Tom Hiddleston’s Jonathan Pine is back, but his new mission takes him far from the luxury hotels of the first season. The second chapter of The Night Manager trades the deserts of Egypt and Switzerland for a globe-trotting adventure that plunged the cast and crew into the heat of Colombia, the streets of London, and the coasts of Spain. The production filmed across four countries over nearly six months to bring this new spy story to life.
The new season finds Pine, now living under the name Alex Goodwin, working a quiet MI6 surveillance job in London. His peaceful life ends when he spots an old enemy, pulling him into a dangerous new plot centered on a Colombian arms dealer named Teddy Dos Santos. To stop him, Pine must travel deep into Colombia, a country that forms the heart of the new story.
Where The New Mission Unfolds: Primary Filming Countries
The production team embarked on what director Georgi Banks-Davies called a “massic global adventure,” filming for 96 to 97 days across six months because of the extensive travel involved. The story’s journey is real, filmed on location in the United Kingdom, Colombia, Spain, and France.
Barry Ryan, head of production at Ink Factory, confirmed that “more than 75% of the story is about Colombia,” making it the central backdrop for the season’s drama. This was a major shift from the first season, which was filmed in locations like Zermatt, Switzerland, and Marrakech, Morocco.
The Heart Of The Action: Filming In Colombia
The decision to set and film the season in Colombia was significant. Screenwriter David Farr flew to the country on a “writing recce” for inspiration, aiming to engage with its complex reality beyond common stereotypes. The production hired nearly 300 local crew members for a five-week shoot during August, taking advantage of the country’s film incentive program.
“Colombia is a very, very complex country, massively misunderstood. Everyone thinks it’s just completely dangerous and it’s totally not true. But for me, I think it was really important to sort of engage in that seriously. So we did. We went there properly, we met people, fantastic people,” said screenwriter David Farr.
Filming took place in three key Colombian locations:
- Medellรญn: The team shot in the “City of Eternal Spring,” using its unique setting in the Aburrรก Valley. They incorporated the city’s famous annual flower festival and sculptures by artist Fernando Botero.
- Cartagena: Scenes were filmed in this historic Caribbean port city, known for its colorful colonial buildings and walled Old Town. The crew dealt with extreme heat and humidity during their short stay.
- Girardot: A private villa located about four hours from the capital, Bogotรก, was used as a key filming site.
The jungle scenes presented a major challenge. Producer Matthew Patnick explained that they scouted many jungles but faced issues with mosquitoes, ticks, heat, and difficult access. The final jungle sequences were a combination of footage shot in Colombia and the island of Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands, which matched surprisingly well.
European Backdrops: From London Streets To Spanish Shores
Before the South American adventure, the story begins in London. The production spent three weeks filming in the UK capital. Scenes show Pine running along the South Bank of the Thames, with aerial shots featuring landmarks like The Shard. The exterior of the fictional MI6 “River House” is actually Thames House, the real-world headquarters of MI5, located on Millbank. Other UK filming spots included the leafy suburbs of Richmond and Kew Gardens.
Spain provided a variety of looks for the series. The interior of Pine’s London surveillance unit was actually filmed inside a house in Barcelona. The coastal town of Sitges, south of Barcelona, was also used for filming. As with Colombia, Spain’s attractive tax incentives for film productions played a role in the decision to shoot there.
The Canary Islands, specifically Tenerife and Fuerteventura, were used not only for jungle scenes but for other exterior shots. Additional filming took place in Madrid and the Spanish Pyrenees.
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The Demanding Reality Of Global Production
The commitment to filming in real locations, not studios, came with physical costs. Executive producer Stephen Garrett joked about the team’s state after filming in the Colombian heat.
“We ended up slightly mad, Georgi and I and a couple of others. There were a few of us who ended up in daily shirt wars, just because they would be destroyed on a daily basis, because we got, sorry to say, so sweaty,” Garrett said.
Director Georgi Banks-Davies emphasized the demanding nature of the shoot, stating they went “to the depths of every place,” and that the brutal schedule was “really, really hard. You just can’t fake it.”.
The second season of The Night Manager launched on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on January 1, 2026. For viewers outside the UK, the series will be available globally on Amazon Prime Video starting January 11, 2026. The new season introduces actors Diego Calva as Teddy Dos Santos and Camila Morrone as Roxana, alongside returning stars Olivia Colman, Alistair Petrie, and Noah Jupe.
