AMCWhen AMC announced their mini-series adaptation of The Night Manager, John le Carre's taut spy thriller, they had us at four words: Tom Hiddleston on TV.
The idea of one of our favorite hunks making his way from the big screen to our TV screens got us a more excited than we're probably proud to admit, but tonight's premiere (part one of six) did not disappoint. We didn't get a brooding shot of Hiddleston's Jonathan Pine laying in bed with only a sheet draped extremely carefully across his midsection for nothing, folks. But who knew the hour would leave us hungering for more of different British star: House himself, Hugh Laurie.
The mini-series centers on Hiddleston's Pine, the titular night manager as he continues to run afoul of Laurie's enigmatic, but certainly evil Mr. Roper, who one character refers to as "the worst man in the world" with a straight face because this is a serious spy story and serious spy stories don't have time for humor. (Truly, we could count on one hand the number of humorous moments in the premiere and they were all courtesy of Olivia Coleman's British intelligence officer, Angela Burr, and her freezing London office.)
When Pine first learns of Roper's nefarious dealings, the former's running the ship at a Cairo hotel at the start of the Arab Spring while the latter is trying to sell an arms supply large enough to squash any uprising anywhere on the globe. When Pine alerts British intelligence, someone alerts Roper and Pine's source (a doomed woman, because of course) winds up dead.
Bear in mind, as all this has happened, we've only seen Roper via footage of a speech he'd given about his altruistic heart. As they say, it's always the ones leading global charity initiatives that you've got to worry about.
No one seems to give a damn about stopping Roper, likely because the people who should care are in on his dealings and block Angela's attempts at an inquiry. It's here that the series jumps four years into the future and we, along with Pine, finally come face-to-face with Roper.
Now working as the night manager at a snowy chalet in Switzerland, Pine's thrown for a loop when Roper and his entourage, including his chief of staff Corkoran (Tom Hollander) and girlfriend Jed (Elizabeth Debicki), arrive for a stay. As visions of his slain Egyptian lover cloud his memory, Pine jumps to action to put a stop to Roper's newest scheme, bringing Angela back into the mix.
All told, the hour felt more like a prologue than anything else. Light on action and heavy on table setting, the episode got us interested well enough. Seeing how far Pine is willing to go to stop Roper should be fun, but seeing how evil Roper is? That's got us coming back for more.
Are you checking in with The Night Manager for the duration of his stay? Sound off in the comments below!
The Night Manager airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on AMC.