BBC crime thriller show dubbed ‘Speed meets 24’ now available on streaming

The series also earned comparisons to the shows Bodyguard and Hijack.

Now accessible through Disney+, the six-part show takes place in real time. It revolves around a train, going from Glasgow to London, that is hijacked by hackers (or 'hackjacked'), who hurtle it "towards death and destruction".

Leading the fight against the hacker hijackers are Joe Roag (Joe Cole - Gangs of London, Peaky Blinders), a cop who is a passenger on the train, and Abby Aysgarth (Alexandra Roach - Lazarus, Utopia), the acting technical director at the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).

"But who are they fighting? And how can they win against the self-styled ‘Driver’ who seems one step ahead of every solution?" the plot synopsis adds.

"There’s a small team working the night shift alongside Abby and a handful of passengers left on the train with Joe, but are they all as innocent as you’d think? Who can they trust? Who can we trust? Are there people on board who know more than they are letting on?"

Created by BAFTA-winning writer Nick Leather (Murdered for Being Different), Nightsleeper also stars David Threlfall (Shameless), James Cosmo (Trainspotting), Jonjo O'Neill (Bad Sisters), Katie Leung (Harry Potter), Ruth Madeley (Years and Years) and Sharon Rooney (Barbie).

Early buzz for the series was very strong, with The Guardian referring to it in an interview with its cast and crew as being "like Speed meets 24, with a dash of Bodyguard and Hijack."

While it ultimately earned mixed reviews upon its release, some critics praised the show for its exciting premise, its pace, its sense of paranoia, and its cliff-hangers.

You can read a sample of some of these more positive reactions to Nightsleeper below:

The Age (Australia): "The goal is to move faster than your sense of plausibility, and the limited series mostly succeeds."

Daily Mail (UK): "Nightsleeper is 15 carriages of high-speed hokum, impossible to take seriously. But if you surrender to the momentum, it’s an entertaining ride."

Daily Telegraph (UK): "Nightsleeper is built for binge-watching, its cliffhanger moments the TV equivalent of rubber-necking: you know you should look away, but you really can’t. Suspend your disbelief and go along for the ride."

The Post NZ: "A heady cross between The Taking of Pelham 1, 2, 3, Unstoppable and Idris Elba thriller Hijack, this Nick Leather-penned tale certainly can’t be accused of being boring. Part of Nightsleeper’s joy is that it all might go off the rails at any second."

Scotsman: "It just about stays on track though, with sleight of hand and misdirection feeding a growing sense of paranoia where everybody starts to look suspicious."

Where to watch Nightsleeper

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All six episodes of Nightsleeper are streaming now on Disney+.

Check out our interview with the show's star, Alexandra Roach, below, where she said she'd be "open" to returning as Abby for a second season of the series.