New deals for The Night Manager

The Night Manager will be on free TV in France and on a Chinese streaming service after IMG sealed new sales for the hit drama series as it launches in the US.

The adaptation of the John le Carré novel of the same name generated big ratings for BBC One in the UK, averaging 6.3 million viewers, and bowed on AMC in the US last night.

It is sold by IMG, which is pushing heavily into distribution, and it has shopped it to French pubcaster France Télévisions and Chinese streaming service Youku Tudou.

The six-part series is produced by The Ink Factory, the prodco run by le Carré’s sons.

Simon Cornwell, co-CEO at The Ink Factory, said: “We are thrilled to see the incredible global response to The Night Manager, which has now been sold to networks covering over 188 countries.”

Other buyers of the show include C More and TV4 for the Nordic territories, DR for Denmark, Sky Italia for Italy, BBC First and SBS for Australia, TV3 for New Zealand, and AMC International for a raft of international territories.

The thriller stars Tom Hiddleston as Jonathan Pine, an ex-soldier attempting to uncover the illicit deals conducted by shadowy businessman Richard Roper, played by Hugh Laurie.