In pop culture, 2016 stands out for the summer of Hiddleswift, when Tom Hiddleston and Taylor Swift flew too close to the sun and got scorched by public backlash. But that was also the year of The Night Manager, which was a big hit—huge, in the UK—and won a couple of Emmys and a trio of Golden Globes for the principal cast of Hugh Laurie, Tom Hiddleston, and Olivia Colman. 

 

In January 2017, Hiddleston gave a disastrous acceptance speech at the Globes and frankly, his public persona never recovered. It was the final nail in his internet boyfriend coffin following his summer of overexposure. But guess what? The Night Manager is back!

 

Series two of The Night Manager will premiere on BBC One on New Year’s Day, with an international debut on Prime Video on January 11. The trailer for series two dropped yesterday, and it looks pretty good. Tom Hiddleston will probably never play Bond—I say “probably” because who really knows what will happen with Amazon in charge—but he’s got Jonathan Pine and the Bond vibes are strong in this trailer. 

The second season picks up years after the events of the first, with Jonathan Pine living under an assumed name until he gets pulled back into the world of British espionage. Olivia Colman returns as spymaster Angela Burr, though Hugh Laurie is only back as a producer this time, on account of his character being dead. Now living in South America, Pine gets involved with Colombian arms smuggling, by way of the mysterious Roxana, played by Camila Morrone, and Diego Calva stars as the arms dealer, Teddy Dos Santos. Genuinely nice to see Diego Calva getting on with things following Babylon.

 

Speaking of Tom Hiddleston, I totally missed that he and Zawe Ashton had their second child this year. This is the difference a decade makes. Hiddleston keeps a WAY lower profile, which actually makes him more interesting when he pops up for new projects. To some degree, the heat thrown his way in 2016-17 was a bit overdone, but maybe it wasn’t the worst thing. He drew down his profile, refocused on the work, keeps his private life as private as he can—he’s hit the level of fame where he will always be a heatscore, but he manages it better now. And the work? It’s been pretty damn good. Is there a Tomaissance in the air?

Here are Hiddleston & Co. at the series two premiere a couple days ago.

 

Tom Hiddleston, Zawe Ashton, Camila Morrone, Diego Calva, and other cast members attended the UK Premiere of "The Night Manager" Season Two in London.
Photo credits: PA Images/ INSTARimages

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