Idris Elba's 'Hijack' Trailer Is a Skyjacking To Remember
Idris Elba as Sam Nelson in 'Hijack'
Apple TV+
Hijack's first trailer is here, and it is demanding your attention. The first series from Apple TV+ to be told in a real-time format over seven one-hour episodes is anchored by action star Idris Elba in his first major role as a problem-solving badass since hanging up the coat and red tie of Luther. However, unlike his other roles, Elba is not a law enforcement official (or a former one, as was the case for John Luther in the recent film). Instead, he's a hard-as-nails business negotiator, and it looks like these hijackers have nothing on the CEOs of the merger and acquisitions crowd.
Not that they realize the quiet man in first class is the one they need to worry about, at least at first. While Elba helps the counter-terrorist experts on the ground sort out what's happening at 50,000 feet, he's also organizing a passenger rebellion strategy and trying to talk down to hostage takers, telling them he wants to make a deal that will get him — and everyone else stuck in this particular metal tube hurtling through the air — touched down on the ground alive and in one piece, if not home safely to their loved ones.
Check out the trailer, which notably borrows the same countdown clock feature from TV's other famous real-time terrorist drama series, 24.
Here's the show's official synopsis:
Told in real-time, Hijack is a tense thriller that follows the journey of a hijacked plane as it makes its way to London over a seven-hour flight, and authorities on the ground scramble for answers. Elba will star as Sam Nelson, an accomplished negotiator in the business world who needs to step up and use all his guile to try and save the lives of the passengers — but his high-risk strategy could be his undoing.
Elba co-stars in the series with Archie Panjabi (Life on Mars), Eve Myles (Torchwood), Christine Adams (Black Lightning), Max Beesley (Jamestown), Ben Miles (The Capture), Neil Maskell (Peaky Blinders), Jasper Britton (Blackbeard), Harry Michell (The English Game), Aimée Kelly (Grantchester), and newcomer Mohamed Elsandel. He also executive produced, along with George Kay (Criminal), who wrote all seven scripts, and director Jim Field Smith (Truth Seekers), who helmed all episodes. This is Apple TV+'s third British series with 60Forty Films, the production company behind Slow Horses and The Essex Serpent.
Hijack will debut with its first two episodes on Apple TV+ on Wednesday, June 28, with the rest released weekly through July 26, 2023.
