‘The Night Manager’ Season 2 returns with explosive reveals: ‘Every character’s heart is on fire’

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This article contains spoilers for the first three episodes of “The Night Manager” Season 2.

A sequel to “The Night Manager,” the 2016 TV series based on John le Carré’s 1993 novel, wasn’t a given. Le Carré himself didn’t write a follow-up, and the original six-episode series concluded with a clear ending.

After the show first aired, viewers immediately wanted more. They were captivated by Tom Hiddleston’s portrayal of Jonathan Pine, a complex and charming hotel manager recruited into espionage by British intelligence agent Angela Burr (Olivia Colman). The series centered on the compelling and twisted relationship between Pine and his wonderfully wicked enemy, arms dealer Richard Onslow Roper (Hugh Laurie).

The series was a huge success – even the original author hoped it would continue! After the first season premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival, John le Carré told Tom Hiddleston, with a smile, that he’d be open to seeing more episodes.

I hadn’t known about or considered a second season until then,” Tom Hiddleston explained during a Zoom interview with the show’s director, Georgi Banks-Davies. They were speaking from New York just before the premiere of “The Night Manager” Season 2 on Prime Video, which launched on Sunday with three episodes—a decade after the first season aired. Hiddleston added that hearing it directly from the source was incredibly motivating and made him believe a continuation was possible.

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Years went by because everyone wanted any continuation of the story to be as good as the original. After John le Carré’s death in 2020, his sons took over managing his literary estate through their production company, the Ink Factory. Also in 2020, the writer of the first series, David Farr, came up with an idea for a new direction.

Farr explains they didn’t want to create something superficial, wanting to stay true to the story. There was a significant pause in development, but Farr had a strong vision: a black car traveling through the Colombian countryside towards a young boy. They knew the identities of both the people in the car and the boy himself, she said during a Zoom interview from London.

The image sparked a connection to a moment in the second episode of Season 2, where a young Teddy Dos Santos (Diego Calva) waits for his father – who is revealed to be Roper. Based on this, Farr developed the rest of the second season and the already-planned third season. He focused on the complex dynamic between fathers and sons – a theme important to John le Carré – and how the lives of Jonathan and Roper would become intertwined over time.

I immediately pictured the character of Teddy, Farr explains. The story’s plot – involving arms dealing and secret attempts to overthrow governments in South America – developed afterward. However, the core emotional relationships – particularly those between fathers and sons, and themes of betrayal and love – came to me quickly. That’s what truly defines Le Carré’s writing and sets it apart from typical spy novels.

Hiddleston explains the idea had a lot of emotional resonance. He believes the ten years that had passed since the story began were crucial, adding layers of complexity. Those years were incredibly difficult globally, and even more so for the character Jonathan Pine, considering everything he’d been through – his experiences, inquisitiveness, suffering, and bravery.

In 2023, Farr shared the scripts with Hiddleston, and serious planning for Season 2 got underway. Early in 2024, they hired Banks-Davies as a director, drawn to her creative approach to the episodes. Hiddleston particularly appreciated her focus on revealing the characters’ hidden vulnerabilities, contrasting with the facades they presented to the world.

Hiddleston explains that each character is driven by intense emotions, but hides them behind a facade. The director, Georgi, was determined to delve beneath those surfaces and understand the source of their pain. She saw the show as fundamentally about exploring what defines a person’s identity.

What really draws me in is how easily our sense of who we are, and our place in the world, can be shaken. I’m always thinking about the pressures on that core identity, and I saw that so clearly in this show. I’m also constantly searching for the things that unite us, especially now when everything feels so divided. It’s interesting because these characters are constantly battling each other, keeping secrets, and manipulating each other to get what they want. But I keep wondering what underlying connection could actually hold them together instead of driving them further apart.

Four years after the first season, the new season begins with Jonathan and Angela crossing paths in Syria. There, Angela discovers the body of Roper, hinting that he won’t be a major character this season. Following Roper’s death, Pine establishes a new, ordinary life in London, working for a low-key intelligence group called the Night Owls.

Hiddleston describes the character as often drowsy and unfocused, lacking a clear sense of self. His motivations have become weak and indistinct. He only truly feels alive when facing extreme danger – the closer he is to trouble, the more authentic he becomes. He’s drawn to risk, but also genuinely brave when pursuing the truth.

The first episode starts with a surprising twist. Soon, Jonathan finds himself investigating a conspiracy in Colombia, where the British government seems to be mixed up in an arms deal with Teddy. The show quickly returns to the exciting, international adventure that viewers loved in Season 1. We meet new characters like Sally, who partners with Jonathan, and Roxana, a powerful shipping executive working with Teddy, all set against exciting backdrops. Jonathan goes undercover within Teddy’s organization, pretending to be a wealthy playboy named Matthew Ellis, convinced that Teddy is the main danger. However, the end of the third episode delivers another shocking revelation: Roper is still alive.

According to Farr, the plan always revolved around the father character disappearing and then returning – a common storytelling technique. He emphasizes that a second season of ‘The Night Manager’ wouldn’t have worked without Hugh Laurie. Farr explains that while he wants the show to feel fresh and unexpected, he doesn’t want it to constantly reinvent itself.

Hiddleston explains the dynamic between his character and Richard Roper by comparing it to the story of St. George and the dragon. He says they need each other – Jonathan Pine’s purpose was to defeat Roper, but once he did, Pine felt lost. The hero without a dragon to fight loses his identity. Similarly, Roper became fixated on Pine, showing a mutual obsession.

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Jonathan discovered the truth while secretly listening to a meeting at a hilltop restaurant. Director Susanne Banks-Davies chose to film the entire series in real locations, and she maintained a fast-paced shoot to keep the actors feeling constantly on edge. She and Tom Hiddleston shared a guiding principle on set: “Keep it real.” Because of her meticulous preparation, Roper’s entrance and Jonathan’s response were filmed remarkably quickly – in just 10 minutes.

Banks-Davies explains that a culmination of months of conversations, filming, and shared experiences came together in that single moment. It was a powerfully emotional scene, with a lot being communicated, but achieving that intensity wasn’t easy.

Farr believes this is the show’s pivotal moment, setting everything that happens afterward in motion. He specifically instructed that Roper’s voice should be heard before the audience sees him, explaining that it’s more unsettling when something isn’t immediately clear. He wanted viewers to recognize the voice and feel a sense of dread—a feeling of, ‘Oh no, I know that voice.’

Hiddleston aimed to quickly portray a wide spectrum of feelings, calling the ideal moment a burst of pure energy. Just before filming began, the director, Banks-Davies, told him to imagine the dragon was real.

Hearing those words after everything… that’s all I needed. It felt like a defining moment, something I knew I’d remember forever. Suddenly, everything shifted, and the world felt… different. It messed with everything I thought I knew – the last decade, who I could rely on, even who I was. Honestly, it was a total shock, a mix of sadness, disappointment, and a weird sense of… maybe even relief. It felt like my whole world was falling apart.

Once Jonathan lands in Colombia and connects with Teddy, a complex and lonely man, he starts to truly come alive. Hiddleston portrays Jonathan as someone craving excitement and danger. Though Jonathan is deceptive, he finds his identity through taking chances and embracing risk.

Teddy, played by Diego Calva, develops a close relationship with Jonathan (Tom Hiddleston) and Roxana (Camila Marrone). Hiddleston describes his character, Jonathan, as someone who relentlessly pushes himself, making significant sacrifices that deeply affect him both physically and emotionally.

Hiddleston describes his character as someone who endures immense physical and emotional hardship, constantly pushing himself to the breaking point. He experiences significant pain, but also demonstrates incredible bravery, strength, and openness. Hiddleston finds these extreme circumstances particularly rewarding as they offer experiences unlike those in his everyday life.

Banks-Davies explains the tension of filming those intense scenes. He describes feeling the suspense – that feeling of being on the verge of something happening, and wondering if they’d capture it. He says the entire series lives in that precarious balance between security and danger.

Roper’s arrival significantly impacts the final three episodes. Jonathan and Teddy, despite being rivals, share a surprising connection through their complex histories with Roper. Hiddleston explains they act as reflections of each other, struggling to understand their dynamic and each other’s true selves.

Farr notes it’s striking that her initial impression of the character was as a seven-year-old, and that vulnerability remains with him throughout the story. He’s always been searching for acceptance and a sense of belonging, even while acknowledging his past wrongdoings, as he tells Pine in episode 3. Farr felt all of these core elements were present even in her very first vision of him.

Hiddleston explained that there’s a rivalry between the characters, as both need Roper, but for different reasons. Teddy presents a unique challenge as a modern opponent – he’s resourceful and tough, but also uses vulnerability to his advantage. The two characters essentially recognize a kindred spirit in each other.

What really attracted Banks-Davies to the series was the connection between the characters. She explains that their backgrounds – where they come from, how much money they have, their beliefs, or their culture – aren’t important. Instead, it’s about two lonely men who find a shared understanding and are brought together by their journey.

Season 2 will be released in weekly installments after the initial episodes become available, and it will set up the events for Season 3. While the creators aren’t sharing any details about when Season 3 might come out, fans are hoping it arrives within the next ten years.

“It won’t take nearly as long, I promise,” Farr assured. “I don’t know the exact timeframe, but it will be much faster this time.”

Hiddleston explained that having twelve episodes instead of just six allowed them to take more risks with the story. They could build a more complex and unpredictable narrative without needing to resolve everything quickly. He likened it to Robert Frost’s poem, suggesting there was still a long journey ahead, which he found exciting, both for the season’s ending and the future of the show.

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2026-01-11 18:32