Tom Hiddleston and Hugh Laurie are to play the lead roles in a new John le Carré drama set to shoot in the UK and Europe this spring.

The co-production, The Night Manager,  is the first small screen adaptation of the writer’s work for two decades – the last one being A Murder of Quality in 1991 – and comes from the BBC, AMC and The Ink Factory; the latter being the production company run by le Carré’s sons, Simon and Stephen Cornwell.

Danish director Susanne Bier is calling the shots from a screenplay by David Farr which sees former British soldier Jonathan Pine (Hiddleston) infiltrate the dangerous world of arms dealer Richard Onslow Roper (Laurie).

The BBC officially announced the drama earlier this week, but subscribers to our online database Production Intelligence first heard about it in early October. Anyone using the personalised ‘following feeds’ will have also seen this week that we have published the names of the line producer and production manager on this major new production.  (Click here for more details on how to get access.)

The A-list stars are clearly excited about the project, with Hiddleston saying: “…It’s an honour and a privilege to work with such truly impeccable collaborators as Hugh Laurie and Susanne Bier in bringing this to the screen. David Farr’s screenplay, adapted from le Carré’s brilliant novel, is absolutely outstanding. I’m beyond thrilled and I can’t wait.”

Laurie remarked: “I loved The Night Manager when it was published, and for more than 20 years have yearned to see it realized on screen. I am now thrilled and honoured to have the frontest of front row seats. All the moving parts are finely machined – we just have to not mess it up.”

For more information on The Night Manager, head over to Production Intelligence, our online database of advance and archive productions.