![](https://cdn.statically.io/img/variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Hijack_Photo_010107.jpg)
It’s been more than 20 years since “24” first aired on Fox; its real-time conceit, with a relentless ticking clock moving characters toward collision, made it the kind of hit that’s difficult to duplicate. “Hijack,” a new drama on Apple TV+, doesn’t precisely aim for the sort of thrills and chills “24” generated, but it is indeed another real-time drama about a terrorist plot. Unfortunately, the central device doesn’t quite work, and “Hijack” ends up feeling like a flight to nowhere in particular.
Here, Idris Elba plays Sam Nelson, a corporate type who finds himself at the center of international drama when his return flight from Dubai to London on the fictional Kingdom Air gets taken over by a group of armed criminals. They eventually gain control of the cockpit through blackmailing the pilot, proving their craftiness and the extent of their preparation; it falls to Sam to play quick-thinking action hero.
The show isn’t much to look at, and few characters other than Sam really pop, a missed opportunity to draw out the various types who might intersect on a plane. (One family in particular is broadly drawn as a sort of loony comic relief, rubbing awkwardly against the kind of tension “Hijack” is meant to generate. The presence of children on this flight could gin up real drama, and fewer jokes about their overprotective mom.) On the ground, Archie Panjabi does her best as counterterrorism officer Zahra Gahfoor, but the specific way this show uses its real-time format works against her, as her presence studs the story at somewhat awkward intervals, when there’s a lull in the action in the sky.
Popular on Variety
It’s never really clear why the show needed to be told in purported real time, and it both makes it stretch on at least an episode too long (to simulate the length of a flight, it seems) and kneecaps the ability to cut between scenes and build tension. Elba is a credible lead, but we already knew that; nothing “Hijack” asks him to do feels especially novel. By series’ end, you may be tempted to clap, as nervous fliers do once their plane lands — not because the piloting was notably skillful, but because now you get to disembark.
“Hijack” launches with two episodes on Wednesday, June 28, on Apple TV+, with new episodes to follow weekly.
Read More About:
Jump to CommentsIdris Elba Thriller ‘Hijack’ Struggles to Stay Airborne: TV Review
Apple TV+. Seven episodes (all screened for review).
Most Popular
‘Young Sheldon’ Series Finale Breakdown: Why Jim Parsons and Mayim Bialik Became a Bigger Part of the Ending, Reba's Return and When the Spinoff Will…
Nikki Glaser Reacts to Tom Brady’s Regret Over Roast Jokes Upsetting His Kids: ‘It's Impossible to Me He Didn't Consider What Could’ve Happened…
Tony McFarr, Chris Pratt’s Stunt Double in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy 2’ and ‘Jurassic World’ Movies, Dies at 47
For Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Tonight Was Not the Night: Concert Review
Nicola Coughlan Asked to Be ‘Very Naked’ in a ‘Bridgerton’ Season 3 Scene as a ‘F— You’ to Body Shamers: I Want to ‘Remember How Hot I F—ing Looked…
Glen Powell’s Parents Showed Up on His Red Carpet With Signs Trolling Him: ‘Stop Trying to Make Glen Powell Happen’ and ‘It’s Never Gonna Happen…
'The Masked Singer' Reveals Identity of the Clock: Here’s the Celebrity Under the Costume
‘Grand Theft Auto VI’ Sets Fall 2025 Release as Take-Two Posts $2.9 Billion Quarterly Loss
Judge Raises Doubts About Alec Baldwin ‘Rust’ Manslaughter Indictment
Emma Stone’s Descent Into Sex Cults and Cannibalism in 'Kinds of Kindness' Lands 4.5-Minute Standing Ovation in Cannes
Must Read
- Film
Witness Anya Taylor-Joy: The ‘Furiosa’ Star on Making the ‘Mad Max’ Icon Her Own and Hopes for ‘Dune 3’
By Andrew Wallenstein 2 weeks
- Film
Box Office: ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ Climbs to No. 1 With $58 Million Debut
- TV
‘Squid Game: The Challenge,’ Matthew Macfadyen Among Winners at BAFTA TV Awards 2024
- Film
Ron Howard Remembers Roger Corman’s Mentorship and Impact on Filmmaking: ‘What a Life’
- Film
‘The Phantom Menace’ at 25: A Lover, Hater and Newcomer Debate Jar Jar Binks, Podraces, Droids and Darth Maul
Sign Up for Variety Newsletters
By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. // This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.Variety Confidential
ncG1vNJzZmiukae2psDYZ5qopV9nfXN%2Fjq2taKqVq7amw9Jon6KikZi4br7Er6Cer12WvbG4xGarr2WgocK0eZBram5uZWmCdX%2BO