‘Nightsleeper’ is a new six-part series coming to BBC iPlayer on Sunday 15th September 2024 and it promises to be the perfect binge-watch as the nights start to draw in.
Starring Joe Cole (‘Peaky Blinders’) and Alexandra Roach (‘Sanditon’), the high-stakes thriller unfolds in real-time as a group of people find themselves trapped on a runaway train that’s been hijacked. If you’ve seen any season of the iconic Kiefer Sutherland show ‘24’ or you watch Idris Elba’s guilty pleasure series ‘Hijack’ on Apple TV+ last year, you’ll know what to expect. ‘Nightsleeper’ may have a familiar premise and format, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worthy of your time.
Without giving too much away about the plot, given shows like this rely on audiences being surprised, ‘Nightsleeper’ opens with an incident on a train platform that drags police officer Joe (Joe Cole) into the mix. After seemingly successful diffusing the situation, Joe boards the train only to find himself and a group of fellow passengers, and train workers, stuck onboard as the train rolls out of the station.
Alerting Abby (Alexandra Roach), the acting technical director of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) who is about to jet off on holiday, the situation quickly escalates. With Joe and Abby forced to work together, communicating only via satellite phone, they have to try and find out who has hijacked the train, and stop it before it endangers anyone’s lives. Can they do it?
As is always the case with a show like this, nothing is ever what it seems and the passengers on the train all have question marks hovering over their heads. Could they be involved? Viewers switch between seeing Joe try to unravel the situation on the train and Abby racing against time to avert what could potentially be a major disaster. Each episode is fast-paced, unfolding in real time as the plot slowly reveals what’s really going on. Joe Cole and Alexandra Roach are superb as the leads and with a supporting cast that includes James Cosmo, Sharon Small and David Threlfall, you know you’re in good hands.
On the basis of the three episodes provided to press ahead of the show’s launch, I’d say this is definitely worth a watch. It’s the kind of show that you can switch off your brain for, grab some snacks and just lose yourself in it. At a time when TV is constantly trying to tackle social issues and ram politics down our throats, it’s refreshing to have some real good old-fashioned entertainment to sink your teeth into. I can’t wait to see how it ends!
‘Nightsleeper’ is released at 6am on Sunday 15th September 2024 on BBC iPlayer. It will air on Sunday and Monday nights on BBC One for three weeks starting this Sunday.
