Hugh Laurie is no stranger to TV after a lengthy run in medical drama House, and Tom Hiddleston – best known for movies like THOR and Avengers Assemble – will join him in a new espionage drama.
The British duo are set to star in a small screen adaptation of John le Carre’s The Night Manager, and a number of US networks are said to already be scrambling to pick up the rights to the series which will air on the BBC in the UK. David Farr (Hanna, Spooks) is attached to write this take on the popular novel.
Published in 1993, le Carre’s Night Manager 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.
In case you were wondering, Hiddleston will play Pine and Laurie will play the antagonistic Roper.
Many of le Carre’s books have been adapted to both film and television, including A Perfect Spy, A Murder of Quality, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Constant Gardener, The Spy Who Came In From the Cold and more.
Hiddleston is no stranger to TV after appearing in Wallander and doing voice work for the likes of Family Guy. The Night Manager will also mark Laurie’s highly anticipated return to the small screen.
