Idris Elba's "Hijack" on Apple TV+ Hits All the Right Spots (2 minute read)

^{By Trish Arab}

IN MY OPINION, Apple TV+ has a lot of catching up to do with dramatic original content.  Clearly, they are winners in my mind when it comes to feel-good comedy (hello Ted Lasso) and dark comedy like "The Morning Show" - they even have nailed campy comedy with shows like "Schmigadoon" and "The After Party."

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It hasn't been for lack of trying.  "Shining Girls," "Truth Be Told," and "Black Bird" are all dramatic original content, and I enjoyed all three, for the most part.  Still, I continued watching all three of these shows, not because I was completely hooked, but because I just wanted to know what would happen.  My friends at Apple TV have finally got a winner with their new series "Hijack," starring the completely endearing Idris Elba.

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"Hijack," tells the story of Kingdom Airlines Flight 29, travelling seven hours from Dubai to London.  Told in real-time, like another favourite network show of mine, "24", the seven-episode arc will cover the hijacking of flight KA29 and the race for the people on the ground to figure out what is happening and why.  Enter Sam Nelson (Elba), an extremely experienced and effective corporate negotiator who uses his keen understanding of people, body language, and talent for quick thinking, to diffuse what is an extremely tense situation for the 200 passengers aboard.

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In-depth character development in the first two episodes has been limited to Sam, our main protagonist, but the writers do enough to make our secondary characters equally relatable.  Even the hijackers aren't entirely two-dimensional, and even though two hours into the flight, we aren't any better off at knowing what the end game is, I still, for one, want to keep watching and see what has gotten them to this point, and what they hope to accomplish in the end.

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"Hijack" won't be winning any awards, but it does what many streaming services seem to be struggling with - creates an enjoyable hour of content where there is just enough tension, and our protagonist is the perfect amount of charming.  

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Let's see how the final five episodes go.

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