It has now been revealed that the BBC and new co-producer Amazon have ordered the thriller series in two seasons. Tom Hiddleston returns as lead actor, Hugh Laurie returns as executive producer and the series has a new director in Georgi Banks-Davies. David Farr is the series creator and Stephen Garrett directs production.
The Night Manager season two begins filming later this year and picks up with Hiddleston's Jonathan Pine eight years after the first season's explosive finale, going beyond the original book, which was written in 1993 by the celebrated British writer.
Additional plot details are still being kept under wraps and there is no confirmation yet whether Laurie's Richard Roper, who was last seen in the back of a paddy wagon driven by gun buyers who weren't too happy with him, will return in the lead role. Hiddleston will also executive produce.
Produced by The Ink Factory in association with Character 7, Demarest Films and 127 Wall, and co-produced with Spanish partner Nostromo Pictures, The Night Manager season two was sold to Amazon by Fifth Season. The first season was co-produced with AMC.
New director Banks-Davies, a BAFTA winner who takes over from Susanne Bier, has credits including I Hate Suzie, Garfield and the upcoming Netflix series Kaos.
The first season of The Night Manager was a huge success, watched by millions and won multiple BAFTAs, Emmys and Golden Globes, including Best Actor for Hiddleston. The series, also starring Tom Hollander, Olivia Colman and Elizabeth Debicki, followed Pine - who ran a luxury hotel in Cairo - as he tried to infiltrate the inner circle of Roper's crime syndicate after being hired by Angela Burr (Coleman) , the task force manager of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The first season was commissioned over a decade ago and the series has since been remade in India. The British version was surpassed by quickly launching a season two of the Indian variant for Disney+ Hotstar in May last year.
Simon Cornwell and Stephen Cornwell, le Carré’s sons who run The Ink Factory, said Season 1 proved “a landmark moment for the golden era of television – uniting on-screen and behind-the-camera talent at the top of their game – and an audience reception which was beyond our wildest imagining.”
They added: “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.”
Amazon MGM Studios Head of Television Vernon Sanders said: “We are elated to bring additional seasons of The Night Manager to our Prime Video customers. The combination of terrific source material, the wonderful team at The Ink Factory, a great writer in David Farr, an award-winning director in Georgi Banks-Davies, as well as the talented cast truly make the series the full package.”
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.”
BBC content boss Charlotte Moore added: “After years of fervent speculation I’m incredibly excited to confirm that The Night Manager is returning to the BBC for two more series.”
The Night Manager series two was created and produced by Farr, based on le Carré's characters. Other executive producers include Garrett for Character 7, Banks-Davies, Laurie and Hiddleston, Joe Tsai and Arthur Wang for 127 Wall, Stephen and Simon Cornwell, Michele Wolkoff and Tessa Inkelaar for The Ink Factory, Adrián Guerra for Nostromo Pictures, William D. Johnson for Demarest Films, Nick Cornwell, Susanne Bier, Chris Rice for Fifth Season and Gaynor Holmes for the BBC.
You can watch the trailer for the first season of The Night Manager again below.
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