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

The Jackal returns to Croatia to observe the security arrangements at Ulle’s island home. Zina confronts him about his failure in Tallinn. Returning to Spain, the Jackal is confronted by Nuria. He admits he is an assassin and promises to quit after the hit on Ulle. Alvaro sets up a business meeting between the Jackal and a local gangster, Jimmie. Nuria panics, given Jimmie’s brutal reputation. The Jackal fatally shoots Jimmie from a long distance to resolve any threat. Kirby ends the MI6 investigation under orders from Whitelock, who secretly works with Winthrop. Halcrow remains under suspicion. After failing to reconcile with Paul, Bianca’s curiosity is piqued by seeing a report of Jimmie’s death. The Jackal travels to Croatia, positioning himself on a boat to shoot Ulle during his morning swim. He kills Ulle’s security detail and then shoots him dead before fleeing the area.

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: 05 December 2024.
• Running Time: 46-61 minutes (per episode).
• Rating: TV-MA.
• Country: UK.
• Language: English.

Video Link(s)