The story
Sam Nelson, a smooth corporate negotiator, is a passenger on a seven-hour flight from Dubai to London when a gang seizes the plane. As police, air traffic controllers and government officials on the ground scramble to understand what is happening, Sam quietly draws on his talent for deal-making to try to bring everyone home alive. The second series moves the crisis to a Berlin underground train.
Why it matters
A British-made thriller for Apple TV (then Apple TV+), Hijack put Idris Elba at the centre of a tense, near real-time story that earned him an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. It became only the second show from the service to make Nielsen's streaming chart for originals, and a planned one-off was turned into a returning series.
Notable facts
- In its finale week it drew 357 million minutes of viewing, becoming only the second show from Apple TV (then Apple TV+) to appear in Nielsen's streaming rankings for original shows. (source)
- Idris Elba was nominated for the 2024 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. (source)
- Series one was filmed in 2022, with production starting in Aylesbury in May and wrapping in November. (source)
- Series two is set on the Berlin U-Bahn, and the show's languages include German as well as English. (source)