Cast: Suranne Jones, Ashley Thomas, Martin McCann, Isobel Kuwudike, Pip Carter, Corey Mylchreest, Julie Delpy, Vincent Perez,

Length: 5 episodes

Studio/Streamer: Netflix

Audio Description Produced By: Adrenaline Studios

Written By: Narrated By:

What is it?: The husband of the British Prime Minister is kidnapped, and held hostage until she meets the demands of the terrorists holding him hostage. meanwhile, the President of France is also being blackmailed, and those truths might come to surface. Can these two world leaders trust anyone, even each other?

What Works: On the heels of the ridiculous Heads Of State, this is at least a more probable version of what could actually happen if a terrorist cell activated efficiently. that reality, or at least the guise of it, is what holds the series together, especially being in a genre where we’ve seen so many similar titles. The West Wing crossed this barrier, with President Bartlett’s daughter going missing, and the President having to be vulnerable to that. Even Designated Survivor did a similar plot line, with the First Lady in that series. You have books, like The President Is Missing, or movies like Air Force One. Some of them seek a more cinematic approach, like Heads Of State, seeking to shock and awe rather than rationalize. Truly, the one this I can say about Hostage, is that it felt more realistic than counterparts.

What Didn’t Work: Even in that, the five episode limited series seems to take some leaps. Without spoilers, it does seem like there are some conveniences in the screenplay that are less hidden, or less organically worked into the plot. It also starts slow, spending most of the first episode just establishing. then, the next two episodes feature most of the action, with the last two scrambling to react to the shift away from the premise. I know that’s vague, but it is spoiler free.

The performances are all fine, but not anything that rises to the top. Even after having just finished, I couldn’t pick out a standout performance in the lead or supporting cast. Everyone reacted as you would expect, but no one brought more to the series, making it better simply through their casting.

I was disappointed, but with only five episodes, it makes it easier to finish the series. There’s less of an investment, and still a desire to know how it ends. If the show had run much longer, I likely would have tuned out. The finale feels like a letdown, all things considered. We did so much building up, and then the biggest climax possible happens, and our post-climax is just a short and sweet, overly upbeat finish on how everything works out, without actually feeling that things did, in fact, work out.

the Audio Description: Adrenaline wrote a solid track. A lot of the actions are done rather well. there’s an explosion, and the aftermath of it was detailed well, especially the tragic loss of a character, and finding their body. With regards to the French characters, I’m not crazy about how this was done. It does the, apparently textbook, method of saying the name and what they said. I appreciate the tracks more when they have someone voice the character, and textbook or not, is because you can hear the original performer at least a little (generally) behind them. This is the worst way to do it. When you rely on dubs, you at least have a voice actor delivering the lines, with an audio description track around it. But, the best (especially for things primarily in English), is to just let the narrator talk on top of it, while reducing the audio of the film just a little so we can still hear the original intent of the performer in their tone and inflection, and the emotion brought to the scene, instead of deadpanning the dialogue which is what this does. So, again, regardless of what textbook or guidelines they may be following based on UK standards, stripping the soul out of the performance completely, is not beneficial to the project. I’m not a huge fan of dubs, but there are some really strong voice actors working out there who attempt to bring the same emotion, at least mimicking the experience. This kills it.

Why You Might Like it: You have a deep affection for political dramas, or limited series, because they require no long term commitment and you can cancel anytime.

Why You Might Not Like it: Five hours is still five hours, and you can still spend this five hours watching something much better.

Final Thoughts: While the choice to run for five episodes keeps you from feeling like a hostage yourself, this political thriller ultimately lacks the requisite tension and payoff of many of its contemporaries.

Rotten: Final Grade: 5.1/10