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THE NIGHT MANAGER Lavish adaptation of John le Carré espionage thriller
It’s been almost 20 years since the last TV adaptation of a John le Carré novel (A Perfect Spy on the BBC). The author actually worked for MI5 and MI6 in the 50s and 60s before he started writing, which lends those dense, intelligent thrillers an air of authenticity. Books such as The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and The Russia House set a new benchmark in the espionage genre. The Night Manager was i rst published in 1993 and in this six-part series, we follow ex-soldier Jonathan Pine (Tom Hiddleston) as he’s recruited by intelligence ofi cer Burr (Olivia Colman) to go undercover and ini ltrate the operations of arms dealer Richard Onslow Roper (Hugh Laurie).
‘The Night Manager is a relentlessly exhilarating thriller with profound emotional depths,’ explains Susanne Bier who directs all six episodes of this BBC / AMC co-production. ‘David Farr’s elegant script perfectly orchestrates the central cat-and-mouse game between two irresistibly l awed characters. That Hugh Laurie and Tom Hiddleston will be playing Roper and Pine, respectively, is so thrilling to me. Their shared soulfulness, precision and sharp humour will seduce us all, both through Roper’s charming yet insidious manipulations and Pine’s unsettlingly enigmatic struggle to do the right thing. I could not be more excited.’ (Henry Northmore) ■ BBC One, Feb, date tbc.
94 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016