Warning: This article contains mild (and potential) spoilers for the first season of The Night Manager.
Although initially planned as a limited series, plans for the acclaimed spy thriller show The Night Manager have picked up some serious traction in recent weeks. The 2016 BBC series, adapted from the John le Carré novel of the same name, impressed viewers with its all-star cast, led by Tom Hiddleston, Hugh Laurie, and Olivia Colman, with now Emmy-and Golden Globe winner Elizabeth Debicki in a supporting role.
In addition to its stellar performances, The Night Manager won critical praise for its pacing, storytelling, and top-notch cinematography, with the limited series format given particular acclaim as the ideal book-to-screen adaptation. The series won three Golden Globes – for Hiddleston, Laurie, and Colman – and left what was meant to be a permanent ending on a high note (although a highly-criticized acceptance speech from Hiddleston did somewhat dampen the mood).
In April of this year, eight years after the original series aired, BBC and Amazon ordered a second and third season of The Night Manager, surprising many fans who had long assumed it was a one-and-done deal. Here’s what we know about when to expect the new season, and what viewers can expect in this new chapter.
The Night Manager season 2 release window
When seasons two and three of The Night Manager were confirmed, entertainment industry reported Deadline stated that filming for the second series would begin filming “this year”, placing the series in a late 2024-2025 slot — although 2025 seems most likely, due to casting still being underway and the typically extensive filming and post-production process.
It is unknown if the two new seasons will be filmed back-to-back, leaving a release window for the third season relatively uncertain. Deadline also reported that Hugh Laurie was returning as executive producer for the series, with Georgi Banks-Davies and Stephen Garrett boarding as director and showrunner, respectively. From these reports, it seems that the pieces are in place for filming to begin relatively soon, ideally coming sooner rather than later.
The Night Manager season 2 cast
Deadline reported that Tom Hiddleston would return as lead for the new season, but also stated that it is unknown if Hugh Laurie’s character — whose fate was left uncertain at the end of season one — would return, although Laurie is returning behind the scenes as executive producer. Similarly, it is also unknown whether Elizabeth Debicki and Olivia Colman would also be returning in the same capacity.
There are, however, some season two casting announcements to get excited about — in the form of new actors joining the all-star cast. In May of 2024, it was announced that Camila Morrone (Death Wish, Daisy Jones & The Six) was joining the cast in an unnamed role.
The same month, Deadline reported that Golden Globe-nominated Mexican actor (Damien Chazelle’s Babylon, Narcos: Mexico) was also joining the cast in what was described as a “lead role.” Whether this is a lead role, alongside Hiddleston, or the lead role — taking over from Hiddleston’s central role in season one — still isn’t clear.
The Night Manager season 2 plot
Deadline reported that the plot for seasons two and three of The Night Manager was strictly “under wraps” for now, meaning that no plot details will likely be revealed until closer to the release date, likely when filming has been completed and teaser trailers become available.
However, we can do a little detective work on what this plot may look like. The first series is somewhat faithful to the John le Carré novel of the same name — with some changes to the ending and location that the author approved of — with le Carré having a guest role as a disgruntled restaurant patron in the 2016 series. le Carré passed away in 2020, and while the writer wasn’t a consultant on the series, the new seasons will be the first to not have le Carré close to the production.
le Carré never wrote a direct sequel to The Night Manager, although he was known to re-use characters in his standalone novels. The second season would have to write a somewhat original expansion to the original novel, without a le Carré novel as exact guidance for the plot. However, le Carré’s sons are in charge of his state, and completed work on the posthumous novel Silverview, published in 2021.
According to GQ, the second season will have a time jump similar to that of real life — taking place eight years after the events of the season one finale. The outlet acknowledges that initial rumors about the film’s plot centered around Jonathan Pine’s (Tom Hiddleston) “reaction to the news that [Hugh] Laurie’s [Dicky] Roper has been killed in custody,” but acknowledges that more recent reports about casting and production have not formally backed up this speculation.