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January 2026 will be the month of Tom Hiddleston's takeover. Night manager Season 2 hit BBC from January 1 and Prime Video from January 11. After 10 years, shrewd and aloof spy Jonathan Pine returns…or does he?
Technically speaking, Hiddleston takes on multiple identities in the new season, but for the safety of the UK, I won't reveal which ones. When we meet him ten years later, he is still working with the Nite Owls. But when he spots the henchman of late villain Richard Roper (Hugh Laurie), all hell breaks loose.
Tom Hiddleston breathes fresh air into the creatively liberated second season of The Night Manager
If you've ever watched a John Le Carré adaptation, you know that second seasons aren't a big deal. However, with Carré's approval before his death in 2020 (according to son and producer Simon Cornwell), a new creative concept was born. That's why, Night Manager Season two finds itself in an unusually satisfying position: stick to the pre-set foundation while taking as many dramatic liberties as you like.
Luckily for us, it works incredibly well. The BBC is well known for its high-stakes, high-quality crime dramas, but the pedal has really been pushed to the metal in the last few years. Their performance is confident, bold and invites you to take on a challenge you never thought possible. When it comes to Jonathan Pine's ever-changing personality, the task remains a pressing one.
I don't need to spell out the fact that Hiddleston is damn good at his job, and no matter how difficult or complex the action gets, we're in safe hands (even if Pine himself doesn't make the smartest decisions). In season two, he's joined by a smorgasbord of new faces: the irresistibly sexy Diego Calva plays opposite the calculating and cold-blooded antagonist Teddy dos Santos.
Create a romantic entanglement between the couple – in the form of the smart but seductive Roxanne, played by Camila Morrone – and the situation only gets more intense by the second. I can't quite believe that the BBC has essentially recreated a viral Contenders scene at a pool party in Medellin (a preview can be seen in the trailer above), but hey, everyone's throwing caution to the wind these days… and it's hot.
Despite all this, the basics are not lost.
We don't have much frivolous entertainment when it comes to Night Manager – you will need to tune in Death in Paradise or Black Operas in iPlayer for this. But playing it straight is exactly what it's supposed to do, and in some ways it goes against the genre stereotype. best streaming services came to improve. For Pyne, his business never stops.
Honestly, this is great news. Of course, he could risk his life every two seconds in the name of fictional entertainment, but the reward would be colossal. Not only is Olivia Colman back for more scenes in season two (and not just in a limp cameo), but MI6 is now under the control of Chief of Operations Indira Varma. It's slippery, so take care… that's all I'll say for now.
But most of all I want to give credit to Hayley Squires. Ever since her role in I, Daniel Blake, she has somehow fallen off the radar when it comes to exceptional British acting talent. If Pine is the show stopper, then Squires' character Sally is the real glue that holds the whole operation together. Without it, nothing would be effectively achieved, and I think this is also true for Night manager season 2 itself.
Essentially, we're kicking off 2026 in the most enticing, challenging, and damn exciting way possible. Good things come to those who wait, and we are certainly rewarded.
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