By Orla Ruane, Second Year, English
It has now been ten years since The Night Manager debuted. With a groundbreaking six episodes, the all-star cast adapted the 1993 spy thriller by John Le Carre. Having made waves in 2016 it was assumed that the series had been put to rest. Yet, 2026 started with a bang as a second series made its way to our screens with a new episode being released each week. With all episodes now streaming on BBC iPlayer, it is imperative that you start the show if you haven’t already.
For those who are new to the series the first season followed Jonathan Pine (played by Tom Hiddleston), a former military officer, who was recruited by MI6 and posed as a night manager of a hotel. Through many twists and turns (watch the first season if you haven’t already) he works tirelessly to uncover the dark underbelly of crime in Morocco. It is in the first season that we are introduced to Richard Roper (played by Hugh Laurie), a wealthy international arms dealer whose deep-rooted corruption provokes Jonathan Pine.
However, (spoiler alert if you haven’t already seen the first season) the second season opens with the identification of Roper’s dead body. Finally believing that the exploitative antagonist is out of the picture for good, Jonathan Pine assumes the identity of Alex Goodwin. Leading a task force called ‘Night Owls’, Goodwin oversees the surveillance of suspicious activity within high-end London hotels. However, the counterterrorism surveillance shifts when Goodwin recognises a figure from his past associated with Roper - his emergence triggers alarm bells.
Pine’s conquest provokes him to journey to South America where we are introduced to Teddy Dos Santos (played by Diego Calva). Teddy is prolific within the illegal arms trade yet flies under the radar as the founder of a charity that looks after the ‘young victims of Colombia’s many years of violence’. It is in South America that we as an audience have to catch up with another identity change from Hiddleston’s character. Now posing as a millionaire called Matthew Ellis, it is through an immediate bond with Teddy that we are introduced to Roxanna Bolaños (played by Camila Morrone).
The series carefully unpacks the relationship that the trio have. Impactfully, the writers craft the complexity of the characters and discover the morality that lies within them all. As an audience member we are never fully sure on who to trust. Although we are introduced to a ruthless arms dealer at the beginning of the series, what develops is much more insightful as the motivation becomes clear behind the actions of Teddy Dos Santos. The writers explore a vulnerability which is not immediately obvious.
Beth Nugent
The second season of The Night Manager succeeds in what most shows are unable to replicate, a follow up season after a decade which is equally as good as the first. Most likely due to season two being co-produced by Amazon, nevertheless, the result is one of the most successful releases for the BBC in a significant amount of time. With an all-star cast and season three confirmed to be on the way, I implore you to add it to your watchlist, let’s just hope it doesn’t take another decade for the next instalment.
Featured Image: IMDb / The Night Manager
What did you think of The Night Manager season two?
