Three years removed from his brilliant portrayal of a pain medication-dependent, unconventional, misanthropic medical genius, Dr. Gregory House, Hugh Laurie is returning to the small screen to star in the BBC adaptation of the John le Carre novel, The Night Manager. Laurie’s co-star, Tom Hiddleston, is coming off his portrayal of country western singer Hank Williams in I Saw the Light.
 

The Night Manager, published in 1993, is the author’s most recent work to be adapted for television. It follows Jonathan Pine, a British soldier turned luxurious hotel night auditor. Pine crosses paths with a French-Arab woman named Sophie with ties to Richard Onslow Roper, an English black marketer who specializes in weapons. The woman provides Pine with incriminating documents, which he forwards to a friend in British intelligence. After Sophie winds up dead, Pine works with intelligence operatives and goes undercover as part of a sting against Roper to avenge Sophie’s death. No newcomer to the small screen, le Carre’s earlier works that have brilliantly found their way to tell have included Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Smiley’s People, A Perfect Spy and A Murder of Quality.

David Farr, who wrote a number of episodes for Kudos’ Spooks series, will write The Night Manager. Thankfully, no True Detective 2 casting dance involved with their weekly rumors of this duo or that duo as this looks like a signed, sealed and delivered deal according to The Hollywood Reporter. Although a BBC broadcast is assured in the UK, there currently is no American broadcast outlet as of yet. One can only hope PBS is in the mix. A series of this nature with commercial breaks would be a serious buzz-killer.