The Apple+ series “Hijack” is flying under the radar of big-studio offerings but delivers more serious drama than has been seen since the disaster films of the 1970s, showing that in the right hands, well-worn territory can still hold viewers spellbound.

A British actor, Idris Elba, stars as Sam Nelson, trying to get home to his estranged wife at London from Dubai. The flight is seven hours, with each episode covering the journey in real time — it’s more than 31 tense minutes before the hijackers storm the cockpit.