Hostage writer on whether Netflix thriller could have worked with male leads

She is given an ultimatum – resign, or never see your husband again – sparking an intense sequence of events, in which the French head of state is also targeted with blackmail.

Speaking to Konnie Huq at Netflix's Hostage premiere, held in association with Radio Times, screenwriter Charman (Bridge of Spies) revealed that the series was always envisioned as female-led – with Jones involved from the very start.

He explained: "The uniqueness comes from the two women in the middle of a story that is classically a man's story – and we didn't want that.

"We wanted [to ask] what happens when these two women find themselves against a system that is just trying to destroy them? How do they act differently than a couple of men might? And that was kind of fun to keep playing with."

Charman continued: "But the other thing is that she's a mum, and you live above the shop. You live in Downing Street, in the flat.

"When we spoke to a few politicians with kids, what most of them came back to was that their guilt is always around the children. It's always around what the kids had to give up, how hard it was for the kids."

With these key points of difference in mind, Huq asked whether Hostage could have worked as a show with male characters in the place of Jones's PM Dalton and Delpy's President Toussaint.

"I think it would have been possible," concluded Charman, "[but] I'm not sure it would have been as much fun."

He elaborated: "I don't think you would have necessarily been able to see it in a new way. It would have felt like a continuation of something, whereas as soon as you put two strong women in the middle of a genre piece like this, every scene just plays differently.

"Every decision is just a little bit more interesting for me, as a writer, but also as an audience."

At this point, Jones jokingly interjected: "And the costumes are better!"

In addition to Jones, Delpy and Thomas, the Hostage cast also includes Corey Mylchreest (My Oxford Year), Lucian Msamati (Gangs of London), James Cosmo (Nightsleeper) and Jehnny Beth (Anatomy of a Fall).

Hostage is available to stream on Netflix from Thursday 21st August 2025. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

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