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

With Ulle dead and River halted, Bianca quits MI6. However, she is lured back by Kirby to assassinate the Jackal. Kirby is acting under orders from Whitelock, as the conspirators want to tie up all loose ends. The Jackal sustains several wounds while hijacking multiple vehicles during his attempts to leave Croatia, ultimately kidnapping an elderly couple. He is forced to kill them when they attempt to overpower him. Bianca and Vincent, now acting without official cover, stake out the Jackal’s Spanish estate. Nuria abandons the house with Carlito as she realises they are no longer safe. The Jackal returns home and finds them missing. Bianca and Vincent enter the house and kill Alvaro when he startles them. The Jackal kills Vince and Bianca following a standoff. Fleeing the house, the Jackal is attacked by Winthrop’s men. In the aftermath, Kirby is promoted to Chief, but Halcrow is aware of her duplicity thanks to a final text message from Bianca. In Budapest, a wounded Jackal meets with Zina, who also escaped an attempt on her life. She reveals Winthrop’s identity as her employer for the hit on Ulle. The Jackal agrees to exact revenge but heads off in search of Nuria and Carlito first.

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

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