Apple TV+ orders Idris Elba’s ‘Hijack’, with Hakan Kousetta & Jamie Laurenson’s 60Forty attached

Idris Elba

Apple TV+ has unveiled the first project from its first-look deal with Idris Elba and his Green Door Pictures, with former See-Saw Films execs Hakan Kousetta and Jamie Laurenson also attached.

Hijack is a seven-part thriller starring Elba (Luther), who will also serve as executive producer, with Lupin‘s George Kay writing and Jim Field Smith (Criminal) directing.

Laurenson and Kousetta’s outfit 60Forty Films, launched last year, is producing with Idiotlamp Productions, in association with Green Door.

The show is told in real time and follows the journey of a hijacked plane as it makes its way to London over a seven-hour flight, as authorities on the ground scramble for answers.

Elba will star as an accomplished negotiator in the business world who 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.

The series joins Apple TV+’s expanding offering, which ranges from Ben Stiller’s Severance and metaphysical thriller Shining Girls, to upcoming factual series Prehistoric Planet.

The project is the latest for Kousetta, Laurenson and Apple TV+, with the trio working on Gary Oldman’s Slow Horses during their time at See-Saw Films, which is also behind the tech giant’s The Essex Serpent.