The return of The Night Manager has been met with critical praise, as the show’s second season currently holds a flawless 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes. This marks a strong start for the continuation of the BBC thriller, which first aired back in 2016. Viewers were reunited with Tom Hiddleston as Jonathan Pine, now living under the alias Alex Goodwin, and the new season premiered on Thursday, January 1, 2026, on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
What Happened in the Season 2 Premiere
The season opens with a flashback to Syria, four years after the dramatic arrest of arms dealer Richard Roper. Jonathan Pine meets with his former handler, Angela Burr (Olivia Colman), to secretly identify Roper’s body and ensure his death is never officially recorded. The story then jumps ahead, finding Pine six years after the events of the first season. He is working a quieter life in London, managing a night-time surveillance team known as the Night Owls.
This calm is shattered when Pine spots a familiar face: Jaco, a former soldier who worked for Roper. Against the orders of his boss, Rex Mayhew, Pine directs his team to follow Jaco. This decision sets off a chain of dangerous events. Rex is soon found dead, a situation made to look like suicide. While investigating his boss’s death, Pine uncovers files on Rex’s burner phone that suggest high-level corruption within their own organization, Riverhouse, and lead him to a new, powerful target: Teddy Dos Santos.
Teddy is a Colombian businessman who operates the Aurora charity and considers himself the true disciple of Richard Roper. Pine’s team follows the trail to Colombia in an attempt to intercept a ship linked to Teddy’s company, Barquero. The mission goes wrong. Teddy confronts and kills Jaco and two members of Pine’s surveillance team. Back in London, an associate is murdered and a key witness, Roxana Bolaños, is taken. The episode ends dramatically, with Pine discovering a bomb on Jaco’s body and escaping just before it explodes, while Teddy calmly walks away from the chaos.
Paul Hirons of The Killing Times wrote: “It’s all brilliantly breathless stuff… The Night Manager (Series 2) is broadcast in the UK on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Look out for it on Amazon Prime Video in other territories at a later date.”
New Characters and Returning Faces
Season 2 introduces several new key characters to the story. The main antagonist is Teddy Dos Santos, played by Diego Calva. Teddy is a charismatic and ruthless businessman seen as the heir to Roper’s criminal legacy. Camila Morrone joins the cast as Roxana Bolaños, a businesswoman with connections to Teddy’s shipping operations who becomes a complicated ally to Pine.
New figures within the intelligence service include Indira Varma as Mayra, the new chair of the Riverhouse Supervisory Council, and Paul Chahidi as Basil. Hayley Squires plays Sally, a member of Pine’s Night Owls team.
Fans were also happy to see the return of original cast members. Alongside Tom Hiddleston, Olivia Colman reprises her role as intelligence officer Angela Burr. Other returning actors include Alistair Petrie as Sandy Langbourne, Douglas Hodge as Rex Mayhew, and Noah Jupe as Daniel “Danny” Roper, the son of the late arms dealer. Notably, Hugh Laurie is also credited as returning as Richard Roper, appearing in the premiere’s flashback scenes.
Viewer Reaction to the Long-Awaited Return
The premiere sparked immediate conversation online, with many viewers expressing a very specific challenge. A common reaction across social media was that people struggled to remember the complex plot of the first season, which originally aired a full decade ago in February 2016. Fans took to X (formerly Twitter) to share their amusement and frustration over the long gap.
One viewer joked, “Watching #TheNightManagerS2 when you already have a notoriously bad memory”. Another stated, “I have no idea what is going on… Not sure if it would be easier to follow if they didn’t keep cutting back to characters from 10 years ago that I have forgotten about”. Others decided to rewatch the first season, with comments like, “Was going to watch the #TheNightManagerS2 but I can’t remember #thenightmanager so will have to rewatch series one”.
Some viewers found the pacing of the first episode to be slow. One comment read, “Enjoyed the first series of The Night Manager, but found the start of the second series very tedious. Hope it improves”. Another viewer compared it to another show, saying they found a different series “much more engaging than The Night Manager”.
Despite these reactions, many other fans were thrilled with the show’s return. The premiere also received strong positive feedback, with viewers calling it “outstanding” and “brilliant”. One excited fan posted, “Well that didn’t disappoint!!! Episode 1 of The Night Manager- Phew – must resist the temptation to binge!”.
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Release Schedule and How to Watch
For audiences in the United Kingdom, The Night Manager Season 2 is airing on BBC One. The first episode premiered on New Year’s Day (January 1, 2026). The second episode is scheduled for Sunday, January 4, at 9 PM. Following that, new episodes will continue to air every Sunday at the same time.
All episodes are available for streaming on BBC iPlayer shortly after they premiere on television. For viewers outside the UK, reports indicate the season will be available on Amazon Prime Video in other territories, though a specific release date for international audiences has not been officially announced. The new season is listed with a TV-14 rating.
The continuation of the series was officially confirmed in April 2024, much to the delight of fans who had waited years for more of the story. Beyond his starring role, Tom Hiddleston also serves as an executive producer for the second season, alongside his original co-star Hugh Laurie.
