Hijack (stylised as H/JACK) 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.
Contents
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
Neil Maskell as Stuart Atterton / Gerald Taylor, Lewis' elder brother and the leader of the hijackers
Christine Adams as Marsha Smith-Nelson, Sam's estranged wife, a physics professor
Max Beesley as DI Daniel O'Farrell, Marsha's boyfriend, a Metropolitan Police officer
Archie Panjabi as DCI Zahra Gahfoor, O'Farrell's former partner and a member of SO15
Ian Burfield as John Bailey-Brown (series 2; guest, series 1), a co-leader of the Cheapside Firm crime syndicate and the hijacking orchestrator of Kingdom Airlines Flight 29
Ben Miles as Captain Robin Allen, the pilot of Kingdom Airlines Flight 29
Kaisa Hammarlund as First Officer Anna Kovacs, the co-pilot 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
Recurring
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
Episodes
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 series premiered on Apple TV+ on 28 June 2023, and the second series on 14 January 2026.
Reception
Critical response
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."
On Rotten Tomatoes, the second series has a 74% approval rating, based on 34 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Replaying the same formula in a new setting, Hijack's second season doesn't quite justify continuing a story that worked best as a one-off, but watching Idris Elba save the day remains a thrill." On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 65 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
Viewership
The week of its finale, 31 July–6 August 2023, Hijack became the second Apple TV+ show to be listed on the Nielsen streaming rankings for original shows when it received 357 million minutes of viewing time.
