By Franz Amussen
THIS WEEK sees the American TV debut of The Night Manager, the hugely-acclaimed six-part contemporary adaptation of John Le Carré’s best-selling spy novel. The show has earned rave reviews on the other side of the pond, and turned its star, Tom Hiddleston, into a hot favorite to succeed Daniel Craig as the next James Bond.
The plot follows hotel manager-turned-MI5 operative Jonathan Pine (Hiddleston) in his quest to bring down international arms dealer Richard Roper (Hugh Laurie). Pine, a former soldier, is thrust into a world of international intrigue when he is recruited by a British intelligence officer (Olivia Colman) to infiltrate Roper’s inner circle. To get to the heart of Roper’s vast empire, Pine must withstand the allure of his beautiful girlfriend Jed (Elizabeth Debicki) and the suspicious interrogations of his venal chief of staff Major Corkoran (Tom Hollander). In his quest to do the right thing, Pine must first become a criminal himself.
The show marks an abrupt departure for Hugh Laurie. Although best known on these shores as the misanthropic but brilliant doctor House on the long-running TV show of the same name, Laurie’s usual roles are a million miles removed from Roper, a billionaire arms dealer who peddles nerve gas, rocket launchers and all manner of odious weaponry to militants in the Middle East, all while posing as a philanthropist working on behalf of refugees.
“He has a pretty broad streak of the psychopath in him,” Laurie said of his character, who nonetheless comes to trust Pine after he gradually ingratiates himself to Roper, becoming his most trusted confidant.
“Pine, as an errant knight wandering the Earth in search of a cause, has always been looking for someone as a mentor,” Hiddleston said. “And in some respects, Roper is that man, in manner, in wit, in bearing, in sophistication. The only difference between them is their moral compass.”
The show is AMC’s first scripted miniseries since “Broken Trail” in 2006 and was co-produced with the BBC at a reported cost of $5 million an episode. The lush series was filmed in picturesque locations in England, Spain, Switzerland and Morocco. Besides Laurie and Hiddleston the cast contains an array of established British character actors, including Tobias Menzies, Tom Hollander, David Harewood and Olivia Colman.
The Night Manager, debuts Tuesday, April 19th on AMC. Visit amc.com for showtimes.
