{"id":24706,"date":"2026-03-31T09:57:40","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T13:57:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/hijacks-co-creator-cast-talk-keeping-the-energy-alive-in-season-2\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T11:19:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T15:19:08","slug":"hijacks-co-creator-cast-talk-keeping-the-energy-alive-in-season-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/hijacks-co-creator-cast-talk-keeping-the-energy-alive-in-season-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Hijack\u2019s Co-Creator & Cast Talk Keeping the Energy Alive in Season 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hijack<\/em>\u00a0season one had viewers bracing for turbulence as the action-packed drama took its audience on a high-pressure, closed-quarters plane hijacking. The co-creator and cast of season two talk with\u00a0TV Drama Weekly<\/em>\u00a0about what it was like keeping the energy alive in the new season and the unexpected twists that came.<\/p>\n

A renewal for a second season made everybody wonder: Where would the next hijacking be? \u201cI think the easy bit is thinking of places you could set it,\u201d says Jim Field-Smith, co-creator, executive producer and director of\u00a0Hijack<\/em>. \u201cI love it. I don\u2019t tire of being asked that question because it makes me realize that the show is really engaging. But the reality is, it doesn\u2019t matter where it\u2019s\u00a0\"***Image***\"set. It matters\u00a0why<\/em>. Why are we bringing Sam back? And figuring out the \u2018why\u2019 of season two was a lot harder than figuring out the where.\u201d<\/p>\n

In fact, Field-Smith knew immediately where the second season would be set. \u201cThe moment they said, \u2018We want to do a season two,\u2019 I was like, \u2018Underground train,\u2019\u201d Field-Smith says. \u201cIt was the first words out of my mouth. It\u2019s got to be the exact opposite of a plane.\u201d Season two ultimately follows negotiator Sam Nelson, played by Idris Elba, on a hijacked underground train in Berlin.<\/p>\n

A challenging aspect of creating a story set in claustrophobic confines is predictability. For Archie Panjabi, who plays Zahar Gahfoor in the series, the unpredictability is what makes season two so compelling for viewers. \u201cBy episode three or four, I was totally hooked,\u201d she says. \u201cI was watching it because I\u2019m in it, but I suddenly just became a fan and wanted to follow it through.\u201d She describes the new season as a relentless ride. \u201cYou\u2019re on this psychological chase, which you\u2019re just desperate to know the answers for.\u201d<\/p>\n

The show\u2019s ambitiously crafted set design paved the way for its nonstop tension and quality. In discussing their methods of building a practical set, Field-Smith explains, \u201cI wanted to build the environment practically so that when we\u2019re on set, we can swing the camera in any direction. I want to have long, unbroken takes where you can live, you can be in [Sam\u2019s] headspace, you can breathe with him and you don\u2019t have to worry about the illusion around him. We forced ourselves to shoot it like we were shooting on a real train.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, that\u2019s what we did,\u201d he says. \u201cEven though we were in a studio and we didn\u2019t\u00a0need<\/em>\u00a0to do that, we forced ourselves to shoot it like we were shooting on a real train, and I think that\u2019s what gives it the reality.\u201d Enforcing restrictions keeps the tension building upon the surrounding realism, making the audience subconsciously feel like they have joined the characters.<\/p>\n

Season two deepens the emotional stakes, weaving personal grief into the action. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of things going on all at the same time,\u201d Christine Adams, who plays Sam Nelson\u2019s ex-wife Marsha, explains. \u201cThen there\u2019s the kind of physical aspects of the job where you\u2019re running and you\u2019re being chased, swinging an ax. And then there\u2019s also this person who\u2019s grieving.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still operating in negotiator mode on a hijacked train, Sam is also navigating the profound loss of his son. \u201cYou see those edges,\u201d Adams says. \u201cWhere he\u2019s in Sam Nelson negotiator mode\u2014it\u2019s almost like one of those holograms where you look on the other side\u2014you see this sort of grieving father.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sustaining that level of intensity over months of filming proved to be a challenge in itself. \u201cThis show unfolds over the course of a few hours,\u201d Clare-Hope Ashitey, who plays Olivia Thatcher, explains. \u201cBut in reality, we’re filming for nine months. To sustain that tension is in itself a challenge and an interesting one.\u201d<\/p>\n

What makes the series so engaging? \u201cIn stories like this where you put very ordinary people into very extraordinary situations, it really is interesting to think, what do I think I would do?\u201d Ashitey says.<\/p>\n

The twists and psychological turns also keep the audience engaged, tangled in its web of mystery. With the script, Ashitey says, \u201cwhen you\u2019re reading it, you experience it as the viewer does. To be invested in characters on the page like that, not just your own character, and what\u2019s happening around them, is, I think, really a testament to a very well-written script and a very well-crafted story.\u201d<\/p>\n

Season two builds on the confines of season one with emotional depth and scale, without losing its signature anxiety-inducing tension. \u201cPhew, that was lucky,\u201d Field-Smith describes pulling off the project for a second time. \u201cBut, of course, it\u2019s not lucky at all. It\u2019s 100 percent hard work and very clever planning. It feels like a magic trick when it happens, but actually it\u2019s just sort of maths.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jim Field-Smith, co-creator, executive producer and director of Apple TV\u2019s Hijack, and cast members Archie Panjabi, Christine Adams and Clare-Hope Ashitey tell World Screen Newsflash\u00a0about what it was like keeping the energy alive in the new season and the unexpected twists that come.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7389,"featured_media":24707,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[10644,12097,12098,6739,11547],"class_list":["post-24706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-top-stories","tag-archie-panjabi","tag-christine-adams","tag-clare-hope-ashitey","tag-hijack","tag-jim-field-smith","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\nHijack\u2019s Co-Creator & Cast Talk Keeping the Energy Alive in Season 2 - TVDRAMA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/hijacks-co-creator-cast-talk-keeping-the-energy-alive-in-season-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hijack\u2019s Co-Creator & Cast Talk Keeping the Energy Alive in Season 2 - TVDRAMA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Jim Field-Smith, co-creator, executive producer and director of Apple TV\u2019s Hijack, and cast members Archie Panjabi, Christine Adams and Clare-Hope Ashitey tell World Screen Newsflash\u00a0about what it was like keeping the energy alive in the new season and the unexpected twists that come.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/hijacks-co-creator-cast-talk-keeping-the-energy-alive-in-season-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TVDRAMA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-31T13:57:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-31T15:19:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2026\/03\/AppleTV-Hijack-0326.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"394\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kloudia Sakowski\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kloudia Sakowski\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/hijacks-co-creator-cast-talk-keeping-the-energy-alive-in-season-2\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/hijacks-co-creator-cast-talk-keeping-the-energy-alive-in-season-2\/\",\"name\":\"Hijack\u2019s Co-Creator & Cast Talk Keeping the Energy Alive in Season 2 - TVDRAMA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-31T13:57:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-31T15:19:08+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/#\/schema\/person\/0c0fb596604e018568d0e01fe463109b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/hijacks-co-creator-cast-talk-keeping-the-energy-alive-in-season-2\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/hijacks-co-creator-cast-talk-keeping-the-energy-alive-in-season-2\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/hijacks-co-creator-cast-talk-keeping-the-energy-alive-in-season-2\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Hijack\u2019s Co-Creator & Cast Talk Keeping the Energy Alive in Season 2\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/\",\"name\":\"TVDRAMA\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/#\/schema\/person\/0c0fb596604e018568d0e01fe463109b\",\"name\":\"Kloudia Sakowski\",\"description\":\"Kloudia Sakowski is the associate editor of World Screen. 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