It’s not rocket science, to be fair, but credit to Netflix – someone at the biggest streamer in the world has figured out the recipe for good political thrillers. It’s already scored an ongoing hit with The Diplomat, and now Netflix has teased a new show that seems to be very familiar to anyone who enjoyed Bodyguard a few years ago.
Hostage, the new show, features Suranne Jones in the lead role as none other than the Prime Minister of the UK. She’s thrust even further into the limelight when her husband is forcefully kidnapped, and the hostage-takers target her in an attempt at extortion.
That’s not even the whole story, according to Netflix’s official blurb – the President of France is also visiting, and is also subject to a blackmail attempt. This indicates that whoever is orchestrating events is even more ambitious than just targeting the UK would suggest, and the show looks dead set to go to some interesting places.
It’s a limited series that will only run to five episodes in total, too, which means there’s going to be basically no bloat at all. Expect tight plotting, and some terrific performances given Jones’ track record in TV has made her a hugely popular actor in the UK already. She’s also an executive producer on the show, and Netflix is making a point of highlighting that it’s her first project on the platform.
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Doubtless, if the show lands well, they’ll have more in the pipeline together. Netflix seems to be very good at locking down stars for more than one project once they’ve proved their ability to helm a show or movie, so Jones could be breaking out into the big-time even further than she has already.
The show is still a little while away, landing on 21 August, so I’ve no doubt that we’ll get a longer look at it within the next few weeks as Netflix ramps up promotion. Whether it’ll be bigger in the UK than the US will be interesting to see – I’m sure those looking for a drama like Bodyguard will be champing at the bit in either region, though.
