From The Assassin to new Netflix thriller Hostage: Is TV getting more preposterous?

Preposterous television is nothing new. The current wave of complex and somewhat slightly bananas thriller plots has been simmering for some time. But with Suranne Jones starring in Hostage on Netflix in the immediate aftermath of Keeley Hawes fronting The Assassin on Prime Video, are we entering peak age of preposterous television?

Both shows prioritise plot over character development. In each, huge twists leave us reeling at the end of each episode. So, while we are not invited to care about what happens to the characters, we are intrigued enough to keep coming back.

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There is nothing more compelling than the moment the soundtrack music swells, the action speeds up and a monumental plot twist is dropped just before an episode ends. It’s a televisual dopamine hit.

Even if the preceding 59 minutes has been confusing or dull or both, we need to know what happens next. And the streamers always want us to commit to watching just one more episode.

So when did this new wave addictive-but-preposterously plotted television begin? Do we trace it back to Lost losing the plot after a smart first series? On British TV, we could argue it began more recently, when one of the great series of recent times veered into absurdity quite spectacularly. Remember it? Line of Duty series four? When DCI Roz Huntley, played by the wonderful Thandie Newton, returned to work as a bent copper just minutes after having her arm amputated with seemingly no ill effects.

Of course, we still loved watching the motley crew of misfit anti-corruption officers battling alongside Ted Hastings to taking down a succession of dodgy coppers. And we all want the rumours of a return to be true. But this was a massive moment of what-the-heck. An example of feeding our voracious appetite for plot in such a way that it overwhelmed any notion of reality.

From then on, it’s been a free-for-all. Too often these days, we are asked to forgive plot holes and silliness with no payback in terms of characters.

Harlan Coben has been at the heart of so much of the compelling nonsense since Netflix began adapting his novels. By now, we all know the Coben drill: everyone has a secret. Nothing is as it seems. Expect a cold case, long-buried scandal, or face from the past. The other thing we know with some certainty is that after around eight episodes, we will be left wondering what exactly we’ve just witnessed and, sometimes, why we bothered.

From Safe – secrets and lies in a gated community in 2018, to The Stranger – secrets and lies within a marriage in 2020, Stay Close – secrets and lies in suburbia in 2021, and more secrets and lies plus, gasp, the return of someone from the past in The Stranger in this year’s version, it’s a winning formula.

And still we persist. Because it works. Fool Me Once, starring Adeel Akhtar and Michelle Keegan, won huge audiences in 2024 for the suspense (and suspension of reality), as well as the secrets and lies around a pair of murder cases, plus its side order of a return from the dead.

There are crucial differences between excellent escapist drama, addictive nonsense and unwatchable time-wasting telly.

BBC One’s Nightsleeper was a prime example of where there was no pay-off. The only thing more out-of-control than the cyber-jacked night train was the convoluted mess of a story. High-octane plot, laughably low give-a-shit rating and not enough laughs.

If the characters careering through a preposterous plot are interesting or funny – like in Black Doves, which was witty and smart, the characters well drawn and acted by Keira Knightley and Ben Whishaw plus an outstanding supporting cast – we will follow them anywhere.

The Assassin is another in the post-Killing Eve genre. Assassins traversing the globe, high body count, stylishly shot, bold on-screen captions telling us where we are in the world. It also has Keeley ‘box office’ Hawes, guaranteeing interest. The plot (no spoilers here, but oh my gosh) is unnecessarily convoluted. But the twists are first rate and the gags land. So we hang on in there. No emotional involvement, but enjoyable enough to both laugh at and laugh with.

Hostage has politics as its backdrop. Suranne Jones and Julie Delpy star as, respectively, the leaders of the UK and France. It’s polished and pristine. The new Netflix drama races along. But with no time to build the characters or relationships that should drive the series, viewers are left floundering… until the plot twists are sprung at the end of the episodes.

This may offer enough to keep viewers coming back. But it’s a close call. There’s precious little humour or character development. And it becomes hard to care where it might go next.

That said, at least Hostage offers a brief escape from real life political scene, which is even more absurd, fast-moving, confounding and terrifying than anything Netflix could serve up. And, unlike real life, we can actually switch it off.

Because although the plots are out of control, crucially, they’re not as out of control as this world we are living in. So perhaps watching a preposterous television drama is the only sensible move to make right now…

Hostage starts on Netflix now.

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