Tom Hiddleston returns triumphantly in season 2 of The Night Manager – and I can

January 2026 will be Tom Hiddleston’s takeover month, with the highly anticipated The night manager season 2 will be broadcast on the BBC from January 1 and on Prime Video from January 11. After 10 years, the shrewd and aloof spy Johnathan Pine returns… right?

Technically speaking, Hiddleston assumes a myriad of identities in the new season, but for the sake of the UK’s security, I won’t reveal which ones. When we meet up with him a decade later, he’s still working with the Night Owls. But when he spots a henchman of deceased villain Richard Roper (Hugh Laurie), all hell breaks loose.

Tom Hiddleston breathes fresh air into a creatively liberated season 2 of The Night Manager

If you’ve ever watched a John le Carré adaptation before, you’ll know that second seasons aren’t really a thing. However, with Carré’s approval before his death in 2020 (according to his son and producer Simon Cornwell), a new creative concept was born. SO, The night manager Season 2 finds itself in an unusual sweet spot: sticking to a pre-built foundation while taking as many dramatic liberties as it wants.

Luckily for us, it works incredibly well. The BBC is well known for its high-stakes, high-quality crime dramas, but in recent years the pedal has well and truly been cranked up. Their production is confident, bold, inviting you to be challenged in ways you didn’t expect. When it comes to Jonathan Pine’s ever-evolving identity, the challenge remains ever greater.

I don’t need to point out that Hiddleston is really good at his job, and no matter how difficult or complicated the action, we’re in good hands (even if Pine himself doesn’t make the smartest decisions). He’s joined by an assortment of new faces in Season 2, with the irresistibly sexy Diego Calva playing opposite the calculated and calm antagonist Teddy dos Santos.

Create a romantic entanglement between the two – in the form of the intelligent but attractive Roxana, played by Camila Morrone – and things only get spicier by the second. I can’t believe the BBC basically recreated the virus Challengers scene at a pool party in Medellín (you can see a sneak peek in the trailer above), but hey, everyone’s being cautious these days…and it’s hot.

Despite all this flowering, the basics have not been lost

We don’t have much frivolous fun when it comes to The night manager – you will need to log in Death in paradise Or Black ops in iPlayer for that. But playing it straight is exactly what’s needed, and in a way, it goes against the genre stereotype that all the best streaming services have come to cultivate. For Pine, his business never rests.

Frankly, this is excellent news. Sure, he might risk his life in the name of fictional entertainment every two seconds, but the payoff is colossal. Not only is Olivia Colman back for more scenes in Season 2 (and not just in a half-hearted way, either), but MI6 is now under the control of Indira Varma’s head of operations. She’s slippery, so watch out for her… that’s all I’ll say for now.

However, it is Hayley Squires who I want to congratulate the most. Since her stellar performance in I, Daniel Blake, she has somewhat fallen into obscurity when it comes to exceptional British acting talent. If Pine is the highlight of the show, Squires’ character Sally is the glue that holds the operation together. Without it, nothing would actually be achieved, and I think this is just as true for The night manager season 2 itself.

Basically, we’re kicking off 2026 in the most seductive, complex, and devilishly exciting way possible. Good things come to those who wait, and we are certainly rewarded.

Follow TechRadar on Google News And add us as your favorite source to get our news, reviews and expert opinions in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!

And of course you can too follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form and receive regular updates from us on WhatsApp Also.

Jasmine is a streaming editor for TechRadar, having previously written for outlets including Radio Times, Yahoo! and stylist. She specializes in heartwarming TV shows and movies, ranging from Hallmark’s latest tearjerker to Netflix’s Virgin River. She was also the one who wrote an obituary for George Cooper Sr. during season 7 of Young Sheldon and still can’t watch the funeral episode.