Introduction

The Day of the Jackal is a British spy thriller television series, based on the Frederick Forsyth novel of the same name.

It stars Eddie Redmayne and Lashana Lynch. It is written and created by Ronan Bennett, produced by Christopher Hall and directed by Brian Kirk, Anthony Philipson, Paul Wilmshurst and Anu Menon. The first series began airing in November 2024.

That same month, it was renewed for a second series.

Outline

Returning from Munich through France, the Jackal gets into a minor car accident and is forced to kill a motorist and police officer to escape. MI6 become aware that the Jackal has been hired again but do not know the target’s identity. Bianca finds that the only British Army veteran capable of making the shot, Alexander Duggan, is thought dead from an IED explosion in Afghanistan in 2013. The Jackal convinces Nuria to join him in Paris, where he claims to be a troubleshooter engaging in corporate espionage, winning her trust. Meanwhile, Larry kills Alison and draws Bianca into a trap. She escapes with the help of protection agent Vincent Pyne, whom she asks to have reassigned to her team. She returns home to find that Larry has taken her daughter Jasmine hostage. Bianca shoots and wounds Larry, subduing him. The Jackal arrives in Tallinn to commence preparations, nearly falling to his death when scouting the venue for Ulle’s launch of River. Returning to his hotel room, he finds that Zina has tracked him down.

The Day of the Jackal Series

You can find an overview and episode guide for The Day of the Jackal here.

Remakes

• The Day of the Jackal (1973): A political thriller film directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Edward Fox and Michael Lonsdale.
  • Based on the 1971 novel of the same name by Frederick Forsyth, the film is about a professional assassin known only as the “Jackal” who is hired to assassinate French president Charles de Gaulle in the summer of 1963.
• August 1 (1988): An Indian Malayalam-language film directed by Sibi Malayil, written by S.N. Swamy, and starring Mammootty, Sukumaran, Captain Raju and Urvashi.
  • This adaptation relocates the story to the Indian state of Kerala.
• The Jackal (1997): An American film directed by Michael Caton-Jones, written by Chuck Pfarrer, and starring Bruce Willis, Richard Gere, Sidney Poitier and Diane Venora.
  • Forsyth, Woolf, Zinnemann and Fox opposed the production and filed an injunction to prevent Universal Pictures from using the name of the original novel and film, and it would be marketed as being “inspired by” rather than directly based on Forsyth’s novel.
  • The film does not credit Forsyth’s novel as source material, and only credits Kenneth Ross with “earlier screenplay.”

Production & Filming Details

• Release Date: 07 November 2024.
• Running Time: 46-61 minutes (per episode).
• Rating: TV-MA.
• Country: UK.
• Language: English.

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