Olivia Colman To Return to 'The Night Manager' in Season 2

When the cast list for The Night Manager Season 2 was announced at the beginning of June 2024, it was pretty noticeable that only one name from the show's first season, which aired in 2016, was listed on the roster: Tom Hiddleston. Obviously, he was a requirement for the BBC to bring back the show; his character, Jonathan Pine, was the hero of the John LeCarr book the limited series was initially based on; if one were going to extend the series with stories "inspired by" LeCarr's work, the original actor who played Pine was essential to pulling that claim off. However, it also felt a bit awkward, as if Hiddleston was doing a vanity project no one else could be convinced to touch. Not that anyone would deny the man who played Loki anything, but it wasn't the best of looks.

However, it seems that the BBC was merely holding back the returning cast to announce at a later date. Hiddleston is not the only cast member whose fortunes have risen since he originally starred in the series who will return to the show. Olivia Colman (The Crown) will also reprise her role, returning as Angela Burr, the head of a Foreign Office task force who kicks everything off in the first season when she recruits Pine to work for her to help take down arms dealer Richard Roper (Hugh Laurie). 

Colman's return is a big deal, not just because her star has risen further than Hiddleston's in the intervening eight years, with an Oscar, two Emmys, a few Golden Globes, and some BAFTAs. Angela Burr was part of the leading edge of cases that show gender-swapped characters to include more meaty parts of women, as well as being able to give the role to the best actor available.

Ciolamn is not the only returnee either, though she is the only main character from Season 1 included in this announcement. The others who will be reprising their roles were smaller-time characters, Burr's assistant, and Roper's henchfolk. Most viewers will remember Alistair Petrie (Sex Education), who played Alexander Langbourne -- though everyone called him Sandy -- Roper's arms dealer assistant who Pine spends time with, and they may also remember Michael Nardone (Traces) as Frisky, the other henchman who Sandy pairs off with once Pine is sniffed out and beaten. There's also Douglas Hodge (Black Mirror) as Rex Mayhew, who was part of Burr's team and held down Limpet during the attempted River House coup. 

Finally, there's Noah Jupe who people may remember played young Danny Roper in that first season; he's since grown up and shot to international fame in the blockbuster A Quiet Place horror film franchise. His return is probably the most anticipated, along with Colman's, much in the same way that Happy Valley fans were eager to see how Rhys Connah turned out now that he'd grown up and decided to take up acting as a career, returning to play his first role as the now high school-aged Ryan Cawood. 

These returnees join Hiddleston, plus already-announced newcomers American actor Camila Morrone (Daisy Jones & The Six), Mexican actor Diego Calva (Narcos: Mexico), Indira Varma (Doctor Who), Paul Chahidi (The Serpent Queen), and Hayley Squires (The Essex Serpent). There is still no plot synopsis to speak of, but filming will begin in London in the coming weeks.

The Night Manager Season 2 is expected to arrive on the BBC and Prime Video in 2025, with Season 3 to follow in 2026.