Hijack

Available on Apple TV+

Hijack is a great reminder to never judge a book by its cover. On face value, Idris Elba’s Apple thriller is the sort of star vehicle that Schwarzenegger and Stallone were synonymous with during the 80s. However, it doesn’t take too far a venture into this seven-part series to realise that Criminal co-creators George Kay and Jim Field Smith have concocted something far more gripping than your typical genre fare.

By deconstructing its familiar premise over the course of seven episodes, Hijack has a real-time pace to it that makes for an immensely gripping viewing experience. Like Luther before it, the show is indebted to Elba’s undoubted star quality, although its ensemble cast (which is something of a who’s who of mid-ranking British television) do a stellar job of supporting their leading man.

Kay and Smith ought to be credited for the believability of their screenplay, which never strays into the far-fetched tropes that are typically associated with content of a similar ilk, even as proceedings ratchet up to an almost unbearable level of tension. Though its final episode inevitably feels ever so slightly anti-climatic, Hijack is a stellar affair on the whole.