Work on The Night Manager season 2 has officially begun and we're very excited at the prospect of Tom Hiddleston returning to the world of espionage!
The first series of the show, which was based upon the novel of the same name by famous author John Le Carré, was one of the most successful dramas of the year when it aired on BBC One in 2016, winning a host of Primetime Emmys and Golden Globes.
In April 2024 the BBC revealed the show would be renewed for TWO more seasons, with Tom Hiddleston and Hugh Laurie - who played the villainous Richard Roper in season 1 - acting as executive producers.
"The first series of The Night Manager was one of the most creatively fulfilling projects I have ever worked on," said Hiddleston in an official statement. "The depth, range and complexity of Jonathan Pine was, and remains, a thrilling prospect. I’m so looking forward to reuniting with the team to tell the next chapter of our story. I can’t wait."
After adapting Le Carré's bestselling novel last time out, David Farr says he will now be expanding the world the famous author created.
"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 says. "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.
"No one marries the suspense of espionage with a deep exploration of the human soul quite like le Carré. I hope that in some way we can pay homage to his uneasy genius in this new exploration."
Here's everything we know about The Night Manager season 2...
The Night Manager season 2 release date
Filming is due to begin in South America and London in 2024, which means it will most likely be 2025 before we see this one on our screens.
The Night Manager season 2 will premiere on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK and, outside of the UK, globally on Prime Video.
If you want to catch up on The Night Manager season 1, you can stream it on the BBC iPlayer in the UK and Prime Video in the US.
The Night Manager season 2 plot
The first season of The Night Manager followed Jonathan Pine (Tom Hiddleston), the titular night manager at a hotel in Cairo and former British soldier, who was drafted in by a member of a British Foreign Office task force who's been investigating the illegal arms trade.
Pine was asked to infiltrate the inner circle of an English billionaire, Richard Roper (Hugh Laurie) and spy on him, yet found himself drawn towards Roper's beautiful fiance Jed Marshall (Elizabeth Debicki).
However, while the first season was based on John Le Carre's famous novel, the acclaimed writer never got around to penning a sequel, so the second season will be charting new territory.
Le Carré – real name David Cornwell – passed away at the age of 89 in December 2020, but letters published in the 2022 book "A Private Spy: The Letters of John le Carré" revealed how he had several meetings about a possible follow-up series.
In one message he explained how he hoped to "bring together the old gang, minus Tom Hollander, whose part I so carelessly dispatched".
We hope David Farr, who adapted the first series and has been signed up to write the new one, was present at those meetings and managed to glean some ideas from the great novelist.
Rumours suggest the second season will be set in the present day and directly follow on from where the first left off. Richard Roper has been carried off by the Syrians, and Jonathan Pine is informed that the billionaire has died two years later. But his troubles are far from over, as he's expected to face up to an even greater, deadlier challenge.
With South America named as one of the filming locations, it seems sure we can expect just as much sun as the last one, which took us to Egypt and the Mediterranean.
It's been nearly ten years since we last saw Jonathan Pine in action, yet the show's star, Tom Hiddleston, told Deadline he wasn't concerned about the longer-than-usual time gap.
“We took the time to try and get the story right. Principally, le Carré seemed so happy with our adaptation the first time and that was such a relief.
“So if we were to go again we needed to find the right story. What is so fascinating about le Carré is his stories often emerge within him in response to the world as he found it.
“What I'm really excited about is eight or nine years have passed since the first season and these characters have been alive in the world in the last eight or nine years, and hopefully our show will reflect that.”
The Night Manager season 2 cast
Tom Hiddleston (who's had great success with Disney Plus superhero series Loki) will return as the show's dashing lead, Jonathan Pine.
Oscar-winner Olivia Colman (The Favourite, The Crown) will also return as Angela Burr, a member of the Foreign Office task force, while Alistair Petrie (Sex Education, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) will reprise his role as Roper's acquaintance Sandy Langbourne.
Elsewhere, Douglas Hodge (Joker, Black Mirror) is back as Rex Mayhew, Michael Nardone (Traces, Rome) returns as Frisky, and Noah Jupe (A Quiet Place, Honey Boy) will return as Daniel Roper.
Diego Calva (Narcos: Mexico, Babylon) and Camila Morrone (Daisy Jones, the Six) have also been confirmed to join the show in undisclosed new roles.
There's no news on whether David Harewood will return, although we fear Tom Hollander, who played the foul-mouthed and ill-fated Corky, won't be back. We didn't really like him much anyway tbh.
The Night Manager season 2 trailer
There's no trailer for this one yet, but we'll be sure to let you know as soon as one drops.
