Directing The Night Manager
When The Night Manager — a TV adaptation of John le Carré novel’s by the same name — aired in 2016, it was an instant success. Its intriguing screenplay, luxurious locations, and top notch acting elevated the spy genre. The story centered on former British soldier Jonathan Pine, who gets recruited by MI6 to infiltrate the secret network of a notorious arms dealer.
Ten years later, The Night Manager finally returns. This time, Pine finds himself in Colombia, trying to stop a charismatic arms trafficker. Why the long wait for the show, when the entertainment industry always seems to rush forth with sequels and prequels?
“It was always the intention that the book would be one season, a limited series, six parts, that's it. Otherwise, we may not have killed off some of the great characters,” said Georgi Banks-Davies, the director of The Night Manager’s second season.
She told me that before le Carré died, he gave the show his blessing to make a second season. The cast and crew had earned his trust, despite some initial reluctance. And le Carré’s sons Simon and Stephen Cornwell have played central roles through their production company, The Ink Factory.
And then after that, creating the storyline and getting the actors together again took time. So many of them have gone onto great fame since 2016.
Spy shows and movies often consult with intelligence agencies and formers for accuracy, so I asked Georgi if The Night Manager had done the same. She described a back and forth with MI6.
“Who are the people that work there?” she said she would ask. “Because I want to cast it correctly. And I think so often we are conditioned in this genre to expect the sort of very upper class, private school-educated, Oxbridge older white man. That's the way that the genre has always been presented to us on screen.”
We spoke about identity, a driving force through Georgi’s work, which spans many genres. She is also one of few women to direct a major spy series, and she doesn’t quite know why. She told me she hopes that she can one day direct a Bond movie. And that her father built the first Bond car, as the head engineer at Aston Martin.
It might sound strange, but I’m used to interviewing directors of intel agencies and their officers, not directors of spy shows. Georgi had a very different vibe and perspective. She gave me a glimpse into how a spy world gets built for viewers.
Enjoy this episode, the series now out in the U.S., and the weekend.
Episode length: 30 minutes
Listen: On Spotify | On Apple Podcasts