Hijack

Summary

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Pop Culture Happy Hour – “Hijack” (Jan 14, 2026)

Host: Aisha Harris
Guests: Aisha Roscoe (Weekend Edition Sunday), Roxanna Hadadi (Vulture TV Critic)

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Overview

This episode of Pop Culture Happy Hour revisits the conversation about season one of “Hijack,” the binge-worthy Apple TV thriller starring Idris Elba as Sam Nelson, a corporate negotiator caught in a high-stakes airplane hijacking. With its seven tightly-packed episodes and blend of action, suspense, and a surprising dose of silliness, the discussion explores what makes “Hijack” both gripping and delightfully absurd, especially as the show returns for a second season.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The “Supremely Silly” Appeal of “Hijack”

• The hosts immediately agree: “Hijack” is a “supremely silly and wonderful show.” (Roxanna Hadadi, 02:52)
• Idris Elba plays Sam Nelson, whose workplace negotiation skills become his weapon of choice during a hijacking over a 7-hour Dubai-to-London flight.
• The show’s structure depends on episodic twists, cliffhangers, and a need for viewers to suspend disbelief.
  • Aisha Roscoe admits: “I went into the show with very low expectations… but they had these little plot twists at the end of every episode that drew me in.” (04:17)

2. Perfect “Summer TV”: Formula and Episode Count

• Both guests long for the return of goofy, event-style summer TV.
  • “It felt like we used to get, like, goofy summer stuff… low stakes absurdity.” (Roxanna Hadadi, 06:02)
• Praise for the concise, 7-episode season.
  • “Seven episodes is exactly right… a lot of formula things that really work here.” (Roxanna Hadadi, 06:47)

3. Genre Subversion and Representation

• The show avoids lazy stereotypes by not casting Middle Eastern villains.
  • “This is not just like a hijacking by Middle Eastern characters… it is very subversive.” (Roxanna Hadadi, 07:16)

4. Idris Elba’s Performance and Character Dynamics

• Universal praise for Elba’s controlled intensity and charisma as a negotiator.
  • “He plays so many authority figures... he’s in that mode of, ‘I’m gonna be calm, but when the moment requires it, I will explode.’” (Roxanna Hadadi, 08:02)
• The fun in watching Elba deftly manage and dismiss panicked or overzealous passengers.
  • “One of the great things about Idris is his ability to subtly tell people they’re being stupid.” (Aisha Harris, 08:35)
  • Roxanna Hadadi quips: “Idris has no patience for that.” (09:01)

5. Tension, Relatability, and Use of Setting

• The realistic tension of communicating and cooperating in the confined, stressful environment of a plane.
  • “They did a very good job of everyone looking at each other… How would you communicate? …What would you do on a plane with people you don’t know?” (Aisha Roscoe, 10:10)
• The plane almost becomes a character itself, and the hosts love how the limited setting is used, especially compared to less compelling ground-level subplots.

6. Weaknesses: Subplots & Missed Opportunities

• The on-the-ground stories, especially involving Archie Panjabi’s character, feel underdeveloped.
  • “They made it seem in the advertising like Archie Panjabi was going to have a pretty significant role here. She’s maybe the third or fourth most important person [off the plane].” (Aisha Harris, 11:22)
• Meanwhile, Daniel O’Farrell (police, played by Max Beasley), and his relationship with Sam’s estranged wife, gets more focus than expected (including the recurring “Gucci bracelet” detail, described humorously by the panel, 12:09–12:17).

7. Effective Use of Suspense and Action

• The “cleaners” subplot—two assassins threatening Sam’s son—successfully ramps up tension, especially during a sequence set in a luxurious apartment.
  • “…he sees they have guns—that had me legitimately in my seat, like, oh my god.” (Aisha Harris, 13:17)
• Clever character resourcefulness, like the son using a pre-established argument about going for a bike ride to signal danger, is called out.
  • “That’s so smart... something I would never think of.” (Aisha Harris, 13:49)

8. The Show’s Most Ridiculous Elements

• Hosts revel in the show's over-the-top plotting:
  • The financial scheme: hijackers manipulate stock prices by hijacking a plane.
    • “It’s the big short … on a plane?” (Roxanna Hadadi, 15:20)
    • “There have to be better ways to short a stock.” (Aisha Roscoe, 15:32)
  • The improbably calm, underrepresented children on board:
    • “There only seems to be two kids on this plane … the most well-behaved and unfazed kids of all time.” (Aisha Harris, 15:36)
    • Aisha Roscoe lampoons, “If my kids were on that flight… I would have been like, be quiet, be quiet. They would not have been quiet.” (15:55)

9. Standout and Favorite Moments

• Coded communication, like Idris using a water bottle carton with a circled slogan (“it’s time to shake things up”) as a covert message, delights the hosts:
  • “I love those moments. Like, did that work for you, Aisha?” (Aisha Harris, 09:33)
• The “plane as character” and use of flight logistics (window shades, layouts, etc.) are highlights.
• The pilot’s sudden violence towards a colleague during a later episode is flagged as a wild, memorable moment:
  • “We didn’t talk about how the main pilot beat the mess out of his co-pilot. That was insane.” (Aisha Roscoe, 17:22)
• Emotional leadership advice from Sam impresses:
  • “If I were in your position, I would do exactly what you’re doing. I was like, oh my God, yes. I need a Sam Nelson on the plane.” (Aisha Roscoe, 17:37)

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Memorable Quotes & Timestamps

• “Supremely silly and wonderful show.” (Roxanna Hadadi, 02:52)
• “You have to suspend your belief… But they had these little plot twists at the end of every episode that drew me in.” (Aisha Roscoe, 04:17)
• “Seven episodes is exactly right… a lot of formula things that really work here.” (Roxanna Hadadi, 06:47)
• “It is very subversive… who it presents as doing the bad stuff.” (Roxanna Hadadi, 07:16)
• “One of the great things about Idris is his ability to subtly tell people they’re being stupid.” (Aisha Harris, 08:35)
• “If my kids were on that flight… we would have all been dead.” (Aisha Roscoe, 15:55)
• “It’s the big short … on a plane?” (Roxanna Hadadi, 15:20)
• “If I were in your position, I would do exactly what you’re doing. … I need a Sam Nelson on the plane.” (Aisha Roscoe, 17:37)

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Segment Timestamps

• Intro & Panelists: 02:37–03:00
• Show premise and first impressions: 03:00–06:02
• Genre, structure, and performance: 06:02–09:20
• Episode structure, plane as character, on-plane vs. off-plane action: 10:10–12:00
• Gucci bracelet subplot and apartment suspense sequence: 12:00–14:00
• Ridiculous elements/critiques: 14:28–16:41
• Favorite/wild show moments & emotional resonance: 16:41–17:58

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Tone & Final Thoughts

The conversation is warm, irreverent, and openly celebratory of “Hijack’s” intentional and unintentional ridiculousness. The hosts agree: while the show is hardly realistic and occasionally strains credulity, it offers precisely the summer popcorn fun and charismatic performances viewers are craving. Satisfying but not self-serious, “Hijack” makes for “silly fun” TV.

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Transcript

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[Aisha Harris]

The bracing drama series Hijack is about. Well, a hijacking. An airplane heading for London is taken hostage by a bunch of assailants with mysterious motives. Problem. A brilliant business negotiator played by none other than Idris Elba is a passenger on this plane and he's not going to let them carry out their plan without a challenge. Hijack just came back for a second season, so we thought it was the perfect time to revisit our conversation about the first season of the series. I'm Ayesha Harris and we're talking about the thrilling Apple TV show Hijack on Pop Culture Happy Hour from npr.

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[Roxanna Hadadi]

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[Aisha Harris]

Joining me today is the host of Weekend Edition Sunday, my fellow Aisha, Aisha Roscoe. Hey, Aisha.

[Aisha Roscoe]

Thank you. I'm so glad to be here.

[Aisha Harris]

Yes, it's so great to have you back. And also with us is Vulture TV critic Roxanna Haddadi. Welcome Back to you too, Roxanna.

[Roxanna Hadadi]

Thank you. Very excited to talk about this supremely silly and wonderful show.

[Aisha Harris]

Supremely silly is the perfect way to describe this show. So Idris Elba is in full action hero mode here in Hijack. He stars as Sam Nelson, a corporate business negotiator on board a seven hour flight from Dubai to London. Now, soon after takeoff, a small group of hijackers makes its presence known, though the motive is unclear, at least for most of the series. Their no nonsense ringleader is Stuart, who's played by Neil Maskell. With the help of the crew and his fellow passengers, Sam immediately taps into his very particular set of skills to try and get everyone home safe and alive. This requires a lot of smooth talk, shrewd conflict, avoidant tactics and covert message sending. Now, meanwhile, various parties on the ground are trying to understand what's going on on board, including air traffic control and the British police. Archie Panjabi plays Chief Inspector Zahra Ghafour and Max Beasley plays police officer Daniel o'. Farrell. Daniel also happens to be dating Sam's estranged wife, Marcia, who's played by Christine Adams. We said this is supremely silly. We were not lying. The series is streaming on Apple tv. So, Aisha, let's start with you. Now, you've got Idris, you've got a hijacking.

[Roxanna Hadadi]

Yes.

[Aisha Harris]

You've got all of this supposedly happening over the course of like 7ish hours. So how did this play for you?

[Aisha Roscoe]

So I have to say I watched this show because I interviewed Idris Elba about the show. And so I have to put that disclaimer out there because, yes, I enjoy interviewing him. But it wasn't just the interview with Idris that sold me on this show. Like, I went into the show with very low expectations. I had heard some of the reviews. I'm like. And then I think it's very difficult when you're like in a plane and like to make a hijacking work over seven hours. Right? Like that is something. To keep that going is very difficult. But what I think they did very well and what I think made it work for me is like, yes, you have to suspend your belief. Right. Like, you can't go into this like this is realistic. But they had these little plot twists that happened at the end of every episode that drew me in and I cared just enough about the characters and I got to the second, to the last episode and it was so I was like, oh, my gosh.

[Aisha Harris]

Yeah.

[Aisha Roscoe]

And I had to finish it. And so that, to me Tells me what when I'm finishing it and I don't have to.

[Aisha Harris]

Yeah, that second to last episode. And I will tell our listeners that we might be spoiling some things, but it's not really. There's not much to spoil here. But if you want to go in completely cold, maybe, you know, come back after you've watched the final episode if you haven't yet or whatever. But yes, Aisha, now you are the Idris expert in a way, because you interviewed him. But Roxanna, you also wrote about.

[Roxanna Hadadi]

I did.

[Aisha Harris]

And you actually laid out a lot of great points about why this show is both supremely silly but also just really engrossing. So tell us how this plays for you as well.

[Roxanna Hadadi]

I think that I have been craving something goofy to watch in the summer. And it felt like we used to get like, goofy summer stuff. We'd get like, creature feature movies about, like, some gigantic animal that we were all afraid of. And we used to get, like, the shows that were a bit wackier that would air in the summertime on networks because, like, other shows were taking a break. So I sort of miss and crave that, like, low stakes absurdity. And this show is very much. Although it's about a hijacking, episodically, each episode ends on a little bit, like Aisha said, like a little bit of a twist, a little bit of a cliffhanger. There are different characters and subplots as we talked about. So I just found it very smartly constructed in a way that kept me wanting to watch. And I will also praise the fact that it's seven episodes. I think we've all got a little bit burnt out on like 13 episode streaming series that feel too stretched out. 7 episodes is exactly right. So, like, in terms of the formula, I think there are a lot of formula things that really work here.

[Aisha Roscoe]

Just hit it. They hit it.

[Roxanna Hadadi]

They get it. And I also really enjoyed, as a Middle Eastern person, that this is not just like a hijacking by Middle Eastern characters sort of thing. The show does something very different in terms of, like, what's motivating its villains, what's motivating its heroes. It is very subversive, I think, in who it presents as doing the bad stuff and who it presents as, like, rising to the moment to stop this hijacking. So there are a lot of those sort of things that the show just sort of took me away from what I expected it to be. And a lot of that, I think, comes down to Idris performance.

[Aisha Roscoe]

Yes.

[Roxanna Hadadi]

Very controlled. I mean, Idris is great at exuding control. Right. Like, this is why he plays so many authority figures. It's the Wire, it's Pacific Rim. It's Beast. Thank you to Idris for giving us Beast. But, yeah, so, like, he's in that mode of, I'm gonna be, but when the moment requires, I will explode as the moment requires. And that's just really fun to watch. It's fun to watch an actor who knows what he does so well do it really well.

[Aisha Harris]

Yes, yes.

[Roxanna Hadadi]

And I just think it's a good time.

[Aisha Harris]

It really is. And, Roxanna, one of the things you point out in your piece for Vulture is, like, one of the great things about Idris is his ability to subtly tell people they're being stupid.

[Roxanna Hadadi]

Yes.

[Aisha Harris]

And just kind of the way his eyes dart at someone saying something so inane. Or there are a couple of passengers who immediately, as soon as they realize there's peril, they're like, all right, what are we gonna do? We gotta, like, we gotta take this over. And he's like, no.

[Roxanna Hadadi]

Idris has no patience for that.

[Aisha Harris]

Right. And I love that. And that's. And I think that's partially why this makes such a good episodic series, is because he has to be very strategic. You can't just, like, go full on, like, America or whatever. I mean, obviously it's not America, but, like, full on the uk.

[Roxanna Hadadi]

Yeah.

[Aisha Harris]

Yeah. Uk. You're just, like, brash and brawn.

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No one is asking you to make this call.

[Aisha Harris]

No one.

[NPR Sponsor Announcer]

Right. Just because you speak the loudest doesn't mean you've got anything better to say. Doesn't mean you've thought this through.

[Aisha Harris]

There's nothing to think through.

[Aisha Roscoe]

No, there is.

[Aisha Harris]

You just haven't thought of it yet. He's a negotiator, and that's what he's gonna do. He's gonna negotiate his way out of the situation. And it's always interesting to think about how the protagonist is gonna get out of whatever situation. I think one of my favorite moments comes later in the series where Idris takes a carton, water bottle carton or something like that, and he circles, like, a slogan on it that it says something along the lines of, like, it's time to shake things up. And he just starts passing it through, and everyone seems to know what it means. And I love those moments. Like, did that work for you, Aisha? Yeah. Yeah.

[Aisha Roscoe]

I think that was the thing that got me. That really made it relatable. Everybody's been on a plane and you imagine being On a plane with all these people you don't know. They did a very good job of everyone looking at each other from one section of the plane to the other, like. Cause you think, like, how would you communicate? And then what would you do? And then you would always have that annoying person who's like, I'm not going along with the plane. And then you like, oh, my goodness, can this person shut up? Like, but that's gonna happen, right on the plane. So I just felt like they got the feeling right and that made it accessible. Even though nobody's been on a hijacked plane.

[Aisha Harris]

Yeah.

[Roxanna Hadadi]

A lot of times I was like, this plane is huge.

[Aisha Harris]

International flights tend to be.

[Roxanna Hadadi]

They're really big.

[Aisha Roscoe]

Some are really pretty.

[Roxanna Hadadi]

But there's some times where I was like, I don't know. But to your point, like, they use the structure of the plane really smartly. Like, the window shades come up a lot in various episodes, but also just like, the plane itself becomes a character. And that, I think, is really, really well done. I would almost say that I like the stuff on the plane a lot more than I like the stuff on the ground.

[Aisha Roscoe]

Oh, absolutely.

[Aisha Harris]

I was gonna ask you about that because one of the points you make, Roxanna, which I completely agree with, is, like, they made it seem in the advertising like Archie Panjabi was going to have a pretty significant role here. And she's maybe like, of the people who are not on the plane who are on the ground dealing with trying to figure out what's happening on the plane. She's maybe like, the third or fourth most important person.

[Roxanna Hadadi]

Yes. Did AR just have, like, two days on set? What happened here?

[Aisha Harris]

It kind of seems like it. Instead, you know, we're focused on the Daniel o' Farrell character, who's the police officer, who is also dating Sam's wife or estranged wife or partner. I'm not sure if they're still together.

[Roxanna Hadadi]

Or not, but I think it's almost X.

[Aisha Roscoe]

Maybe almost X. But he's, like, trying to maybe get her back.

[Roxanna Hadadi]

Right, with the Gucci bracelet. The Gucci bracelet is very important.

[Aisha Roscoe]

It's very. We gotta talk about that Gucci bracelet. I mean, Idris Elba just saunters in with the Gucci bracelet and, like, nothing else.

[Roxanna Hadadi]

No other luggage. What were you doing in Dubai?

[Aisha Harris]

Maybe he was getting the Gucci bracelet in Dubai.

[Aisha Roscoe]

You don't need nothing else. Sam Nelson's like, I'm going to get on this plane and I'm going to get my woman.

[Aisha Harris]

I. I will say there were some tense Moments that did come up on the ground. And I think that, you know, I agree that they weren't maybe quite as interesting as what's happening on the plane. So there are these two cleaner guys who are with, like, the same sort of organization or unit or whatever as the hijackers are, and they go around, like, murdering people who are related to people who are on board. And at one point, they target Sam's son Kai, who's played by Jude Cujo, and he, like, goes to his dad's house, his dad's very luxurious apartment. But of course it is because, like, he's the guy who's flying to Dubai, apparently, to get a Gucci bracelet, very luxurious apartment. Then the cleaners show up, and he has to figure out, okay, how to not let them know that he's there. And he sees they have guns that had me legitimately in my seat, like, oh, my God. And then when they find him and that whole thing goes down, and it's just. I thought it was really well done. And I also thought the way that Daniel, the police officer, gets him out of that situation where he, like, has them do a fire alarm and then, like, forces them out. Like, I thought that was great.

[Aisha Roscoe]

Like, it was. It was really great. And then the way he, like, signaled to Daniel because they had the argument about the bike is like, I'm going on a bike ride. I love going on everyone.

[Aisha Harris]

So smart. Everyone is something I would never think of.

[Roxanna Hadadi]

I would be completely useless in all of these situations.

[Aisha Roscoe]

Oh, absolutely. Yeah.

[Roxanna Hadadi]

But the villains are legitimately scary. I really like that Simon McBurney shows up. He's such a great, ominous character actor. And when he arrived, I was like, oh, things are actually gonna get very intimidating. So I think there are these little casting moments that are also really well done and really smart. I don't think Archie gets enough to do, but everyone else, I thought was sort of, as Aisha said, like, punching above their weight class. Like, it just became something more than what I expected the show to be.

[Aisha Harris]

Yeah, we mentioned how silly it is, but I have to ask, like, what, to you, is the most ridiculous thing about this show?

[Roxanna Hadadi]

Oh, my gosh.

[Aisha Roscoe]

My thing that I feel like that is silly is the premise of the hijacking. And, like, I'm like, aren't there easier ways to make money? Like, it just seems like, why not just have somebody, like, go to a bank and, like, you know what I'm saying? Like, it just seems like a really complicated scheme to get some money that could. That has so many ways to go wrong.

[Aisha Harris]

Well, we should. We should partially explain what that convoluted scheme is, which is basically, I guess, the stocks of the airliner. They took money out, they were betting on it going down, and so then they hijacked the plane. And then, of course, stocks fall. So now it's like a windfall, I guess, because they did this.

[Roxanna Hadadi]

It's the big short. On a plane?

[Aisha Harris]

Yes.

[Aisha Roscoe]

Yeah, on a plane.

[Aisha Harris]

Yeah. You would think there'd be easier ways to do it, but I guess if you also just wanna be a terrorist, like, that's a great way to go about doing it too.

[Aisha Roscoe]

There have to be better ways to short a stock.

[Aisha Harris]

That's what the big short was. Okay, so here's mine. Mine is that there only seems to be two kids on this plane, which, like, have you ever been on any flight, but much less an international flight where there's only two kids on the plane? And then top of that, they are the most well behaved and unfazed kids of all time.

[Aisha Roscoe]

I forgot about that. Oh, my God. Because I. If my kids were on that flight, okay, first of all, we would have all been dead. Because they would have been like, well, I need a. I need my. My, My iPad. It's not working. It's no WI fi. Like, they would have been just a hot mess. I would have been like, be quiet, be quiet. They would not have been quiet.

[Aisha Harris]

Yeah, it.

[Aisha Roscoe]

It just would have been mayhem. And, like, where are their snacks?

[Aisha Harris]

Like, there are guns being brandished, people being beat in the aisles. And these kids don't, like, they just.

[Roxanna Hadadi]

Have their tablets, which I respect.

[Aisha Harris]

I feel as though that was like, a missed opportunity for even more attention because it's like trying to keep a child either, like, from freaking out or just being too loud and annoying. Like, that's an extra layer of tension that was just waiting to be mined.

[Roxanna Hadadi]

But, well, one of them briefly gets lost.

[Aisha Harris]

Yeah.

[Roxanna Hadadi]

And I think that's the extent of the tension. And it's like, okay, you're getting lost on a plane. Really? My favorite moment is at a certain point, Idris notices a flag and he goes back to first class and, like, draws the flag and then shows it around first class. And it's like, what country is this? But it's somehow. That's the show. It just somehow pulls off this balance of, like, really extreme things that are also sort of, like, normal. And it's Idris, and he just sells it. Yeah, I don't know how he does it, but he sells it.

[Aisha Harris]

Okay, is there anything else we want to talk about here.

[Aisha Roscoe]

We didn't talk about how the main pilot beat the mess out of his Cobalt. That was insane.

[Aisha Harris]

I forgot about that. There was the affair that was happening.

[Aisha Roscoe]

I mean, it was like, you know what?

[Aisha Harris]

But then at the end, he.

[Aisha Roscoe]

Oh, he got it. He got it. At the end.

[Roxanna Hadadi]

He really got it.

[Aisha Roscoe]

And the best part to me was when Idris told her, like, I normally tell people what they need to do to get them to do, but if I were in your position, I would do exactly what you're doing. I was like, oh, my God, yes. I need a Sam Nelson on the plane. That was the best part. It was so real. I loved it.

[Aisha Harris]

Yes. Yes. Well, clearly we had a great time watching this show, the supremely silly show. And if you got a chance to check it out, you should definitely let us know what you think. Think about hijack. You can find [e-mail] PCHH and that brings us to the end of our show. Roxanna Hadadi. Aisha, Roscoe, thanks so much for being here. This was a joy, a pleasure, and just silly fun. Yeah.

[Aisha Roscoe]

Glad to be here.

[Roxanna Hadadi]

Thank you.

[Aisha Harris]

This episode was produced by Romel Wood and Mike Cassiff and edited by Jessica Reedy. And hello. Kamin provides our theme music. Thank you so much for listening to Pop Culture Happy hour from npr. I'm Aisha Harrison. We're see you all next time.

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