X
- 2023
- TV-MA
- Apple TV+
- 2023
- TV-MA
- Apple TV+
Summary Business negotiator Sam Nelson (Idris Elba) uses his skills to save passengers on a hijacked airplane in the seven-part thriller created by George Kay and Jim Field Smith.
Created By: Jim Field Smith, George Kay
- 2023
- TV-MA
- Apple TV+
- 2023
- TV-MA
- Apple TV+
Hijack
Season 1 Premiere: Jun 28, 2023
66
6.0
Summary Business negotiator Sam Nelson (Idris Elba) uses his skills to save passengers on a hijacked airplane in the seven-part thriller created by George Kay and Jim Field Smith.
Created By: Jim Field Smith, George Kay
All Seasons
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 26 Critic Reviews
66
62% Positive
16 Reviews
16 Reviews
38% Mixed
10 Reviews
10 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 26 Critic Reviews
66
62% Positive
16 Reviews
16 Reviews
38% Mixed
10 Reviews
10 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
The real star here is the tension that gradually builds from episode to episode, finding genuine human drama in a confined space. Sometimes when you’re making great TV, less space is more.
Narrative seeds are sown, allowed to ripen and harvested at just the right moment. It works like clockwork without the (plentiful) larger twists being predictable.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 57 User Ratings
6.0
56% Positive
32 Ratings
32 Ratings
23% Mixed
13 Ratings
13 Ratings
21% Negative
12 Ratings
12 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 57 User Ratings
6.0
56% Positive
32 Ratings
32 Ratings
23% Mixed
13 Ratings
13 Ratings
21% Negative
12 Ratings
12 Ratings
This is one of the most riveting thrillers I've seen...period! It's brilliantly acted. Very realistic in tone and setting. The acting is absolutely top notch. Idris Elba is so watchable. Smart, empathetic and in control - despite nerve-wracking conditions. I'm a movie and book buff so I don't offer this review lightly. "Hijack" is one of the very best tension-packed thrillers you'll find now or in recent memory. (I've just completed the final episode so this is a full series perspective.) **** this one on your binge ****, be prepared to stay up all night - even once you're done watching all episodes.
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So many series on TV right now are overlong, overserious, overcomplicated and overly dull. “Hijack” is no more or less than it needs to be. It jolts you awake and takes the passivity out of TV-watching. It captures your attention. No − it hijacks it.
Even as “Hijack” on the whole isn’t always on the level of these two actors [Idris Elba and Neil Maskell], the moments where they have room to work together make this often turbulent series feel more like a rollicking thrill ride.
When we’re in the enclosed, claustrophobic space of the plane, the tension builds as the passengers find ways to communicate, begin to hatch plots and try to discover whether the hijackers’ guns are loaded with blanks. However, when we go to the storylines on the ground, pfffft – all that tension dissipates, like a balloon deflating.
The story loses tension and momentum as it flies into the last few episodes, stalling in much the same way the British politicians and security experts on the ground are stalling in the hopes that the plane will land before they have to comply with the hijackers’ demands. The ending includes one last surprise problem for Sam to contend with, but the final moments just don’t land.
Nothing “Hijack” asks him [Elba] to do feels especially novel. By series’ end, you may be tempted to clap, as nervous fliers do once their plane lands — not because the piloting was notably skillful, but because now you get to disembark.
A flight from Dubai to London is the subject of this thriller. After the hijackers take over, it's up to a business negotiator (Idris Elba) to try to avert disaster, while the folks on the ground prepare for the worst. The show stars slowly, but once the plane takes off, so does the tension. Before long there are genuinely gripping encounters that had me screaming at the screen. Elba plays cool with no problem, but it's the series directors who keep the stress coming. The drama is also intensified because of the confined space and the involving characters. Even though some of the plot holes were obvious, this series remains a riveting ride.
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This is a decent show; better than most shows these days. The writing is adequate, although there are several glaring plot holes, and the acting ranges from adequate to excellent. But the story is unfolding too slowly. I think this would have been better as a movie. There’s not enough material for mini-series. Many scenes are drawn out and there are quite a few extraneous scenes. The pacing definitely feels like butter **** over too much bread. Additionally, I think if this show had been made during a better era in entertainment I wouldn’t rate it as highly. Hijack is acceptable, but not excellent.
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Writers seem hostile towards the intellect of the viewer. Decent actors, good production, and just a horrible string of deus ex machina.
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[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]
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Production Company:
- 60Forty Films
- Green Door Pictures
- Idiotlamp Productions
Initial Release Date: Jun 28, 2023
Number of seasons: 2 Seasons
Rating: TV-MA
Awards
Royal Television Society, UK
• 2 Nominations
Critics Choice Super Awards
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Image Awards (NAACP)
• 1 Nomination
