The Night Manager ( 2016-2026)

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So this was a big show on the BBC about ten years ago and January 2026 has delivered the long awaited (by some) sequel. With the huge success of this season's Traitors the BBC are on a roll, fighting to save the licence fee so needed this to engage. In the UK we have to pay for the national broadcaster or the cops come around so they have to justify for £170 ($200) annual fee. It's a glossy spy thriller starring Tom Hiddleston and based on a John Le Carre book. The first season saw Tom play an unlikely concierge at a swanky 5 star hotel in Asia where his impeccable manners and discretion earned the respect of his patrons and regulars. But he loses his cool when a beautiful socialite he falls for is brutally murdered by thugs and he decides to get his revenge , going up against a filthy rich international arms dealer called Richard Roper (Hugh Laurie), who rather enjoys the company of inscrutable fellow Englishman, unaware of his intentions of revenge or who he really is. Season 2 has an early and obvious twist as the action moves to Columbia. Hiddleston's character Jonathan Pine has now been recruited by British intelligence in the 3 year interim after his heroic exploits in season one and runs the MI6 night desk under the new name of Alex Goodwin. It's not long before we are introduced to duplicitous British agents and politicians , who rather like Ropers delivery system and potential to aid Britain's murky foreign policy. Goodwin, with the help of rough elements of MI6, are determined to catch their prey and break up the conspiracy. SO I thought season 1 was rather hyped and a 3/5 for me. People seemed to enjoy it enough to earn that ten year wait sequel. This time it's sillier as our agent runs around Columbia changing his shirt more times than Jason Statham and able to avoid death in most episodes. The stunning Camillia Marrone is the love interest and the BBC, being the BBC, have to introduce some unneeded homoerotic as Roper's henchman Teddy Dos Santos ( Diego Calva playing a Tony Montana type character) brushes his stubble and pistol nozzle on Hiddleston's clean shave immaculate chin one too many times for me to spice things up a bit for viewers that way inclined. Now the thing with this is Hiddleston is playing the old Bond style spy in season two which he looks and acts exactly like in season one when he is anything but a spy in season one. It was never convincing in season one he was never not a spy. It's almost like they cast the wrong guy for this. But they went with Tom and people enjoyed the show enough to tune in again and maybe it will come to your territory soon. Als, for me it's a routine glossy thriller that lacks brain or intrigue and I just feel duty bound to see it out after four episodes. I hope it gets better in the next four episodes but all feels a bit obvious.