Idris Elba, the star of the hit Apple TV series Hijack, has shared that he was not sure about returning for a second season. He worried if the show could be as good as the first one. This news comes as Sam Nelson, his character, finds himself in a shocking new situation on a train in Berlin.
The actor and executive producer recently talked about his initial hesitation. He also explained how the new season takes his character, Sam Nelson, to a very different and darker place. The first season followed Sam, a corporate negotiator, using his skills to save people on a hijacked plane. The show was a big hit and earned Elba an Emmy nomination. The second season started on Apple TV on Wednesday, January 14, 2026. New episodes will come out every Wednesday until the season ends on March 4.
Idris Elba’s Initial Hesitation About Season 2
In an exclusive interview, Idris Elba told People magazine that he had some real concerns about making another season. The main question for him was simple: could they do it again and make it just as good?
“It’s a complex show to make,” Elba said. “It was really good and people really loved it. And can we do it again? I wasn’t sure.”
Elba explained that even though he loved playing Sam Nelson, he felt that sometimes you need to move on from a successful story. He wanted to avoid making a second season that felt forced or did not live up to the first. His worry was about keeping the magic alive. The first season was praised for its real-time tension and closed-ended story. Figuring out a believable way to put the same character through another major crisis was a big challenge for the writers and for Elba himself.
A Broken Sam Nelson Returns
The new season finds Sam Nelson in Berlin, caught in another hostage situation, this time on an underground train. However, Elba and the show’s creators wanted to make sure Sam was not the same man audiences met in season one. The experience of the first hijacking left deep marks.
Elba worked to show a character who is psychologically damaged. He described Sam at the start of this season as a “broken man” who is searching for answers. This change is not just emotional. Elba pointed out that there is a clear physical difference in how Sam looks, which was a deliberate choice to show his troubled state.
Jim Field Smith, the show’s lead director and co-creator, shared this goal. He wanted audiences to see Sam in the first scene of season two and immediately ask, “What the hell’s happened to this guy?” This sets up a season where understanding Sam’s mental state is as important as the action happening around him.
The Shocking Twist That Changes Everything
The premiere episode of the new season, titled “Signal,” delivered a major twist that changes the entire story. For most of the episode, it seems like Sam Nelson is once again an unlucky passenger who ends up in the middle of a terrorist hijacking on a Berlin train. He acts nervous and watches other passengers, which viewers might think is due to his past trauma.
However, the ending reveals something much different. It turns out Sam Nelson is not a victim this time. He is part of the plan. After the train is diverted to a remote track, Sam enters the conductor’s booth. He tells the nervous conductor, Otto, “I took care of the police.” He then declares, “Otto, listen to me. I’m hijacking this train.”
This revelation turns the show’s concept on its head. The man who was the hero is now appearing to be the villain. Reviewers note this is a clever way to avoid simply repeating the first season’s plot. It creates a big question: Is Sam truly a bad guy now, or is he involved in this dangerous plot for a deeper, more complicated reason? The show suggests he might be in a situation where he is forced to do this, perhaps to achieve some greater good.
Behind the Scenes: Filming in a Confined Train
Creating the tense atmosphere of the new season was a massive technical job. The production team built a perfect, full-scale replica of a Berlin U-Bahn train in a studio in East London. Director Jim Field Smith insisted it had to be “literally a millimetre perfect recreation” so they could also film seamlessly with the real train system in Berlin.
Elba called building this set a “massive” achievement. He explained that the train environment created a different kind of energy than the airplane from season one. While the plane was more static, the train has doors, carriages, and movement, which allowed for more dynamic scenes and filming. The close, cramped quarters of the subway cars also added to the feeling of claustrophobia and tension.
New Faces and Returning Cast Members
The second season brings in several new actors to join the story. Notable new cast members include Toby Jones, Christiane Paul, and Christian Nรคthe, who plays the train conductor, Otto. They are joined by Lisa Vicari and Clare-Hope Ashitey.
They will interact with returning characters from the first season. Christine Adams is back as Sam’s ex-wife, Marsha, and Max Beesley and Archie Panjabi also return. These characters, both on and off the train, will be trying to understand the crisis and Sam’s unexpected role in it.
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What’s Next for Sam Nelson and Hijack?
With the season now airing, the big question is where the story goes from here. The premiere has set up a complex mystery around Sam’s motives. Elba hopes that audiences will watch with a curious and questioning mind.
“I really want the audience in the second season toโฆ naturally go in with scrutiny and be like, ‘What? Hijack 2? That can’t possibly happen again to this man, but here we are.’”
As for the future beyond this season, both Elba and creator Jim Field Smith have joked about the limits of putting one man in so many transport-related disasters. They playfully suggested that if there were a third season, Sam might be found “on a Lime bike” or simply “in a hotel room chilling”. While they feel they have “squeezed the juice out of the transporter thing,” Elba did hint that there could be one more way to tell Sam Nelson’s story, possibly as a film. For now, fans can follow the tense, weekly story of the hijacked Berlin train every Wednesday on Apple TV+.
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