America backs British drama following The Night Manager
MORE than 10 million people tuned into the BBC’s adaptation of The Night
Manager, transfixed by John le Carré’s gripping plot, and Tom Hiddleston’s equally alluring physique.
Now the BBC One drama is taking America by storm, after the first episode of the six-part series received rave reviews on the other side of the Atlantic, with critics praising it as a “thing of beauty”, and calling for the “sparkling” Hiddleston to be the next James Bond.
Americans got their first taste of the lavishly-produced show on Tuesday, when it debuted on AMC, the cable channel that co-produced the drama with the BBC.
AMC is the network behind hits such as Mad Men and Breaking Bad, and Josh Sapan, the broadcaster’s chief executive, pledged to sink more money into British drama to help the corporation make more high-end shows. The
Night Manager cost £3 million an episode to make, but under the co-production deal between the two broadcasters, the BBC is said to have only paid around a third of the cost.
Mr Sapan said that audiences were becoming more open to drama from different cultures, meaning that international broadcasters could collaborate more readily.
Asked if he hoped to work on more big-budget dramas with the BBC, he said: “We would very, very much like to do more.
“There’s logic to [working on] a global scale. The world is getting a little bit smaller. Cultural lines are not what they once were.”
The BBC has said it hopes to work on a second series of The Night Manager, with Charlotte Moore, the corporation’s television chief, hinting that le Carré himself may come on board to write new material.
Mr Sapan added: “We think the show, the limited number of episodes, is wonderful. We’ve been more than satisfied with our collaboration. We’re open to anything we can do.”