After a successful first season on Apple TV+, fans of the suspense-thriller Hijack are in for another wild ride in Season 2. Executive produced by Idris Elba, the second season attempts the same high-stakes suspense, but with a change of scenery as the setting shifts to Deutschland (Germany).
The first season ended on a high note, with fans hoping and praying for a second. But with a hijacked plane now accounted for, how could the show continue? Elba and director Jim Field Smith made two major changes: the location (England > Germany) and the mode of travel (airplane > train).
Season 2 takes place on an underground train in Berlin. Our hero from Season 1, Sam Nelson (Idris Elba), is on the train and, similarly to last season, is at the heart of the crisis on board. With his whereabouts unknown, his ex-wife, Marsha (Christine Adams), has now relocated to a remote cabin in the woods, with Daniel (Max Beesley) in constant contact for her safety. In an extreme switch of momentum, the people behind the Kingdom Airlines hijacking pulled the same move on Sam as they did on the hijackers: hold their families hostage to guarantee compliance. One of the masterminds behind the scenes, John Bailey Brown (Ian Burfield), was one of the orchestrators of the flight KA29 hijacking, and when that plan failed, he made a move to directly involve Sam Nelson. With Marsha in hiding and no sign of their son Kai (Jude Cudjoe), Sam finds himself in the very shoes of the people he thwarted in Season 1.
The entire second season centers around John Bailey Brown, who convinced Sam that Kai was killed. The first episode has a lot of build-up and very little action. For those who are just jumping into the franchise fresh, do not judge the series by the first episode, “Signal”. One thing fans will notice immediately is an improvement in theme songs. A few minutes into the episode, you’ll hear the perfect accompaniment to the show, “Kiss The Sky“, by Shawn Lee’s Ping Pong Orchestra featuring Nina Mochella.
Things pick up and get suspenseful in the next episode, “Control”. Sam and Otto (Christian Näthe), the train engineer, come to understand their shared predicament as Sam seizes control of the train. During the ride, Otto and Sam stay in constant contact with the Control Room as they’re tracking the train’s path. As reality starts to blur, a small collection of decision-makers has to decide whether they’ll honor Sam’s demands or send in a unit (soldiers) to take him out.
Every episode ends on a high note, which isn’t something that can be said broadly about television programming. Like last season, no matter how you felt during an episode, you could depend on a climactic ending that was intriguing enough to bring you back the following week.
The idea and premise were good; use the same hijack elements in a different setting and apply different variables. The only problem? The series should’ve started on a train and ended up on a plane. Once you get peak action and suspense at 30,000 ft., it won’t transfer the same intensity to an audience on an underground train.
That’s not to say the series is boring. Similar to last season, you’ll still have passengers that you can’t stand who make idiotic decisions at every turn. But on the flipside, the writers will make you work arduously to figure out who’s a bystander and who’s a hijacker. As far as optics, more explosions and violence would’ve helped, but regardless, this season is much more toned down than the first.
Idris Elba reprises the same Sam Nelson, who was credited with stopping the hijacking of KA 29 and saving countless lives. It was clear he was “the good guy” last season. With one foot in (antagonist) and one foot out (protagonist), the performance doesn’t sit well. He needed to be one or the other. Honestly, there was more to look forward to before he blew his cover to the passengers. Christian Näthe had a wonderful performance as Otto, and Lisa Vicari was the perfect unlucky employee, Clara Berger, who chose the wrong night to fill in for a coworker in the Control Room. Toby Jones is a beloved actor and always ends up playing a shifty character. Here, they tried too hard to make him tough. Other than that, there are too many plot holes that aren’t closed, leaving an underwhelming feeling and a bit of confusion by season’s end.
Hijack Season 2 gets an 8 out of 10. It has nowhere near the same effect as the first season, but that was always going to be an unattainable feat (plane vs. train). Train explosions, a subway flood, or any other calamity would’ve helped. Instead, we get a lot of talking, too much talking. The first season thrived on a nuclear level of suspense. Sadly, that’s just not replicated here. It’s still worth a watch, but for your expectations’ sake, don’t compare this to last season.
Season 2 of Hijack premieres today, Jan. 14, on Apple TV+, with new episodes every Wednesday.
-Jon Jones
Photos: Courtesy of Apple TV+
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Eight Episodes | 48 mins.
Trailer: Watch
U.S. Release Date: January 14, 2026