The_Night_Manager_(miniseries)

<i>The Night Manager</i> (British TV series)

The Night Manager (British TV series)

2016 British television serial based on a novel by John le Carré


The Night Manager is a British spy thriller television serial based on the 1993 novel by John le Carré and adapted by David Farr.[1][2][3] The six-part first series, directed by Susanne Bier and starring Tom Hiddleston, Hugh Laurie, Olivia Colman, Tom Hollander, David Harewood and Elizabeth Debicki, began broadcasting on BBC One on 21 February 2016. In the United States, it began on 19 April 2016 on AMC. It has been sold internationally by IMG (now Fifth Season) to over 180 countries.[4][5]

Quick Facts The Night Manager, Genre ...

The Night Manager was nominated for thirty-six awards and won eleven, including two Primetime Emmy Awards (for director Bier and music composer Victor Reyes) [6][7] and three Golden Globe Awards (for Hiddleston, Colman, and Laurie).[8] In 2023, an Indian adaptation was released, starring Anil Kapoor, Aditya Roy Kapur and Sobhita Dhulipala.[9] In April 2024, The Night Manager was renewed for a second and third series by BBC One and Amazon Prime Video, with Hiddleston confirmed to reprise his role and Georgi Banks-Davies directing.[10][11]

Premise

Jonathan Pine, night manager of a luxury hotel in Cairo and former British soldier, is recruited by Angela Burr, the manager of a Foreign Office task force investigating illegal arms sales, to infiltrate the inner circle of arms dealer Richard Roper.

Cast

Main

  • Tom Hiddleston as Jonathan Pine, a former military officer tasked by Angela Burr with bringing down arms dealer Richard Roper.
  • Hugh Laurie as Richard "Dicky" Onslow Roper, an arms dealer who is also the father of Danny Roper. Despite his charming personality and also his regular charity work, Roper is regarded as "the worst man in the world" due to his ruthless, amoral, psychopathic nature. He also has a group of henchmen, all of whom call him "Chief".
  • Olivia Colman as Angela Burr, the manager of a Foreign Office task force dedicated to bringing down arms dealer Richard Roper. Originally "Leonard" in the book, this role was gender-swapped.
  • Tom Hollander as Major Lance "Corky" Corkoran, Richard Roper's front man.
  • Elizabeth Debicki as Jemima "Jed" Marshall, the girlfriend/mistress of Richard Roper.
  • Alistair Petrie as Alexander "Sandy" Langbourne, the Lord Langbourne and a man who assists Richard Roper in his arms dealing business.
  • Natasha Little as Caroline "Caro" Langbourne, the Lady Langbourne, who is also the wife of Alexander "Sandy" Langbourne.
  • Douglas Hodge as Rex Mayhew
  • David Harewood as Joel Steadman
  • Tobias Menzies as Geoffrey Dromgoole
  • Antonio de la Torre as Juan Apostol
  • Adeel Akhtar as Rob Singhal
  • Michael Nardone as Frisky, one of Richard Roper's henchmen. He is Scottish and appears to have a medical background which is seen when Roper asks him to check Pine's pulse after Pine has been viciously beaten and left unconscious in the aftermath of the staged kidnapping of Roper's son, Danny.
  • Hovik Keuchkerian as Tabby, one of Richard Roper's henchmen.

Supporting

Production

In January 2015 it was announced that the series would be co-produced by the BBC, AMC and The Ink Factory.[1] Onsite services were provided by Palma Pictures.

Filming began on 19 March 2015 in Zermatt, Switzerland.[12][13] Production then moved to London, UK. From 13 to 17 April 2015, location filming took place at Blackpool Mill Cottage, Hartland Abbey, and in and around Hartland, Devon.[14] On 20 April 2015, production moved to Marrakesh, Morocco. The Es Saadi Resort was used as the location for the fictional Nefertiti Hotel in Cairo.[15] At the end of May, production moved to Majorca, Spain; principal photography wrapped in Majorca on 3 July 2015.[16][17] Notable places include Port de Sóller, luxury property La Fortaleza in Port de Pollença and several locations in Palma.[18]

The author John le Carré makes a cameo appearance as an insulted restaurant diner in episode four.[19]

In February 2023, it was reported that the second series was in development with Hiddleston set to return.[20] In March 2024, it was announced that BBC and Amazon Prime Video has ordered a second and third series with Hiddleston returning in the lead role and Laurie as an executive producer.[10]

Episodes

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Broadcast

The first episode of The Night Manager was broadcast on 21 February 2016 on BBC One in the United Kingdom.[22] AMC Spain broadcast the series on 24 February 2016 in Spain.[23] TV3 in New Zealand broadcast the series on 28 February 2016.[24] In the United States, the show premiered on 19 April 2016 on AMC.[25] The serial aired in Australia on BBC First on 20 March 2016.[26] The serial aired in Saudi Arabia on AMC starting on 6 June 2016.[citation needed] In Finland the serial premiered 22 June 2016 on MTV3.[27] In Sweden the serial first aired on 22 August 2016 on TV4, split up into eight episodes not the original release of six episodes.[28] In Germany the serial started airing on 29 August 2016 on ZDF. The series was broadcast on Raidió Teilifís Éireann in Ireland on 29 August 2016.[29] On 24 February 2017, The Night Manager started to air in the Netherlands on public broadcaster NPO 1, being broadcast by AVROTROS.[30] The series was broadcast by BBC Persian from 15 February 2018 in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan.

Critical reception

The series received a score of 82/100 on Metacritic[31] and 91% on Rotten Tomatoes.[32]

Adam Sisman, le Carré's biographer, wrote in the UK The Daily Telegraph, "It is more than 20 years since the novel was published, and in that time two film companies have tried and failed to adapt it, concluding that it was impossible to compress into two hours. But this six-hour television adaptation is long enough to give the novel its due." He added, "And though Hugh Laurie may seem a surprising choice to play 'the worst man in the world', he dominates the screen as a horribly convincing villain. Alert viewers may spot a familiar face in the background of one scene, in a restaurant: John le Carré himself makes a cameo, as he did in the films of A Most Wanted Man and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. But he is on screen only for an instant: blink and you'll miss him."[33]

Reviewing the first episode for The Guardian, Archie Bland began by noting, "The Night Manager is as sexed up as television drama comes. In Tom Hiddleston and Hugh Laurie it has bona fide international stars; in John le Carré's source novel it has a pedigree of untouchable grandeur. The palette is as sumptuous as one of our hero Jonathan Pine's beautiful hotels". He added, "It's Laurie's vulpine performance that gives The Night Manager its force once the smell of money has worn off. But we barely see him for the first 40 minutes – a delayed gratification trick that's always worked like magic on me, ever since we spent the whole first episode of The West Wing waiting impatiently to meet Josiah Bartlet." Turning to Hiddleston's performance, Bland wrote, "And as the embodiment of the show's atmosphere of paralysed establishment glamour, Hiddleston is the business. When the noble beast beneath that accommodating English exterior begins to make itself known, I find the righteous revenge he's intent on wreaking on Roper compelling."[34]

IGN reviewer Jesse Schedeen gave the serial 8.8 out of 10, saying, "The Night Manager proves that television is the ideal format to bring le Carré's novels to life. This miniseries is tightly paced, suspenseful and boasts strong performances from the likes of Hiddleston, Laurie, Colman and Hollander. With any luck, this series will open the doors for more of le Carré's classic spy tales to make their way to the small screen."[35]

The New Yorker reviewer Emily Nussbaum was unimpressed, calling the miniseries "elegant but ultimately empty", with "overwrought sequences of doomed love", "just an old recipe made with artisanal ingredients". She praised the actors but found the characterisation of Roper "less Dr. No and more Mr. Magoo".[36] However, Brian Tallerico called it a "brilliant adaptation" on RogerEbert.com, with praise for the performances of Hiddleston and Laurie, and for Susanne Bier's direction: "Bier brings a cinematic language to The Night Manager, and a deeper understanding of character than we often get in projects that hinge on espionage. She understands that it’s not about the twists and turns of the spy game but the impact it has on those who are playing it."[37]

Accolades

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Notes

  1. Based on 28-day data.
  2. Tied with Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski for The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story: Episode: "Manna from Heaven"; Based on the book The Run of His Life: The People v. O. J. Simpson by Jeffrey Toobin.

References

  1. Merrill Barr (January 2015). "AMC Will Air 'The Night Manager' Starring Hugh Laurie & Tom Hiddleston". Screen Rant. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  2. Cynthia Littleton (30 October 2014). "AMC Nabs Hugh Laurie, Tom Hiddleston 'The Night Manager'". Variety. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  3. Littleton, Cynthia (15 October 2017). "IMG Boosts Presence and Flexes Indie Muscle at Mipcom". Variety. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  4. "Amazon snags The Night Manager". TBI Vision. 13 May 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  5. "The Night Manager". Television Academy. Archived from the original on 19 August 2023. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  6. Hipes, Patrick (14 July 2016). "The 68th Annual Emmy Nominations: The Complete List". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  7. "The Night Manager | Golden Globe Awards". Golden Globes. Archived from the original on 19 August 2023. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  8. Jha, Lata (17 January 2023). "Disney+ Hotstar announces new show 'The Night Manager'". Mint. Archived from the original on 12 February 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  9. Arvin Donguines (14 January 2015). "'The Night Manager' Release Date, Latest News: BBC, The Ink Factory and AMC Announce Mini-Series". Christian Post. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  10. Paris, Natalie (23 March 2016). "The Night Manager: Inside Es Saadi, the real-life Nefertiti Hotel". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  11. Bennett, Annie (23 March 2016). "The Night Manager: Majorca filming locations". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
  12. Brennan, Ailis (22 February 2016). "11 Things you need to know about The Night Manager". GQ Magazines. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  13. Lewis, George (28 February 2023). "The Night Manager season 2 finally gets update with Tom Hiddleston". Digital Spy. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  14. "Weekly top 30". Barb. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  15. "BBC One: The Night Manager". BBC Online. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
  16. The Listener article (26 January 2016). "On TV, February 27 – March 4: including The Night Manager". The Listener Online. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  17. AMC press release (8 January 2016). "AMC Announces 2016 Spring Series Premieres and Releases First-Look Photos". The Futon Critic. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  18. "Foxtel Upfronts 2016: Local thrillers, Lifestyle & US Drama". 5 November 2015. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  19. "MTV3 - Yövahti" (in Finnish). mtv.fi. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  20. "TV4 play - The Night Manager" (in Swedish). TV4. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  21. "ZDF - The Night Manager" (in German). zdf.de. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  22. "Nieuwe misdaadserie: The night manager - npo.nl". npo.nl. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  23. "The Night Manager". www.metacritic.com. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  24. "The Night Manager". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  25. Sisman, Adam (19 February 2016). "The Night Manager: le Carré's 'unexpected miracle'". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  26. Bland, Archie (21 February 2016). "The Night Manager recap: episode one – as sexy and sumptuous as TV gets". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  27. Jesse Schedeen (18 April 2016). "The Night Manager: Miniseries Review". IGN. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  28. Nussbaum, Emily (30 May 2016). ""The Night Manager," "Happy Valley," and the six-episode drama". The New Yorker.
  29. Tallerico, Brian (19 April 2016). "Tom Hiddleston and Hugh Laurie Shine in AMC's Brilliant "The Night Manager"". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  30. "Whats On: Sessions: British Screenwriters Awards". London Screenwriters' Festival. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  31. Lincoln, Ross A. (14 November 2016). "Critics' Choice TV Nominations Unveiled". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  32. "20th Annual TV Awards (2015-16)". Online Film & Television Association. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  33. "Craft & Design Awards 2016 | Royal Television Society". rts.org.uk. 21 June 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  34. Prudom, Laura (22 June 2016). "'Mr. Robot,' 'The People v. O.J. Simpson' Lead TCA Awards Nominations". Variety. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  35. "2017 Artios Awards". www.castingsociety.com. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
  36. "4th Annual AMPS Awards". www.amps.net. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
  37. "BAFTA Awards Search | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Archived from the original on 19 August 2023. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  38. "BAFTA Awards: Television in 2017". BAFTA. 2017. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  39. "BAFTA Awards: Television Craft in 2017". BAFTA. 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  40. "BPG Awards 2017". Broadcasting Press Guild. 3 March 2006. Retrieved 3 March 2006.
  41. "2017 - Camille Awards". Camille Awards. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  42. Petski, Denise (10 January 2017). "'La La Land', 'Rogue One', 'Hacksaw Ridge' Among Cinema Audio Society Nominees". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  43. "2017 Gracie Winners - Alliance for Women in Media". Alliance for Women in Media. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  44. "2016 IFMCA Awards". International Film Music Critics Association. 14 September 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  45. "Rose d'Or Awards 2017". Rose d'Or. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
  46. McNary, Dave (2 March 2017). "Saturn Awards Nominations 2017: 'Rogue One,' 'Walking Dead' Lead". Variety. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  47. "TRIC Awards 2017 - The Nominees" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 March 2017.
  48. "Past Scripter Awards". USC Scripter Award. Retrieved 8 November 2021.

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