Tom Hiddleston's Spy Thriller Series Is An Overlooked Masterpiece You Need To Watch

A criminally overlooked spy thriller is finally making its triumphant return after a nearly decade-long hiatus. Starring Tom Hiddleston, "The Night Manager" depicts retired British Intelligence Officer-turned-hotel manager Jonathan Pine as he's recruited to spy on a shady international businessman deep in an explosive arms deal. Based on the John le Carré novel of the same name, "The Night Manager" is one of the most acclaimed adaptations of the late author's work, delivering a captivating thriller that sweeps viewers from Cairo to the Swiss Alps to the English countryside and the sparkling shores of Mallorca.

Hiddleston stars as the revenge-minded Pine, playing a character that is as charming as he is troubled. Hugh Laurie's fierce portrayal of the show's antagonist, international businessman Richard Roper, is the perfect counterweight to Hiddleston as he orchestrates arms deals over late-night cigars and seaside champagne flutes. Surrounded by an all-star cast featuring Olivia Colman, Elizabeth Debicki, and Tom Hollander, the duel at the center of the series propels viewers through a twisting, cavernous plot of sex, violence, and political intrigue. 

The show reentered headlines this November when producers released the first sneak peek of Season 2. Its return promises to be as heart-stopping as the original, as Pine is dragged into the criminal underbelly of a Colombian drug lord's arms business and the British intelligence officers facilitating him. "The Night Manager" will hit BBC and Amazon Prime in January 2026, giving fans and newbies alike plenty of time to orient themselves within its alcohol-infused, sun-kissed world of daring spy craft. Pair it with a trip to your local bookstore and a watch of Apple TV's documentary on the novelist, "The Pigeon Tunnel," and you have the perfect window into the world of the best spy novelist of the 20th century.

Translating Britain's most beloved spy writer to the screen is no easy task. Many have tried since Martin Ritt's 1965 take on "The Spy Who Came In From The Cold," but despite superstar directors, like Sidney Lumet and Fernando Meirelles, and casts featuring Ralph Fiennes, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Diane Keaton, Alec Guinness, Gary Oldman, and Richard Burton, many adaptations have failed to reach the heights of le Carré's provocative novels.

Although being one of his most cinematic novels, "The Night Manager's" plot more resembles the slow burn of a cigar at dusk than a gun-blazoned blockbuster, making it a stand-in for the difficulty of translating le Carré's vision to the big screen. In fact, the rights for the searing 700+ page omnibus lay stranded in Hollywood purgatory for over two decades, despite a pair of Oscar winners — director Sydney Pollack ("Tootsie", "The Firm") and screenwriter Robert Towne ("Chinatown," "Mission Impossible") — tabbed to shepherd the project.

As a devotee of the book, it is difficult to overstate how adeptly the show updates the 1993 novel. On paper, the story is a mere facsimile of the original, grafting le Carré's Gulf War-era plot of Colombian drug lords onto a post-9/11 landscape, replete with setting changes, gender swaps, and even a twist ending. And where most authors might have lambasted such revisions, the spy-turned-novelist lauded the collaboration between director Susanne Bier and scriptwriter-producer David Farr, applauding the made-for-TV movie's adroit departures from, and expansion of, its source text. With an intricate story, a slew of standout performances, and a setting that will have you Googling your next flight, "The Night Manager" is one of the best spy series streaming today. 

Season 2 finds Pine's humdrum London life overthrown by a chance encounter with an old associate of Hugh Laurie's Richard Roper, dragging him back into the underbelly of international arms smuggling. This time, Pine's journey will take him to Colombia, the setting of le Carré's novel, where he'll look to root out a plot by rival British agents to arm and train guerilla revolutionaries. Fans of the first season's cat-and-mouse games will be delighted to find Hiddelston caught in another rivalry against a corrupt businessman, this time facing off against Colombian arms mogul Teddy Dos Santos, played by Diego Calva of "Narcos: Mexico" and "Babylon" fame. From the early trailers, the new season seems to go heavy on the sex appeal, as Hiddleston and Calva appear to not only duel over the fate of a nation, but over a businesswoman played by Camila Morrone ("Daisy Jones & The Six") named Roxana, who helps infiltrate Pine into Dos Santos' operations.

This time, creator David Farr teams up with BAFTA award-winning director Georgi Banks-Davies, known for her work directing "I Hate Suzie" and Amazon's "Paper Girls." Several members of the show's cast will reprise their roles, including Olivia Colman and Alistair Petrie. The season will welcome a host of familiar faces, including Indira Varma ("Game of Thrones," "Luther"), Paul Chahidi ("Wicked Little Letters", "The Death of Stalin"), and Hayley Squires ("Adult Material," "Beau Is Afraid"). Spanning the U.K., Colombia, Spain, and France, the show is certain to attract thriller buffs and vicarious jet-setters alike. 

British fans will be able to watch the series' triumphant return on BBC One. Internationally, the show will stream on Prime Video, as Amazon takes over for AMC as its co-producer. The first of six weekly episodes will drop on January 11, 2026.