the first series, Pine is informed two years later that he is dead, and must face off against an even more perilous threat.
The Night Manager is expected to begin filming in locations including London and South America later this year. David Farr (who wrote and created The Night Manager for the small screen) will make a comeback to pen the new episodes. However, direction was left up in the air after Bier pre-emptively bowed out. In an interview with RadioTimes Bier stated, “I wasn’t sure I would do my very best work the second time round.”
For those unable to wait for the next thrilling instalment, series one of The Night Manager is available to watch on AMC, Amazon Prime, Google Play and Apple TV.
Words by Faye Price
Support The Indiependent
We’re trying to raise £200 a month to help cover our operational costs. This includes our ‘Writer of the Month’ awards, where we recognise the amazing work produced by our contributor team. If you’ve enjoyed reading our site, we’d really appreciate it if you could donate to The Indiependent. Whether you can give £1 or £10, you’d be making a huge difference to our small team.