Le Carre’s family back Night Manager sequels
Award-winning adaptation starring Tom Hiddleston and Hugh Laurie to come to BBC for two more series
EVER since The Night Manager series first aired in 2016, fans have been itching for a sequel as various adaptations have spun out of its success.
Now, following the death of author John le Carré, his sons have announced that their father’s story of Jonathan Pine has been renewed for two new series with Tom Hiddleston in the lead role once again.
Simon and Stephen Cornwell, who co-founded The Ink Factory production company, said they did not take the decision of going beyond the events in their father’s 1993 novel “lightly”, but said that writer David Farr’s vision for the next chapter was “irresistible”.
The renewal of the hit adaptation of le Carré’s 1993 novel has been given the go-ahead by Amazon Prime and the BBC, according to Deadline, with the new seasons about the hotel-manager-turned-spy to be filmed later this year in London and South America.
According to reports, David Farr – who wrote the original series – has been brought back to write season two.
The first series, which won two Emmys and three Golden Globes, featured an impressive cast including Olivia Colman, Elizabeth Debicki, Tom Hollander and David Harewood.
It followed Hiddleston as Jonathan Pine, the former British soldier who is recruited by the manager of a Foreign Office taskforce to infiltrate an arms dealer’s inner circle while he is the night manager of a luxury Cairo hotel. The series quickly became one of the top-rated UK dramas of 2016 and spawned a number of subsequent le Carré adaptations from The Ink Factory.
The adaptation will be set in the present day, according to Deadline, and will follow Pine facing a new and more deadly challenge after being informed that arms dealer Richard Roper – played by Hugh Laurie – is dead.
Laurie, Colman and Hiddelston all won Golden Globes for their performances in the 2016 spy thriller, which became an international success and even led to rumours at the time that Hiddleston, 43, could be the next James Bond.
While the Bond rumours may have been put to bed, it remains to be seen where the plot may take Pine, seeing as Le Carré’s novel has no sequel.
When Laurie was asked in 2016 whether the series would return, he said: “We’ve got to the end of the novel and John le Carré has yet to write another novel. So in cold practical terms, no, we’re done.”
Le Carré, who died in 2020, took a very hands-off approach to the first series, but was said to be pleasantly surprised by the alterations Farr made to his novel for the script.
Announcing the new series, Charlotte Moore, the BBC TV chief, 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.”
She added that the scale and ambition in the new season will take The Night Manager “to even greater heights”.
Previously, Susanne Bier, who won an Emmy for directing the first series, revealed that scripts for a second instalment were “slowly being developed”, but said writers were wary about being able to create the same hit again. At the time, Farr agreed with this sentiment, telling Variety in 2016 that he was “not keen” to do a second series, adding: “I liked the fact that the story ended where the story ended. But that’s entirely personal.
“Given the characters, there is a potential for something more to happen, and I’m sure someone could find the right idea. But for me, it’s done. My simple feeling is that I wouldn’t be able to make the next one as good.”
Hiddleston, 43, will be returning to executive produce the new seasons as well as play Pine.
He 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.”
Simon and Stephen Cornwell said: “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 [Farr] has for their next chapter were irresistible.”
‘It is a decision we have not taken lightly, but the vision [Farr] has for their next chapter was irresistible’