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Idris Elba’s partnership with Apple TV is now bearing fruit as it’s confirmed that he’ll star in and will serve as executive producer on a new series for the tech giant.
According to reports, the Luther actor will be the lead in a new thriller series entitled Hijack. The plot of the seven-part series features Elba as Sam, an in-demand business negotiator who finds his skills put into action as the plane that he’s on is hijacked en route to London. “[Sam] needs to step up and use all his guile to try and save the lives of the passengers — but, his high-risk strategy could be his undoing,” says the synopsis of the series.
Hijack is the first project to emerge from the first-look deal that Elba’s production company, Green Door Pictures signed with the streaming platform back in 2020. Elba will serve as an executive producer along with George Kay, who was behind the creation of the Lupin series for Netflix. Kay will also serve as a writer on Hijack. The team of producers is rounded out by Jim Field Smith, who will direct as well as Jamie Laurenson and Hakan Kousetta of 60Forty and Kris Thykier.
The announcement of the new series shows that Apple TV+ is concentrating on growing its international audience with the United Kingdom as a stepping-off point. Slow Horses, an espionage drama featuring Gary Oldman is already available to viewers and will soon be followed by another drama starring Tom Hiddleston and Claire Danes entitled The Essex Serpent. For Elba, this comes on the heels of a film featuring his weathered detective character of Luther which will air on Netflix along with serving as the voice of Knuckles in Sonic The Hedgehog 2 and his role in the fantasy drama Three Hundred Years of Longing starring alongside Tilda Swinton.
