---
title: "Hijack"
year: 2023
kind: "series"
canonical: "https://film.one/tv/hijack"
fi1m_id: "hijack"
imdb_id: "tt19854762"
tmdb_id: 198102
wikidata_id: "Q112131897"
fi1m_score: 66
critics_score: 63
critics_reviews: 13
published: "2026-10-01T00:16:09.885188+00:00"
updated: "2026-10-01T00:16:35.899652+00:00"
region: "IE"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Hijack (2023)

Created by George Kay, Jim Field Smith · IFCO 15 · Drama

## Identity

Hijack

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/tv/hijack
- **Type:** Series
- **Fi1m ID:** hijack
- **IMDb ID:** tt19854762
- **TMDB ID:** 198102
- **Wikidata ID:** Q112131897
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt19854762/, https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/198102, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q112131897

**Fi1m score: 66** · Critics 63 from 13 reviews

*In a sentence:* Seven hours in which Idris Elba is the only person on the plane, or the ground, who has thought anything through

> A seven-hour hijack told in real time, and for its first half as tense as the setup promises. Idris Elba holds the cabin together by sheer calm; the writers hold the ground together with much less, and the last two episodes strain credit.

## Synopsis

A Kingdom Airlines flight leaves Dubai for London with seven hours of flying ahead of it. Among the passengers is Sam Nelson (Idris Elba), a corporate negotiator who closes deals for a living and is flying home to try to win back his estranged wife, Marsha Smith-Nelson (Christine Adams). Not long after take-off, Stuart Atterton (Neil Maskell) and a small armed group take the cabin, and Captain Robin Allen (Ben Miles) is made to fly on as though nothing is wrong. Sam decides the way out is to make himself useful to the men with the guns. On the ground, air traffic controller Alice Sinclair (Eve Myles) notices the aircraft is not behaving as it should, and counter-terrorism officer Zahra Gahfoor (Archie Panjabi) starts working out who is on board. Each episode covers one hour of the flight.

## Review

*Hijack* has one idea and it is a good one. A flight from Dubai to London takes about seven hours; the series runs seven episodes, each covering one hour of it, so the clock on screen and the clock on your wall move at the same speed. George Kay and Jim Field Smith, who created it, put Idris Elba in business class as Sam Nelson, a man who negotiates company buyouts for a living and decides, when the guns come out, that a cabin full of frightened people is a deal like any other. For about three and a half hours this works. Then the ground takes over, and the ground is where the series goes to be ordinary.

Elba is the reason to watch and the reason the first half holds. He plays Sam as a man who has never raised his voice in a meeting and is not going to start now, talking to Neil Maskell’s Stuart Atterton in the low, reasonable tone of someone offering a slightly better price. Maskell gives Atterton a tired, working man’s menace, a hijacker who looks as though he would rather be at home, and their exchanges in the galley are the best written stretches of the series. Nobody shouts, and Elba can do a great deal with a glance down an aisle.

Andrew Purcell’s cabin is a long narrow space of pale seats and the flat, even light of cruising altitude, and Ed Moore shoots it mostly from seated height, so we see what a passenger would see: the back of a head, a hand on an armrest, the curtain between cabins moving. Anne Nikitin’s score keeps to a low pulse under the plane scenes and stays out of the dialogue. The editors, Natasha Wilkinson, Robert Frost and David Webb, cut between air and ground with a metronome’s regularity, and in the early episodes the rhythm is tight.

The ground is the trouble. Eve Myles’s Alice Sinclair, the controller who first suspects something is wrong, is the one person down there whose scenes have any urgency, and Myles plays her with a pleasing stubbornness. Archie Panjabi’s Zahra Gahfoor is handed a plot of phone calls and corridors. Max Beesley’s Daniel O’Farrell is a policeman who happens to be living with Sam’s estranged wife Marsha (Christine Adams), a coincidence the series has to keep pointing at. Neil Stuke’s Home Secretary and Hattie Morahan’s Louise sit in a government room and say what government rooms say. Thirteen writers are credited across seven episodes, and the ground scenes have the feel of work handed round.

For the first two episodes we were properly tense, counting hijackers and exits along with Sam. There is one outbreak of violence in the middle stretch that we found hard to watch, sudden and nastier than anything either side of it, and it is the one moment the series admits what a hijack is. By the fifth hour we had started checking the time, which in a drama built on a clock is the wrong kind of attention. The last two episodes ask us to accept a great deal about what airports, pilots and ministers would do, and we found we were not willing to give it.

[*24*](https://film.one/tv/24) made a virtue of real time by never letting anyone sit still. *Hijack* has the opposite problem: its people are belted in, and the writers have to invent reasons for them to stand up. Some are clever, a trip to the lavatory, a sick passenger, a phone that should be off. Some are not, and the hijackers, Atterton aside, are dim in the way thriller henchmen are dim, so Sam’s wins cost him less than they should. Elba spent years in [*Luther*](https://film.one/tv/luther) being the most composed man in any crisis, and Sam Nelson is that man with the violence taken out.

Watch the first four episodes; they are tight, well played and worth your evening. It carries a 15 certificate. A second season of eight episodes followed on 14 January 2026, which suggests plenty of people stayed to the end. We understand why. We also understand the ones who got off at hour five.

*Fi1m score 66, published 1 October 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics enjoy Hijack and are candid that what they are enjoying is nonsense. The praise clusters almost entirely on Idris Elba: commanding, magnetic, steady under pressure, and the thing holding the series together even for reviewers who dislike much of the rest. Several also credit the real-time structure and the claustrophobic tension aboard the plane for keeping the pressure up across seven episodes.

The reservations gather around plausibility and padding. The hijackers are repeatedly found dim or underwritten, the storylines on the ground tedious, and more than one critic says the material is stretched thin by the running time. The spread is wide, with eight positive notices against three negative. Variety goes furthest, arguing that the real-time format itself breaks the suspense rather than building it, while Radio Times sees a far-fetched thriller that plays like Luther at altitude. Even the dissenters, though, mostly exempt Elba from the charge sheet.

## Straight answers

**Is Hijack worth watching?**

*Hijack* is worth watching for its first four episodes, which are tense, well played and held together by Idris Elba's calm, and we scored it 66. The ground scenes are ordinary from the start and the last two hours ask you to believe a great deal about airports and ministers. Start it, and feel free to stop.

**How long is Hijack, and what is it rated?**

*Hijack* is rated 15 by the IFCO in Ireland. It is a drama series.

**Where can I watch Hijack in Ireland?**

*Hijack* is streaming on Apple TV in Ireland. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is Hijack, and is it suitable for children?**

*Hijack* carries a UK 15 certificate and is not for children. Most of its seven hours is talk and threat rather than bloodshed, hijackers with guns in a cabin of frightened passengers, but there is one sudden outbreak of violence in the middle stretch that we found hard to watch and that is nastier than anything around it. Older teenagers and nervous flyers should know that going in.

**How does Hijack compare to United 93?**

*Hijack* is a seven-hour invented thriller with a star at its centre; [*United 93*](https://film.one/film/united-93) is a reconstruction of a real hijacking in real time with no star and no mercy. The Greengrass film is the better and more frightening of the two, and the harder to watch casually. *Hijack* is the one for an evening's entertainment, at least until its ground plot takes over.

**What should I watch after Hijack?**

After *Hijack*, try [*United 93*](https://film.one/film/united-93) (2006, Fi1m 88): The real thing, told in real time, with no star and no mercy. Then [*Bodyguard*](https://film.one/film/the-bodyguard) (2018, Fi1m 63): British, tense and faintly silly; a Home Secretary who gets more to do.

### Reviews we read (13)

- **The Guardian**, Lucy Mangan (90/100, inferred): Mangan calls the series brilliant, bingeable nonsense and says it is enjoyable wholeheartedly. She praises Idris Elba’s commanding charisma and the tightly paced suspense, while faulting one jarring outbreak of violence. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/jun/28/hijack-review-idris-elba-makes-this-beautifully-daft-plane-thriller-soar)
- **Empire**, Boyd Hilton (85/100, inferred): Hilton finds the series instantly enthralling and highly entertaining. He especially praises Idris Elba’s poised performance and the tightly controlled real-time storytelling. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/tv/reviews/hijack/)
- **Evening Standard**, Maddy Mussen (4/5): Mussen finds the series a highly watchable binge, despite its occasional slide into the ridiculous. She singles out Idris Elba’s magnetic performance, while noting the hijackers lack a truly unpredictable character. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/tvfilm/hijack-apple-tv-review-idris-elba-luther-b1087594.html)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Angie Han (76/100, inferred): Han finds the series an unpretentious, entertaining thriller that delivers exactly the kind of fun it promises. She particularly praises Idris Elba’s convincing, steady performance and the show’s skill at sustaining tension through shifting relationships. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-reviews/hijack-review-idris-elba-1235523930/)
- **The AV Club**, Saloni Gajjar (C-): The review calls the series a ridiculous, amusing mess and essentially background television. It praises Idris Elba’s magnetic presence and expressive performance, while criticizing the weak plot and thin supporting characters. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/hijack-review-tv-idris-elba-apple-tv-plus-thriller-1850554986)
- **Radio Times**, Morgan Cormack (35/100, inferred): Cormack frames the series as a far-fetched thriller that feels markedly like Luther, rather than offering an unqualified endorsement. The accessible headline singles out that Luther-like resemblance and the story’s implausibility. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/hijack-apple-tv-review/)
- **The i Paper**, Neil Armstrong (35/100, inferred): The review finds the thriller uneven, with Elba’s charisma just about keeping it engaging. It praises the claustrophobic tension aboard the plane but criticizes the dim hijackers and tedious, underdeveloped storylines on the ground. [Read](https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/hijack-apple-tv-review-idris-elba-thriller-2427371?ico=editors_picks/)
- **Variety**, Daniel D'Daddario (30/100, inferred): The review finds the series an ineffective thriller that struggles to sustain its tension. It faults the real-time format for stretching the story and disrupting the build of suspense. [Read](https://variety.com/2023/tv/reviews/hijack-review-apple-tv-plus-1235654543/)
- **Paste**, Rory Doherty (7.2): Doherty finds the series entertaining and well executed, though its stretched-out runtime dulls the impact. He praises its clever, high-stakes problem-solving and the ensemble’s work under pressure. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/tv/apple-tv-plus/hijack-review)
- **The Ringer**, Justin Charity (75/100, inferred): Charity finds the series a lively return to form for Idris Elba as a thriller lead. He praises Elba’s engrossing performance and the tense battle of wits, though the hijackers’ motives are less convincing. [Read](https://www.theringer.com/2023/06/30/tv/hijack-apple-tv-series-cast-idris-elba-sam-nelson-luther-fallen-sun)
- **Den of Geek**, Akos Peterbencze (3.5/5): The review finds Hijack captivating and entertaining, though it becomes less plausible and more dramatically muddled as it progresses. It praises Idris Elba’s charismatic lead performance, supported by a strong cast and twisty plot. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/hijack-review-idris-elba-does-his-best-gerard-butler/)
- **Digital Spy**, Rebecca Cook (70/100, inferred): Cook finds Hijack highly watchable and charmingly silly despite its clichés and thin characterisation. She particularly praises Idris Elba’s charisma and the sturdy supporting cast for keeping the drama engaging. [Read](https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a44358014/hijack-idris-elba-review/)
- **Collider**, Nate Richard (5/10): The critic finds the series tedious and overextended, despite its promising opening and more compelling finale. Idris Elba’s performance is singled out as the strongest element, bringing the story to life whenever he appears. [Read](https://collider.com/hijack-series-review/)

## Details

- **Created by:** George Kay, Jim Field Smith
- **Creator:** George Kay, Jim Field Smith
- **Director:** Jim Field Smith, Shaun James Grant, Mo Ali
- **Writer:** George Kay, Guy Bolton, Fred Armesto, Adam Gyngell, James Dormer, Kelly Jones, Chris Dunlop, Jim Field Smith, Kam Odedra, Thomas Eccleshare, Catherine Moulton, Emer Kenny, Anna-Maria Ssemuyaba
- **Cinematography:** Ed Moore
- **Editor:** David Webb, Robert Frost, Natasha Wilkinson
- **Music:** Anne Nikitin
- **Production design:** Andrew Purcell
- **Costume design:** Colleen Morris-Glennon
- **Producer:** Peter Heslop
- **Cast:** Idris Elba as Sam Nelson; Neil Maskell as Stuart Atterton; Eve Myles as Alice Sinclair; Christine Adams as Marsha Smith-Nelson; Christian Näthe as Otto Weber; Max Beesley as Daniel O'Farrell; Archie Panjabi as Zahra Gahfoor; Clare-Hope Ashitey as Olivia Thatcher
- **Certificate (IFCO):** 15
- **Release (Ireland):** 28 June 2023
- **Genres:** Drama
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxwKzsklvJo

## Where to watch in Ireland

- Apple TV: streaming, uhd

*Checked 2026-10-01.*

Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PH, PL, PT, SE, SG, TH, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## If you liked this

- *United 93* (2006), Fi1m 88: The real thing, told in real time, with no star and no mercy. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/united-93.md)
- *The Taking of Pelham One Two Three* (1974): A hostage negotiation conducted by a tired man with a sense of humour.
- *24* (2001): The clock format done at speed, with people allowed to get up and run.
- *Bodyguard* (2018), Fi1m 63: British, tense and faintly silly; a Home Secretary who gets more to do. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-bodyguard.md)
- *Non-Stop* (2014): Liam Neeson on a plane, taking the same premise far less seriously.

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/tv/hijack