Calling all heist thriller fans! Apple TV has dropped the trailer for Hijack season two, and it looks like the perfect pick to add to your January watchlist. Idris Elba returns for the second instalment, which follows an underground train whose passengers are taken hostage while corporate negotiator Sam Nelson is on board.

Created by George Kay (Lupin, Criminal) and Jim Field Smith (Criminal, Litvinenko), the eight-episode season will premiere globally on Wednesday 14 January 2026 – so don’t forget to mark your calendar.

Idris Elba in Hijack© Apple TV

Idris returns as Sam Nelson

Is Hijack worth watching?

Hijack enjoyed huge success when it first hit screens in 2023, becoming one of Apple TV+’s top dramas and earning a 90% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Idris Elba is without a doubt one of Britain’s most impressive and versatile actors, having established himself as a stalwart of tense TV dramas in projects such as Luther and A House of Dynamite. His performance as Sam in season one earned him an Emmy Award nomination, so he is bound to impress once again in this second instalment.

What happens in the Hijack season 2 trailer?© Apple TV

Clare-Hope Ashitey and Toby Jones join the cast

What happens in the Hijack season 2 trailer?

The clip opens in Berlin, where we’re told Sam has just landed. As he boards a subway train, or U-Bahn, he is soon seen running through a carriage while shouting: “Everyone go to the front of the train now!”

Christian Näthe in Hijack© Apple TV

Christian Näthe also stars

It quickly becomes clear that Sam has been dropped into yet another hostage situation, while the authorities above ground scramble to work out who is behind it and why.

When they discover that Sam was also on Kingdom 29, the plane taken hostage in the first season, we hear various people say: “He spent a year putting this together. And now he wants what, justice? Or revenge.”

Could this signal the return of sinister Stuart Atterton from season one? We’ll have to tune in on 14 January to find out.

Max Beesley in Hijack© Apple TV

Max Beesley plays DI Daniel O’Farrel

What to expect from Hijack season 2

The synopsis reads: “In the thrilling second season of Hijack, a Berlin underground train and its commuters are taken hostage, while above-ground authorities scramble to save hundreds of lives. Sam Nelson (Elba) is at the heart of the crisis on board, where one wrong decision could spell disaster.”

Christine Adams in Hijack© Apple TV

Christine Adams is Marsha Smith-Nelson

Who stars in Hijack season 2?

Idris Elba returns as Sam, who is once again joined by Christine Adams as Marsha Smith-Nelson, Max Beesley as DI Daniel O’Farrel and Archie Panjabi as Zahar Gahfoor.

Lisa Vicari in Hijack© Apple TV

Lisa Vicari also joins

New cast members include Christian Näthe (Ballon, Soloalbum, Schule), Clare-Hope Ashitey (Seven Seconds, Top Boy, Doctor Foster), Lisa Vicari (Django, Dark), Toby Jones (Mr Bates vs The Post Office, Detectorists, Empire of Light), Karima McAdams (Dune: Prophecy, Deep State, Soulmates) and Christiane Paul (Counterpart, FBI: International, Parlement).