What to read, watch, and listen to if you lovedFalling
T. J. Newman · Book · 2021
If you loved Falling, start with Hijack (George Kay, 2023) — a series on the same thread. Below: 4 films, 1 series and 2 podcasts, each matched to Falling across media.
What hooked you in Falling was the terrifying way an impossible moral dilemma forces ordinary people to make unthinkable split-second survival decisions.
Films on the same thread
Flight Risk
Mel Gibson · Film · 2025
Explores: Mid-Air Crisis, Betrayal, Mistrust.
If Falling captured your interest with the claustrophobic dread of a mid-air hostage situation, you will appreciate how this film forces characters to navigate betrayal and mistrust at thirty-thousand feet.
Anatomy of a Fall
Justine Triet · Film · 2023
Shares a thread with Falling: Moral Dilemma.
Falling excels at exploring the agonizing weight of moral dilemmas, a theme mirrored here as a family is torn apart by ambiguity and the heavy burden of truth.
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One
Christopher McQuarrie · Film · 2023
Explores: Artificial Intelligence Threat, Global Conspiracy, High Stakes Mission.
The high-stakes intensity that defines Falling is amplified here, placing the fate of humanity in the hands of a protagonist forced to choose between personal loyalty and global duty.
Non-Stop
Jaume Collet-Serra · Film · 2014
Explores: Terrorism, Wrongfully Accused, Ticking Clock Scenario.
Fans of Falling will recognize the suffocating tension of a ticking clock scenario where an isolated expert must outsmart an unknown threat to save innocent passengers from certain death.
Series on the same thread
Hijack
George Kay · Series · 2023
Explores: Negotiation, High Stakes, Ticking Clock.
Much like the desperate negotiation for survival in Falling, this series focuses on an expert forced to use every strategic move in his playbook to reclaim a hijacked plane.
Podcasts on the same thread
Passenger List
Passenger List and Radiotopia · Podcast · 2025
If the mystery surrounding the missing flight in Falling kept you turning pages, this investigation into a vanished aircraft offers a similarly gripping look at the aftermath of tragedy.
Criminal
Podcast
Explores: Justice, Wrongful Conviction, Morality.
The complex moral gray areas that define the characters in Falling find a home here, as each episode dissects the psychological motivations of those caught in criminal situations.
Keep exploring
Common questions
Is Falling based on the author's real-life experience?
Falling was written by T. J. Newman, who is a former flight attendant. While the novel draws on her professional background in aviation, the plot regarding the kidnapping of a pilot's family and the threat to the 143 passengers is a work of fiction.
What is the central premise of Falling?
The plot of Falling centers on a pilot whose family is kidnapped thirty minutes before a flight to New York. The kidnappers demand that the pilot crash the plane, resulting in the deaths of all 143 passengers, in order to ensure the survival of his family.
How many passengers are on the flight in Falling?
In the novel Falling, there are 143 passengers onboard the flight to New York. The pilot faces an impossible choice between the lives of these passengers and the lives of his kidnapped family members.
When was Falling published?
Falling is the debut novel by T. J. Newman and was published in 2021. It tells the story of a pilot forced to make a life-or-death decision regarding the 143 passengers on his flight after his family is taken hostage.