Hostage
Netflix | Release Date: August 21, 2025
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
62
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 14 Critic Reviews
Positive:
7
Mixed:
6
Negative:
1

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
EmpireDavid OpieAug 21, 2025
Season 1 Review: A solid binge for viewers who like their thrillers lean, entertaining, and somewhat vacuous. Read full review
60
Radio TimesMorgan CormackAug 21, 2025
Season 1 Review: Hostage is surely a good time – it's a series that is entertaining, has some fine performances, is slightly surprising in parts and fits the binge-watch model perfectly. It just won't be one that you'll likely remember after watching. Read full review
60
The IndependentHelen CoffeyAug 20, 2025
Season 1 Review: The trouble is, beneath the series' slick exterior lies a slightly wonky storyline – one that ranges from the shrug-worthy to the downright jump-the-shark. Read full review
42
The A.V. ClubBrian TallericoAug 20, 2025
Season 1 Review: Perhaps Chapman and his team will find a satisfying way to bring the personal and political drama of Vivienne Toussaint and Abigail Dalton together in the last two hours in a manner that makes the shallow nature of these three episodes feel like table-setting. It’s possible, but the cheap cliffhanger to end the third hour makes it seem even less likely that viewers are going to get a satisfying, meaty payoff. Read full review
40
RogerEbert.comNandini BalialAug 21, 2025
Season 1 Review: Neither impressive nor dreadful, the series is adrift in the doldrums of artistry. If they handed out Emmys for dull television, then I am certain “Hostage,” a limited British series now airing on Netflix, would make a clean sweep. Read full review
40
The TelegraphKeith WatsonAug 21, 2025
Season 1 Review: Ultimately, though, Hostage feels like five stories crammed into one and sometimes less really is more. In this case, a lot less. Read full review
Current TV Shows
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 92 The Pitt: Season 2
2 90 The Celebrity Traitors UK: Season 1
3 87 Hacks: Season 5
4 87 Industry: Season 4
5 87 Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal:...
6 85 The Beatles Anthology
7 85 The Traitors [UK]: Season 4
8 85 Bait: Season 1
9 84 Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!
10 83 Lord of the Flies
11 83 Riot Women: Season 1
12 83 For All Mankind: Season 5
13 81 The Muppet Show (2026)
14 80 Outlander (2014): Season 8
15 80 The Other Bennet Sister: Season 1
16 80 The Mighty Nein: Season 1
17 80 The Comeback: Season 3
18 80 The American Revolution
19 80 One Piece (2023): Season 2
20 80 Dark Winds: Season 4
SEE ALL