Idris Elba’s 7-Part ‘Snowpiercer’-Style Thriller Is Dominating Streaming Charts

4 days ago 11

Idris Elba's President Holds a Radio while riding in the backseat in 'A House of Dynamite'

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.

For reasons unknown, he enjoys analyzing box office receipts, giant sharks, and has become known as the go-to man for all things Bosch, Mission: Impossible and Christopher Nolan in Collider's news division. Recently, he found himself yeehawing along to the Dutton saga on the Yellowstone Ranch.

He is proficient in sarcasm, wit, Photoshop and working unfeasibly long hours. Amongst his passions sit the likes of the history of the Walt Disney Company, the construction of theme parks, steam trains and binge-watching Gilmore Girls with a coffee that is just hot enough to scald him.

His obsession with the Apple TV+ series Silo is the subject of mockery within the Senior News channel, where his feelings about Taylor Sheridan's work are enough to make his fellow writers roll their eyes.

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.