From 90% to disaster: why this show’s sequel completely missed the mark

The incredible rise… and the almost comical fall. “Hijack” rocketed into the stratosphere with its first season, capturing viewers and critics alike in a potent cocktail of tension and originality. But with its ambitious sequel, the show has nosedived to a place no thriller wants to crash—leaving us to ask, how did a 90% success plummet into disaster?

Apple TV+ Breaks Its Own Mold

• June 2023: Apple TV+ defies expectations. Forget the sci-fi playbook. The platform releases “Hijack,” a thriller bursting with originality and edge-of-your-seat suspense—the kind of adrenaline shot reminiscent of “24”, minus ticking clocks and Jack Bauer's whispered threats.
• Idris Elba takes center stage as Sam Nelson, a master corporate negotiator caught in the wrong place at the worst possible time—a London-bound plane under siege. The series leverages real-time storytelling, offering perspectives from nerve-wracked passengers (with Elba’s charisma radiating), stone-cold terrorists, and the frenzied authorities on the ground. Buckle up, drama incoming.
• What was meant to be a tidy mini-series morphed into a juggernaut. Critics and fans ate it up, sat back, and gave it a whopping 90% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Success that big is almost a dare to return for more.

The Sequel Launches—And Immediately Stalls

• Fast forward: Wednesday, January 14, 2026. Hijack Season 2 premieres with a double bill on Apple TV+. High hopes are in the air—for now.
• The plot: Berlin’s metro becomes the scene of chaos. Passengers? Hostages. Authorities? Scrambling. Lives? Hundreds at stake. Once again, Sam Nelson (Elba) is the man in the eye of the storm, and—as the synopsis teases—it takes only one wrong decision to tip it all into catastrophe.
• Déjà vu? Yes, and not in a good way. While the formula is familiar, something feels missing. That spark, that bite—vanished during a long layover somewhere between seasons one and two, with only a mild twist in episode two trying to shake things up.
• The numbers speak for themselves: as of writing, Season 2 wallows in a gloomy average score of 33%. To be fair, the verdict is still forming, but the immediate reaction is clear—and it's anything but flattering.

Critical Grounding: Reviews and Regrets

• Pop Culture Maniacs states it flatly: “Here we are, staring down the barrel of a second season for a show that always looked like a mini-series. After watching it all, I can assure you there is absolutely no good reason to watch Hijack Season 2.” Ouch.
• CBR is equally scathing: “Hijack caves in to the easy route, almost copy-pasting the blueprint of season one. But this time, the result is hopelessly disjointed and thematically hollow.”
• Variety doesn't mince words: Season 2 “completely derails the franchise,” mourning the lack of “spark and the addictive edge” that had defined the first run.
• As for Première? Zero sugar-coating here: “Emotionally weak impact and dull dialogue,” they claim, summing up the whole as “tedious to follow. Redundant.”

A Star’s Doubt and a Lesson Unlearned

• The ultimate irony: Idris Elba himself reportedly hesitated to sign on, uncertain the sequel could measure up, especially with a story that felt less urgent the second time around. He might have wanted to stick with his gut.
• Reflecting to People, Elba confided, “Season 1 was really successful and the public adored it. But could we repeat it? I wasn't sure. I loved the character, but sometimes you have to know when to move on.” Yet the actor admits he was deeply tempted to see if they could recapture—and preserve—what had worked so well originally.

In the end, “Hijack” couldn’t stick the landing with its second season—a reminder that some stories need no encore. Maybe next time, the best move is to leave a successful flight undisturbed. Or, at the very least, have a truly new destination in mind before you board again.