The first season of The Night Manager was a huge hit with audiences and critics alike when it premiered on BBC and AMC. So a second season was pretty much a no-brainer. A television adaptation of John le Carré's novel of the same name, the first season starred Tom Hiddleston, and was one of the most talked-about series of 2016. Now a second installment is underway, and it has added to the buzz in a significant way by adding a new name to its writing team.
Word has emerged that spy author Charles Cumming has joined the writing team of the much anticipated second season, per Deadline. Cumming joins what is said to be a four-person writing team that is already known to include Matthew Orton. In case you were wondering, the second season of The Night Manager does not have a pre-existing written source, as John le Carré never penned a sequel to his original novel.
Without a source novel, there is ample pressure for the writers to build an original story. That story remains an ever-elusive mystery in and of itself. Given the show's popularity, a second season must have been hard to resist. Now it will have to compete against the quality set by its original season and the fact it does not have one of John le Carré's novels on which to base its material.
A similar situation emerged in the wake of Big Little Lies' critical and ratings success. Originally planned as a limited series, its popularity helped drive interest in producing another season, even though the author of the original novel it was based on never published a sequel. Given there is no next novel for The Night Manager to adapt, it will be interesting to learn how Season 2's writers handle that. As Game of Thrones' George R.R. Martin and Outlander's Diana Gabaldon know, a TV series and a book are two different things.
This is pure speculation, but it stands to reason that John le Carré could have input on the series. The acclaimed author is still active. His latest novel A Legacy of Spies was published last year, per The Guardian. In another encouraging tidbit, his sons are the co-CEOs of The Ink Factory, which is the production company behind the first and now-second season of The Night Manager.
Season 2 is still very much in the early stages and who will star in it remains a mystery, along with other facets of the production. A second season of The Night Manager will come with a tremendous amount of pressure. There is a lot of anticipation around this follow-up and whether it can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with its founding season. There is reason to hope it can. Time will prove or disprove that possibility.
No premiere date is known for The Night Manager Season 2. For other new and returning television shows you can watch while waiting for the show's return, check out CinemaBlend's guide to TV's summer premieres.
