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Dive into the world of espionage and deception with our breakdown of the acclaimed series starring Tom Hiddleston and Hugh Laurie. From John le Carré's novel to its award-winning TV adaptation, we explore how Jonathan Pine infiltrated Richard Roper's criminal empire and what to expect in the upcoming revival on Prime Video in 2026.

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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at the background, story, and incredible success
00:24of the TV espionage masterpiece, The Night Manager.
00:26If you're not caught up, know that we will be recapping the whole first season and John
00:32LeCarré's original novel.
00:34Catch the second season, A Decade in the Making, on Prime Video in January 2026.
00:40In February 2016, Tom Hiddleston introduced audiences to the many faces of reluctant
00:45spy Jonathan Pine, while Hugh Laurie brought master criminal Richard Onslow Roper to the
00:50table.
00:50This and more turned The Night Manager into a major hit for both the BBC and co-producer
00:55AMC.
00:56And with a popular resurgence on Prime Video, the streamer helped revive The Night Manager
01:01for two more series in 2024.
01:04Hiddleston returns to the field on New Year's Day 2026, just shy of the show's 10th anniversary.
01:10Even fans will need a recap.
01:12Certainly newcomers need to understand the hype that inspired this bold comeback.
01:16Should we begin?
01:24Is there anything keeping you awake at night?
01:28Identifying the Source
01:30Renowned spy writer John LeCarré published The Night Manager in 1993.
01:35His first novel after the Cold War became a New York Times bestseller, with praise for
01:39its lofty political themes alongside compelling tension and characters.
01:43Paramount Pictures quickly bought the film rights, tapping Oscar-winning screenwriter Robert Towne
01:48to adapt.
01:49Unfortunately, LeCarré's storytelling was too complex for a short-form format.
01:54Two decades later, the BBC, along with Ink Factory in association with Character 7, commissioned
01:59a six-episode serial with David Farr attached to write.
02:03Farr had the skills and the modern means of peak TV to do LeCarré's story justice, as he
02:08had previously worked on the acclaimed spy drama Spooks, which was created by Character 7's
02:13Stephen Garrett, when he was with the production company Kudos.
02:16Right, let's get this stuff ashore onto the truck, shall we?
02:19New Intel
02:20John LeCarré's novels tended to be products of a very specific time.
02:251993's The Night Manager explores the legacy of Cold War-era policies that expanded international
02:30criminal enterprise.
02:31In addition to illegal arms, Richard Roper also traffics narcotics, and is dealing with
02:37a Colombian cartel looking to militarize.
02:39The heads of a cartel that was totally different than the other cartels, they looked at it more
02:46as a business to expand.
02:49It's a very different backdrop from the belated adaptation's focus on geopolitics after the
02:54Arab Spring.
02:55But it's tragically not different enough.
02:58Both stories look at criminal empires as a byproduct of Western espionage and capitalism
03:02that thrives on bureaucracy.
03:04In that context, I find the actions of Riverhouse somewhat inimical to the new era of parliamentary
03:11accountability and transparency.
03:13Never mind corrupt officials collaborating with criminals out of financial and national
03:17security interests.
03:19The show goes even more cynical by giving Roper the facade of a philanthropist who secretly
03:23exploits humanitarian crises.
03:26Otherwise, the TV show closely follows the book's plot to dramatize these themes.
03:30See, children grow up thinking the adult world is ordered, rational, fit for purpose.
03:38It's crap.
03:39Becoming a man is realizing that it's all rotten.
03:45Realizing how to celebrate that rottenness.
03:47That's freedom.
03:50The Operation, Episodes 1 through 3.
03:53In 2011, Sophie Alikan enters the Nefertiti Hotel with evidence of the Hamid family's role
03:59in British entrepreneur Richard Roper's illegal arms trade.
04:03The British night manager Jonathan Pine falls in love as he tries to secure her asylum in
04:07the UK.
04:08But Sophie is murdered when he fails.
04:10Why would a burglar do that?
04:11What do you care?
04:13Maybe you know her better than you say.
04:17Maybe you'll kill her.
04:18Four years later, Pine is working in Switzerland when he has a chance encounter with Roper that
04:26he brings to the attention of Angela Burr of the Foreign Office's International Enforcement
04:30Agency.
04:31What do you want, Miss Burr?
04:34I want to make you an offer.
04:36Come and work for me.
04:39And afterwards, when it's all over, I will look after you.
04:41Resettlement, new name, new identity, new life.
04:44Pine is ultimately able to infiltrate Roper's organization by thwarting his son's staged
04:50kidnapping, despite the vicious scrutiny of Roper's right hand, Lance Corky Corcoran.
04:54Pine eventually heads Roper's front company, Trade Pass, under the alias Andrew Birch.
04:59But despite Burr's best efforts to hide Operation Limpet from potentially corrupt superiors,
05:04its existence reaches Roper.
05:06You know, I have my suspicions about you.
05:09Suspicion is unfortunately a tool of my trade.
05:12Corky's jealousy is very infectious.
05:14But it's not really jealousy, it's lust.
05:18The Assets
05:19The Night Manager establishes its theme of dual identities right alongside its protagonist.
05:25We meet Jonathan Pine protecting affluent hotel guests from riots in Egypt,
05:29then bonding with local staff as they celebrate the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak.
05:34The humanization of the vilified elite extends to Richard Roper,
05:39an apparent humanitarian and family man who can always excuse his actions.
05:43The truth is that he's a monster, particularly toward his secretive American girlfriend,
05:48Jemima Jed Marshall.
05:49Jed is in a very bad way, and I'm not feeling particularly sentimental about her welfare.
05:56Her life depends on the quality of your performance in the next half hour.
06:01Everyone is leading a double life, with Pine's handler being changed from a man in the book
06:09to the pregnant Angela Burr, seemingly to partly symbolize the omnipresence of multiple identities.
06:15Where's it going?
06:16Istanbul.
06:18That's where Apostol's going.
06:20The Spanish lawyer.
06:22We need to split units units to get to Istanbul now.
06:24Take Pearl and the team with you.
06:26What am I looking for?
06:27A familiar face.
06:28I think Andrew Birch is someone closer than we think.
06:30These philosophies manifest in both character arcs and political circumstances.
06:34Even Roper's awareness of Jed's son in New York reflects the fragility of secrets in the information age.
06:40If nothing else, these layers add to the suspense of Pine's infiltration.
06:45I'm afraid Freddy was a little bit of a bad boy last night.
06:49I think he might be paying the price this morning.
06:51We can make a start without him if you're content.
06:54I suggest we process the second half of the payment.
06:58I'm entirely content.
07:00Good.
07:01Closing in.
07:02Episodes 4 through 6.
07:04Trade Pass heads out for a humanitarian mission in Syria as a cover for an arms deal.
07:08Pine has begun an affair with Jed, and Burr has managed to flip Roper's lawyer Juan Apostol.
07:14Listen, I'm on the side of the angels.
07:18We're good people.
07:19Play it straight and we keep our promises.
07:22Okay?
07:24But I need your help.
07:26She also identifies Roper's colleague Halo as MI6 commander Jeffrey Dromgoole,
07:31who is protecting the arms trade to serve the UK's geopolitical stronghold.
07:35Unfortunately, Operation Limpid is shut down after Dromgoole helps Roper avoid arrest and kill Apostol.
07:42Pine saves himself by confiding in Jed and collaborating with her to frame Corki,
07:47whom Pine then kills.
07:50Then it's off to, of all places, Cairo's Nefertiti Hotel to hand off the weapons.
07:55There, Roper catches Jed trying to steal documents and deduces her affair over torture.
08:01You know, I never really thought you had it in you.
08:05You know what I think?
08:07I think you must care very deeply about the person you're protecting.
08:11She would have been trafficked if Burr didn't go rogue to break into Roper's room.
08:16Meanwhile, Pine sabotages the weapons shipment and diverts the client's $300 million payment.
08:22With Dromgoole's corruption exposed, the proper authorities promptly arrest Roper.
08:26But he's bound for a fate worse than prison when the clients commandeer the police convoy.
08:40No! No! No!
08:43This departs from the book's ending,
08:45in which Burr negotiates Pine and Jed's release by allowing Roper to get away.
08:49Le Carre's bleaker vision appears to epitomize how he was more focused on politics
08:54than the show's philosophical character study.
08:56Or perhaps Roper's demise and Pine's plans to move to New York with Jed
09:00were meant to imply to audiences that there would be no second season.
09:03Be good.
09:08You're a funny fish, Jonathan.
09:13I know.
09:15Debrief
09:16The Night Manager won rave reviews for its deep suspense, themes, and characterization.
09:21Among its many accolades were seven BAFTA TV Award nominations and 12 Emmy nominations.
09:27Actors Tom Hiddleston, Hugh Laurie, and Olivia Colman all won Golden Globes.
09:32Moreover, the British-American co-production brought over 9 million viewers per episode,
09:37before generating even more buzz during its run on AMC.
09:40I'm guessing that you're Churchill in this scenario, if you insist.
09:45The show's success directly inspired the BBC to commission the similarly acclaimed
09:502018 adaptation of Le Carre's Little Drummer Girl.
09:53And yet, it took years of sustained popularity on streaming to inspire whispers of a revival.
09:59Finally, in April 2024,
10:01Prime Video announced that they had renewed The Night Manager for two additional seasons.
10:05Now, writer David Farr faces the daunting task of starting from scratch.
10:10So how does it feel, knowing that for the next 24 hours,
10:14you've learned enough weaponry to start a war?
10:19It feels good.
10:22Sure you won't join me?
10:23No, I'm fine, thank you.
10:25Redeployment
10:25The revival of The Night Manager is working without source material.
10:29But Season 2 does pay homage to John le Carre's original premise,
10:33with the addition of a Colombian former business associate of Richard Roper.
10:37Welcome to Colombia.
10:40Teddy DeSantos' criminal enterprise is the latest target of Jonathan Pine,
10:45who has spent the last eight years running covert operations for MI6.
10:49The series also brings back Olivia Colman,
10:51with a new cast that includes Diego Calva, Camila Marrone, and Kirby Howell-Baptiste.
10:56This follow-up also promises to be more action-packed,
11:00but there are many intriguing, dramatic questions.
11:02How has Pine been affected by a life of deception and death?
11:06What became of Jed Marshall?
11:08And how will the spycraft and themes be affected
11:10by a whole decade of real-world political turbulence?
11:13The heads of production company The Ink Factory,
11:16who are also Le Carre's sons,
11:18claim they didn't want to move forward
11:19until Farr delivered a concept worthy of their father's legacy.
11:23Whether Prime Video will deliver on January 1st, 2026,
11:27fans are eager to return.
11:28Tell me who you really are.
11:32I am the man who will not explode.
11:36Watch the new season of The Night Manager
11:38starting January 11th on Prime Video.
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