Hostage

Hostage kicks off with a high-stakes premise and rarely lets up, moving at a relentless pace that mixes political maneuvering with personal peril.

The story occasionally stretches credibility - there are moments that make you think, "no way this could actually happen" especially in the first couple of episodes. But if you lean into the heightened reality, the series delivers a tense, absorbing ride.

At the centre is Suranne Jones, outstanding as Prime Minister Abigail Dalton. She brings a mix of steel and humanity that makes the wildest twists feel grounded. Julie Delpy is her perfect foil as French President Vivienne Toussaint - cool, enigmatic, and always hinting at deeper motives. Their on-screen push and pull is the show's real power play.

The series looks great, too. Directors Isabelle Sieb and Amy Neil keep the action tight and urgent, while Jeff Russo's score hums with understated menace. It's bingeable television in the truest sense: five hours of fast politics, high drama, and personal stakes colliding.

Yes, some plotting relies on convenience, and a few resolutions arrive too neatly wrapped. But the energy, the performances, and the sheer audacity keep it entertaining throughout.

Not prestige realism, but an unapologetic political potboiler with flair.

Overall: 8/10 - tense, stylish, and far more fun than it has any right to be.

I don't know why but teenage daughters on tv are the most irritating of all. The kid is in the public eye and yet she acts overly dramatic with her teenage angst making anything and everything difficult for her PM mother. They should have kidnapped her instead. Or better yet, just not have her character in the show.

With the daughter out of the picture, it is a good watch full of suspense.

UK Intelligence agencies, MI5 & MI6 are still one of the best in the world. Yet this series depicted that they were failures to protect their PM and her family. Had no clue what was happening on the streets of Loondon! Diplomatic relations between two rich and developed nations at the highest level looked like a family feud.

Poor plot, inadequate research and below par direction. Not worth the time.

Could have been better, good idea of a storyline.

I definitely thought we were going to get you can't handle the truth, we live in a world that has walls & those walls have to be guarded by men with guns, you have just weakened a nation, sleep well.

Worth watching, but not something you would watch twice!!

Having read a 4* review by Lucy Mangan in The Guardian, I thought I'd give it a whirl.

Save yourself the time: it's soap opera territory, with more holes than a piece of swiss cheese.

I like Suranne Jones, but the plot and the script are so lightweight, and spectacularly predictable.

I really struggled to stay awake.