The addictive British spy thriller you need to watch before series two drops

Sometimes the recommendations you get from your colleagues, friends, and mum are a bit dry. That’s why you need to watch this addictive show, which is so critically acclaimed that fans have been begging the BBC for a second series for almost ten years. Finally, that long-awaited second series is about to drop, which doesn’t leave you long to catch up on series one.

We are, of course, talking about The Night Manager on BBC iPlayer.​

What’s The Night Manager about, and who’s in it?

The Night Manager is a BBC thriller series about a hotel manager who gets entangled in the dark underworld of crime and espionage, while simply trying to do his job. Expect drama, deceit, double-crossing, and yeah, a little death (no spoilers!). Described by The Guardian as “As sexy and sumptuous as TV gets”, the show is peppered with love triangles, seduction, and good old romantic tension throughout. Hey, you can’t have espionage without a few love affairs, right?

And for the cast? Well, the show is just as star-studded as it is well-written. Our lead is the charming Tom Hiddleston (Loki), who plays the mysterious hotel manager, Jonathan Pine. Hiddleston stars alongside everyone’s favourite national treasure, Olivia Colman, as well as TV legends Hugh Laurie (House), Elizabeth Debicki (The Crown), and Tom Hollander (Rev). Like a darker 007, the show’s iconic cast slides into character smoother than you can say “shaken, not stirred.”

What’s so good about The Night Manager?

When the BBC dropped the first series of The Night Manager, fans wasted no time in swearing their loyalty to their new TV obsession, giving it an audience rating of 90% on Rotten Tomatoes. In fact, the first series was so critically acclaimed that it even bagged Tom Hiddleston a Golden Globe for Best Performance, which he described as “one of the most creatively fulfilling projects” he had ever worked on. In his acceptance speech, Hiddleston said: “The depth, range, and complexity of Jonathan Pine was, and remains, a thrilling prospect.”

So why should you watch The Night Manager?

We know you’re picky when it comes to thrillers, and any old show isn’t gonna cut it when The Day of the Jackal and Black Doves are competing for your attention. So let us tell you: The Night Manager is just as gripping, heart-racing, and addictive as those shows. For those impossible-to-impress psychological thriller buffs amongst you: expect plot twists you didn’t see coming in pacy episodes, packed with smart writing, moral ambiguity, and psychological depth. And it has the additional bonus of Olivia Colman.

For those of you wondering, “Well, if I like espionage, why don’t I just rewatch Bond?”. Well, aside from the fact that you’ve seen it fifty thousand times, there’s one major reason The Night Manager should get your vote. It’s a series, so you won’t get totally wrapped up in this cinematic universe for two hours, only to get your heart broken when the credits roll. The first series of The Night Manager is already available on BBC iPlayer, so you’ve got six hour-long episodes to get stuck into before series two even drops. Score!

If you need any more reasons to get caught up on series one now, let us give you another. After nine years, the second series of The Night Manager is almost out, which means social media is about to get flooded with commentary, memes, and spoilers. Ever seen your mates posting about a show that they “can’t get enough of” and you can’t get involved because you haven’t seen series one yet? Pain like no other.

Where can I watch series one of The Night Manager?

You can get caught up on series one of The Night Manager now. Just head to BBC iPlayer, where you can catch all the episodes of series one here.