Idris Elba's President Holds a Radio in 'A House of Dynamite'Image via Netflix
By
Chris McPherson
Published Feb 6, 2026, 6:35 PM EST
Chris is a Senior News Writer for Collider. He can be found in an IMAX screen, with his eyes watering and his ears bleeding for his own pleasure. He joined the news team in 2022 and accidentally fell upwards into a senior position despite his best efforts.
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Two years after Snowpiercer wrapped its final run, streaming audiences have clearly been craving another high-stakes, trapped-in-transit thriller — and they’ve found it in Hijack. The Idris Elba-led drama is once again climbing streaming charts, proving that claustrophobic tension and real-time pressure still hit hard. Hijack recently returned for Season 2 on Apple TV, more than two years after its debut season ended.
Critically, the comeback hasn’t been smooth. Season 2 launched with a rough 20% score on Rotten Tomatoes, though that number has since climbed to 58% as more reviews rolled in. That’s a noticeable dip from Season 1’s impressive 90%, and it’s dragged the show’s overall critics’ score down to 74%. The audience score hasn’t landed yet — which could change the conversation — especially considering viewers rated Season 1 at a mixed 51%.
Elba stars as Sam Nelson, a high-powered corporate negotiator who keeps finding himself in very bad places at very bad times. In Season 1, Nelson was trapped aboard Kingdom Flight K29 when it was hijacked midair. Season 2 swaps the plane for a Berlin underground train, once again locking Nelson inside a moving metal tube with lives on the line. The big difference this time? There’s a creeping sense that Nelson may not have ended up here by accident.
Is 'Hijack' Worth Watching?
Collider’s review stated that Hijack was an effectively mounted but overstretched thriller that struggled to justify its limited-series format. Led by a reliably compelling Idris Elba, the real-time, skybound drama delivered early tension as a businessman attempted to negotiate his way through a terrorist hijacking using words rather than weapons. That grounded approach initially set the show apart from similar action thrillers, but the novelty wore thin as the episodes piled up.
While Hijack doesn't need the luminous countdown clock that 24 had, it would have benefited from some sort of looming visual to make the series more immersive. Hijack could have been one of the more thrilling shows to come out this summer, but it's simply stretching a simple premise far too thin. It lays out multiple subplots that make the story convoluted, and the episodes start to feel repetitive after a while. Elba does his best to carry the story, once again delivering some solid work, but it's not enough to save this new miniseries from being seized by mediocrity.
Hijack Seasons 1 and 2 are streaming now on Apple TV.
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Like Follow Followed TV-MA Drama Thriller Release Date 2023 - 2024 Network Apple TV Showrunner George Kay, Jim Field Smith Directors Mo Ali, Jim Field Smith Writers Adam Gyngell, Catherine Moulton, Fred Fernandez Armesto, Anna-Maria Ssemuyaba, George Kay, Kam OdedraCast
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Idris Elba
Sam Nelson
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Julia Deakin
Claire Paxton
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