Netflix has added Hostage, a new political thriller starring Suranne Jones as a British Prime Minister placed in an impossible situation.
The five-part story sees theVigil actor play Abigail Dalton, who is hosting French President Vivienne Toussaint (Before Sunrise star Julie Delpy) for an important summit. But during the meeting, Abigail receives the horrifying news that her husband Alex (The Ipcress File’s Ashley Thomas) has been kidnapped while carrying out humanitarian work overseas.
When the kidnappers threaten to kill Alex unless Abigail resigns, she is forced to ask Vivienne for help — and discovers that her French counterpart is also being targeted by blackmailers. Can the pair put aside their differences to unravel the sinister plot that threatens them both?
Academy Award-nominated British screenwriter Matt Charman (Bridge of Spies), who created the series, tells us that Suranne inspired him to pen the series.
"It came from really wanting to work with Suranne! We talked a lot about women and power, and what it takes for a woman to rise up the ranks. In this country, we can be cynical about politics, but I thought if anyone was going to make me care, it would be Suranne. So the challenge was, 'If we make the character a prime minister who's going through something awful, how far can we push it?'"
Hostage features Downing Street and the House of Commons. Matt explains they tried to film in the real House of Commons, but that didn't quite work out.
"We got very close to shooting in the real chamber of the House of Commons! The Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, was amazing and did everything he could with his staff to make that happen but, logistically, it just wasn’t going to be possible, so we built a set.
"When you've got hundreds of people working on something like that, you think, ‘Have I done enough with this amazing opportunity? Are these words good enough?’ The biggest challenge is making sure you don’t collapse under the pressure and use it to make the scene as good as it can be."
Is Hostage worth a watch?
If you enjoy political thrillers like The Diplomat and House of Cards, then this is clearly for you. It has a great cast and writer, and appears a quality production. If you're into high action stuff and find political thrillers incredibly dull then maybe not so much!
Check out our best Netflix shows for more series to enjoy.
