Atomic

Inspired by William Langewiesche’s Atomic Bazaar, a non-fiction book that investigates nuclear smuggling routes, Sky Atlantic’s newest series, Atomic, opens with cartel drug smuggler Max (Game of Thrones’ Alfie Allen) driving through an Algerian desert to make an important pickup when he’s ambushed by a militant group. It’s at this point that he makes an uneasy alliance with mysterious outsider JJ (Shazad Latif), which isn’t his real name, and the pair are thrust into a high-stakes situation when they discover that the package Max was hired to transport is a large amount of uranium. With the cartel, CIA and MI6 on their tail, the first two episodes are a gripping but somewhat chaotic introduction to this five-part miniseries.

There’s little time wasted in getting to the action, with Max and JJ meeting before the opening titles hit the screen. Facing heated confrontations with corrupt police and militants before they’re able to escape the desert heat, the pair barely get a chance to breathe without finding themselves in a precarious position. The blistering pace of events keeps the adrenaline high as the plot starts to unfold. However, so much is thrown the audience within the first episode alone that it can be tricky to keep up with the madness. Characters are killed off as fast as they’re introduced, and new plot points are unveiled at a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it speed. When the show begins to settle into a steadier rhythm, intriguing revelations suggest that there’s much more going on in this action-packed thriller than viewers may initially suspect.

Allen gives a solid performance as the English smuggler. Max is level-headed and carries himself with an easy-going swagger. While he’s incredibly entertaining to watch, it’s Latif’s JJ who steals the spotlight. With no indication of who he is or what his motives are, Max’s unexpected ally remains a constant enigma throughout the show’s opening chapters. This intrigue only deepens when it’s revealed that he has some sort of connection to an ancient Syrian god.

The first two episodes of Atomic are an explosive introduction to the new Sky miniseries. Although the plot is initially a little too messy for its own good, there are more than enough promising hooks to keep viewers eager to discover where Max and JJ’s deadly road trip will take them next.

Andrew Murray

Atomic is released on Sky on 28^th August 2025.

Watch the trailer for Atomic here: