Suspense-filled from the get-go, “Hostages” revolves around a family full of secrets: There’s the husband (Tate Donovan) hiding his business woes and extracurricular activities, the surly daughter (Quinn Shephard) who may have gotten herself knocked up, and the lacrosse-player son (Mateus Ward) caught with a collection for illicit substances.
The only one without an obvious secret is their mother, a surgeon played by Toni Collette, and she inadvertently gets the entire family kidnapped by a rogue FBI agent (a scruff-faced Dylan McDermott) intent on killing the president.
The pilot opens with the doctor explaining how plans to operate on the chief executive.