2013-2016 was such a heady time for the internet’s dual crushes on Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Hiddleston. It was a simpler time, and to be fair, both Bendy and Tom gave us so much material. The other day, I was thinking back to the JArthy hysteria and giggling to myself. Remember Bendy’s California photoshoot with the Hunterbatch?? LMAO. Good times all around.

Anyway, during Tom’s pre-Tiddles era – like, this happened just a few months before he met Taylor Swift in 2016 – he appeared in AMC’s The Night Manager, a limited series based on a John le Carre novel of the same name. I watched the series and loved it – it was well done, smart, with great performances by Tom, Hugh Laurie, Elizabeth Debicki, Olivia Colman and Tom Hollander. Hugh Laurie was especially good, in my opinion, but Tom was the lead and he ended up winning a Golden Globe and he was nominated for an Emmy. The show was so well-received, there was a lot of talk (in real time) that the show should be expanded and made into a regular series. Everyone involved said they would love that… and then nothing happened. For years, the idea of a “second season” just withered away. But no more! We’re getting two new seasons of The Night Manager, with Tom attached as star and producer. Hugh Laurie will also be stepping in as an executive producer.

One year ago we told you that a second season of John le Carré adaptation The Night Manager was quietly being developed under the codename Steelworks. Now, Deadline can reveal that the BBC and new co-pro partner Amazon have gone big on a supercharged two-season order of the thriller, with Tom Hiddleston returning to lead, Hugh Laurie coming back as EP and with a new director in I Hate Suzie’s Georgi Banks-Davies. A third season has also been greenlit. David Farr is series creator and Stephen Garrett is leading the production.

The Night Manager Season 2 will begin filming later this year and will pick up with Hiddleston’s Jonathan Pine eight years after the explosive finale of Season 1, going beyond the original book, which was written by the celebrated British writer in 1993. Additional plot details are being kept under wraps and there is not yet confirmation as to whether EP Laurie’s Richard Roper, who was last seen in the back of a paddy wagon driven by arms buyers who were not best pleased with him, will return to star. Hiddleston will also EP and will discuss in more depth on tonight’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Simon Cornwell and Stephen Cornwell, le Carré’s sons who run The Ink Factory, said Season 1 proved “a landmark moment for the golden era of television – uniting on-screen and behind-the-camera talent at the top of their game – and an audience reception which was beyond our wildest imagining.” They added: “Revisiting the story of Pine also means going beyond the events of John le Carré’s original work: that is a decision we have not taken lightly, but his compelling characters and the vision David has for their next chapter were irresistible.”

[From Deadline]

In case you’re having a case of deja vu, in February 2023, there was industry chatter that something like this was in development. It took them more than a year to pull it together, and by the time “Season 2” airs, it will be nine years after the original series aired. I appreciate that they’re building that timeline into the story though – it’s not like the story will pick up a month after the events in the first season. I’m curious what Tom and Hugh will bring as executive producers, trying to extend John le Carre’s vision for these characters.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, ‘Night Manager’ promotional image courtesy of AMC.