hugh laurie

Hugh Laurie left quite the impression when he starred as villainous Richard Roper in The Night Manager 10 years ago.

Hugh Laurie, the legendary star of The Night Manager, is set to appear alongside a Westworld icon in a forthcoming crime thriller.

After initially rising to prominence in the Blackadder franchise with Rowan Atkinson and Stephen Fry, Laurie has since featured in numerous major dramas including Veep, House, and naturally, The Night Manager.

While his previous co-stars Tom Hiddleston and Olivia Colman return to the BBC thriller, Laurie has been busy filming his latest project, The Wanted Man, for Apple TV+, which is presently in post-production.

The 66 year old will portray crime boss Felix Carmichael, who lands behind bars after running the infamous criminal organisation The Capital for two decades.

The official synopsis reveals: “Upon discovering internal betrayal while locked up, he plots his breakout to seek vengeance and restore his criminal empire.”

The eight-episode series has been created by Hijack’s George Kay and also features Mission Impossible and Westworld star Thandiwe Newton.

However, they won’t be the only recognisable names, as Laurie and Newton will be accompanied by Game of Thrones actor Stephen Dillane, Say Nothing’s Hazel Doupe, and Dunkirk star Fionn Whitehead.

No official release date has been confirmed yet, though reports suggest The Wanted Man could launch around May 2026.

Meanwhile, fans’ focus has returned to Laurie following his memorable role in The Night Manager, which has made its comeback to British television screens. In the 2016 BBC thriller, he played the villainous Richard Roper, starring alongside leading man Hiddleston as Jonathan Pine and Colman as Angela Burr.

After a decade-long hiatus, The Night Manager has made a comeback for its second season, but with an unexpected twist – Roper was killed off-screen.

Laurie does make an appearance in the first episode through a dream sequence, but he hasn’t been seen in The Night Manager since and isn’t expected to return.

However, Laurie remains involved with The Night Manager behind the scenes, serving as an executive producer alongside Hiddleston.

The Wanted Man is slated to premiere on Apple TV+ in spring 2026.

The Night Manager has returned with both Tom Hiddleston and Hugh Laurie as executive producers.

The Night Manager season two has landed, but it didn’t take fans long to complain about a glaring problem.

Tom Hiddleston fans have been eagerly awaiting his return to The Night Manager, an unforgettable BBC drama that originally aired in February 2016.

Starring opposite Hugh Laurie and Olivia Colman, The Night Manager season one revolved around ex-soldier Jonathan Pine (played by Tom Hiddleston), who was hired to infiltrate the inner circle of a secretive arms dealer.

Despite series one getting rave reviews, viewers had given up hope that it would return for a second season, but to everyone’s delight, the series two renewal came in April 2024.

The Night Manager season two finally made its debut this evening, Thursday, January 1, once again focusing on Pine, now known as Alex Goodwin, who works as part of the nocturnal surveillance unit, the Night Owls.

But it isn’t too long before he spots a familiar face from his past with Richard Roper (Hugh Laurie), taking him down yet another dangerous path.

Fans couldn’t wait to tune into the new series, but many couldn’t help but make the same complaint on X, formerly Twitter, as they struggled to remember season one.

“Watching #TheNightManagerS2 when you already have a notoriously bad memory,” someone joked.

A second echoed: “Was going to watch the #TheNightManagerS2 but I can’t remember #thenightmanager so will have to rewatch series one. Anyone else doing the same thing?”

“I have no idea what is going on”, a third began.

“Not sure if it would be easier to follow if they didn’t keep cutting back to characters from 10 years ago that I have forgotten about.”

A fellow user remarked: “Was struggling to understand why I couldn’t for the life of me remember what happened in season 1 of #TheNightManagerS2 only to Google it and see that it aired TEN years ago?????? Girl bye.”

Someone else posted: “The recap hardly helped, I can’t remember what happened last week, let alone what I watched on TV 10 years ago”, as another added: “The Night Manager is really testing everyone’s memory right now.”

Despite fans having an issue with remembering what happened in series one, others have also been praising the new season.

Someone labelled the debut episode as “outstanding” and “brilliant”, while a fellow viewer commented: “Well that didn’t disappoint!!! Episode 1 of The Night Manager- Phew – must resist the temptation to binge!”

Thankfully, fans won’t have to wait very long for the second episode, with the next instalment set to air on Sunday, January 4, at 9pm.

After this, The Night Manager will continue to be shown every Sunday in the same timeslot.

The Night Manager is available to watch on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.