Hijack (TV series)
Hijack is a thriller television series created by George Kay and Jim Field Smith, with Idris Elba starring in the lead role. It premiered on 28 June 2023 on Apple TV+. In January 2024, it was renewed for a second series, which premiered on 14 January 2026.
Premise
Sam, a talented business negotiator, must use his skills to broker a peaceful end to a hijacking of a seven-hour flight from Dubai to London.Cast and characters
Main
- Idris Elba as Sam Nelson, a lawyer and corporate business negotiator
- Christine Adams as Marsha Smith-Nelson, Sam's estranged wife, a physics professor
- Max Beesley as DI Daniel O'Farrel, Marsha's boyfriend, a Metropolitan Police officer
- Archie Panjabi as DCI Zahra Gahfoor, O'Farrel's former partner and a member of SO15
- Ian Burfield as John Bailey-Brown, orchestrator behind the hijacking of Kingdom Airlines Flight 29
Series 1
- Neil Maskell as Stuart Atterton / Gerald Taylor, Lewis' elder brother and the leader of the hijackers
- Ben Miles as Captain Robin Allen, the pilot of Kingdom Airlines Flight 29
- Kaisa Hammarlund as Anna Kovacs, the first officer of Kingdom Airlines Flight 29
- Zora Bishop as Deevia Khan, the lead flight attendant
- Jeremy Ang Jones as Arthur, a flight attendant
- Kate Phillips as Collette Fisher, a flight attendant who is having an affair with Robin
- Jasper Britton as Terry Reid / Marcus Sutton, one of the hijackers
- Jack McMullen as Lewis Atterton / Ryan Cunningham, Stuart's younger brother and one of the hijackers
- Aimée Kelly as Jamie Constantinou / Bella Cunningham, one of the hijackers
- Mohamed Elsandel as Jaden Dahir / Alexander Kier, one of the hijackers
- Eve Myles as Alice Sinclair, an air traffic controller
- Hattie Morahan as Louise Aitchison, the British Foreign Secretary
- Neil Stuke as Neil Walsh, the British Home Secretary
- Simon McBurney as Edgar Janssen, the leader of a powerful crime syndicate
Series 2
- Albrecht Schuch as Freddie, a train passenger and sustainability consultant
- Christian Näthe as Otto Weber, a train driver for the Berlin U-Bahn
- Clare-Hope Ashitey as Olivia Thatcher, an employee at the British Embassy in Berlin
- Lisa Vicari as Clara Berger, a train dispatcher at the U-Bahn
- Dejan Bućin as Detective Zoran Beck, a high-ranking Berlin Police officer
- Karima McAdams as Jess, a train passenger and volunteer medic
- Jasmine Bayes as Mei Tan, a train passenger; Sam's former intern
- Toby Jones as Peter Faber, a senior British Intelligence official
- Christiane Paul as Chief Ada Winter, head of the Federal Police, Berlin Division
- Christian Berkel as Deputy Chief Roland Murnau, Winter's second-in-command
- Arsher Ali as Robert Lang, an MI5 operative working with Faber
Recurring
Series 1
- Justin Salinger as Alec, a plane passenger
- Holly Aird as Amanda, a plane passenger
- Nasser Memarzia as Yussuf, a plane passenger
- Gretchen Egolf as Adelaide, a plane passenger
- Fatima Adoum as Rashida, a first-class plane passenger
- Harry Michell as Hugo, a plane passenger who sits next to Sam
- Richard Hope as Phillip Paxton, a plane passenger; Anglican priest and Claire's husband
- Julia Deakin as Claire Paxton, a plane passenger; Phillip's wife
- Jack Parry-Jones as Kelvin, a plane passenger
- Nebras Jamali as Nasir, a plane passenger
- Mei Henri as Naomi, a teenage plane passenger
- Chantelle Alle as Kacey, a teenage plane passenger
- James Burrows as Jonty, a plane passenger with a criminal history
- Marcus Garvey as David Miller, a plane passenger; Kate's husband
- Rochenda Sandall as Kate Miller, a plane passenger; David's wife
- Liz Kingsman as Sheena, a plane passenger
- Antonia Salib as Leesha, a first-class plane passenger
- Jude Cudjoe as Kai, Sam and Marsha's teenage son
- Alex Macqueen as Tindall, a British government official
- Kevin Eldon as Devlin, a mysterious businessman
Series 2
- Ellie McKay as Orla, a train passenger
- Sasha Carberry Sharma as Fran, a train passenger
- Dimitri Abold as Max, a train dispatcher; Clara's colleague
- Andy Gätjen as Edward Diehl, Clara's boss
- Langston Uibel as Colin, a train passenger and schoolteacher
- Felix Mayr as Lukas, a train passenger; teacher's assistant
- Paddy Holland as George, a train passenger; one of Colin's students
- Isobel Imade as Rebecca, a train passenger; one of Colin's students
- Katrin Röver as Lena, a station manager
Production
It was announced in April 2022 that Apple TV+ had greenlit the miniseries, which would see Idris Elba starring and serving as an executive producer. George Kay would write the script, and Jim Field Smith would direct. In May, Archie Panjabi joined the cast. Production began on 9 May 2022 in Aylesbury and wrapped up on 18 November 2022. The first series consists of seven episodes. In January 2024, it was renewed for a second series, and filming began in June.Release
The first season premiered on Apple TV+ on 28 June 2023 and the second season on 14 January 2026.Reception
Critical response
Series 1
On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the first series holds a 90% approval rating, with an average of 6.9/10, based on 69 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Largely devoid of storytelling turbulence and benefitting greatly from its real-time pacing, Hijack is a glossy but effective thriller that achieves genuine liftoff." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the show a score of 65 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.Lucy Mangan of The Guardian gave the first series four out of five stars and wrote, "All turbulence is intended and the landing – for I binged all seven episodes in one sitting, and I bet you will too – impeccable. Perfect nonsense, to be enjoyed wholeheartedly – though probably, for anxious passengers, on terra firma."