After surviving a plane hijacking, Sam Nelson thought his ordeal was over. But for the new season of Hijack, the tense Apple TV+ thriller, Idris Elba’s character is heading underground into a different kind of transport nightmare. The show moves from the skies to the tight confines of a Berlin subway train, bringing with it questions about whether this new frightening scenario is pulled from real headlines.
The simple answer is no—the plot is not a direct retelling of a true event. The creators have crafted a completely fictional story for this season. However, the core idea of a train hijacking has roots in the real-world fears and experiences of its writer, making the tension feel uncomfortably real for anyone who has ever felt a moment of panic during their daily commute.
The Simple Truth: A Work of Fiction with a Relatable Core
Hijack has always been a work of fiction, and that remains true for its second season. The story of a Berlin U-Bahn train being taken hostage is not based on any single, documented real-life hijacking on that city’s subway system. The series co-creator, George Kay, has shared that the initial spark for the entire Hijack concept came from a personal, slightly scary moment on a train. He was on the Eurostar when it stopped abruptly in a tunnel. While it was likely a minor delay, his mind began racing with possibilities, wondering how the strangers around him would react if this were a serious crisis. That relatable “what if” thought is the emotional foundation for both seasons.
“You can only hijack a method of transport,” Idris Elba noted in an interview, explaining the logic of moving from a plane to a train. “You can’t hijack a building”.
The show’s other co-creator, Jim Field Smith, approached the new season by thinking in opposites. After a story set in the open sky, he wanted the most different environment possible. “So my brain goes to opposites so what’s the opposite of that? It’s an underground train, that’s literally the opposite of that,” Smith explained. This shift in location does more than change the scenery; it reflects Sam Nelson’s state of mind as he searches for answers in a dark, confusing labyrinth beneath the city.
Sam Nelson’s New Mission and a Different Kind of Crisis
When Hijack Season 2 begins, two years have passed since the events on Flight KA29. Sam is not the same man audiences met in the first season. He is psychologically changed, a “broken man” who is on a personal quest that mixes justice with revenge for the unresolved trauma from his first ordeal. His journey brings him to Berlin, where he boards a subway train and soon finds himself at the center of another hostage situation involving hundreds of commuters.
This season flips Sam’s role. In Season 1, he was a passenger who had to step up. For Season 2, the creators asked a new question: “what if Sam is actually the instigator of the events?”. He is a more active, driving force in the crisis from the very beginning. Furthermore, the nature of the threat evolves in a clever way. On a plane, everyone knows a hijacking is happening immediately. On this subway train, the passengers are unaware they are in danger for the first three episodes. The tension builds not from open panic, but from the secret that Sam and the hijackers are trying to keep.
The setting also presents new challenges. A subway car is a more random, public space than an airplane. “On a train, and particularly on a subway train, it’s random. The people that are on that train are completely random,” Jim Field Smith pointed out. This transforms a routine commute into a “locked-door prison” for everyone on board, making the stakes feel both massive and deeply personal.
Building a Real-World Berlin U-Bahn in a London Studio
To make the subway setting as believable as possible, the production undertook a massive technical project. They constructed a life-sized, fully accurate replica of a Berlin U-Bahn train at a studio in London. The goal was perfection. “I wanted it be a perfect replica,” said Smith. “It had to be literally a millimetre perfect recreation”.
They built not one, but two full-scale trains. One was an “interior train” placed on a hydraulic rig that could realistically sway and move, so the actors didn’t have to pretend. The other was a working train that could move in and out of a meticulously built station and tunnel set. This allowed for complex shooting and ensured that when the crew filmed a small portion in Berlin’s real Hauptbahnhof station, everything matched perfectly.
This attention to detail extended to the windows. While a plane mostly shows sky, a subway train has windows on all sides showing tunnels and stations rushing by. The production used massive LED walls surrounding the set to project these environments in real time, creating the authentic sensation of a moving train.
Returning and New Faces for a Global Crisis
Idris Elba returns as the lead, both starring as Sam Nelson and serving as an executive producer. He is joined by several familiar faces from the first season, including Christine Adams as his estranged wife Marsha, Max Beesley as DI Daniel O’Farrell, and Archie Panjabi as counter-terrorism officer Zahra Gahfoor.
The new season introduces a roster of talented actors who become the passengers, authorities, and hijackers caught in the Berlin crisis. The new cast includes Toby Jones, Christian Näthe, Clare-Hope Ashitey, Lisa Vicari, and Christiane Paul. Their involvement adds layers to the story as it explores how German and British authorities work together to manage an international incident that is physically confined to one city’s subway tunnels.
How and When to Watch the New Season
Hijack Season 2 premiered on Apple TV+ on January 14, 2026. The first two episodes were released on that date. Following the premiere, new episodes are being released weekly every Wednesday. The season consists of eight episodes in total, with the finale scheduled for March 4, 2026.
Also Read: Love Between Lines Full Release Schedule, Total Episodes, and Where to Watch Globally
