The Day of the Jackal
What is the TV series The Day of the Jackal based on?
Who stars as the titular Jackal in The Day of the Jackal TV series?
What is the premise of The Day of the Jackal?
When did The Day of the Jackal first air on television?
The Day of the Jackal, television thriller series created by screenwriter Ronan Bennett and starring Eddie Redmayne as the titular Jackal. It is a modern-day adaptation of a 1971 novel of the same name by English author Frederick Forsyth. The show first aired in November 2024 and follows a seasoned professional sniper hired to gun down high-profile targets. The first season was nominated for multiple awards, and a second season has been commissioned.
Background and production history
Frederick Forsyth’s The Day of the Jackal counts among its many fans a few who have been involved in egregious crimes that may have taken more inspiration than is desirable from its titular assassin:
- Ilich Ramirez Sánchez, a notorious long-time Venezuelan militant, became the target of a manhunt after shooting two French police personnel and an informer in 1975. The media nicknamed him Carlos the Jackal (Carlos being the name found on his false passports) after a copy of Forsyth’s book was found in a bookshelf in one of his safe houses. Whether he had actually read the book is a matter of debate.
- Yigal Amir, who assassinated Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995 for agreeing to cede territory under the Oslo Accords, had among his possessions a Hebrew-language copy of The Day of the Jackal.
- Before his attempt to assassinate U.S. Pres. George W. Bush with a hand grenade in 2005, Georgian national Vladimir Arutyunian had pored over a Russian translation of the novel, even making notes and marking specific pages.
First published in 1971, Forsyth’s spy thriller novel The Day of the Jackal fictionalized a real-life plot to assassinate French Pres. Charles de Gaulle in 1962. In the book the Jackal, hired to perform the assassination, pits his wits against a French intelligence agent seeking to stop him. The popular novel has been the subject of several film adaptations over the years, most notably a 1973 version directed by Fred Zinnemann.
The TV series was commissioned in November 2022 by the British broadcaster Sky and U.S. streaming service Peacock. Bennett was hired to write the show and serve as showrunner. He stepped down as lead writer after the first season to pursue other projects, though he stayed on as executive producer. He was replaced by David Harrower for the second season. Forsyth, who died in June 2025, was a consulting producer for the first season.
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Redmayne was confirmed to play the Jackal in March 2023, and a few months later Lashana Lynch, who appeared in the James Bond flick No Time to Die (2021), was cast as intelligence officer Bianca Pullman. Other cast members were later attached to the project, including Úrsula Corberó, known for her role as Tokyo in the Netflix series Money Heist, and veteran actor Charles Dance.
Characters and plot summary
(The following discussion may contain spoilers.)
- The Jackal (played by Eddie Redmayne): An exceptionally gifted and meticulous marksman, he is a former sniper with the British special forces who served in Afghanistan. Born Alexander Duggan, he killed almost his whole division in an explosion and staged his own death. He later changed his identity and became a gun-for-hire.
- Nuria (Úrsula Corberó): The Jackal’s wife. Her suspicion turns into dread as she slowly uncovers what her husband does for a living.
- Osita Halcrow (Chukwudi Iwuji): Senior agent overseeing the hunt for the Jackal and Bianca’s reporting officer. He is the only person at MI6 whom she trusts.
- Ulle Dag Charles (Khalid Abdalla): Often referred to by his initials, UDC, he is a billionaire tech entrepreneur who plans to launch a new software named River, which he believes will expose networks of illicit financial transactions and foster economic equality.
- Timothy Winthrop (Charles Dance): A wealthy and powerful businessman who commissions the Jackal to kill UDC, whose new software could potentially expose Winthrop’s seedy financial activities.
- Isabel Kirby (Lia Williams): MI6 chief of staff and top decision-maker for the operation to catch the Jackal. Secretly under the indirect influence of Winthrop, she creates several hurdles in the chase for the Jackal.
- Zina Jansone (Eleanor Matsuura): The liaison who contacts the Jackal on Winthrop’s behalf and offers him a $100 million contract to kill UDC. After the job is done, Winthrop sees her and the Jackal as “loose ends” to be tied up.
The 2024 series is a modern-day reimagining of the novel and is set in multiple locations across Europe. Unlike the book, which presents the Jackal as a deeply enigmatic character, the TV show offers glimpses into his military background and explores his human side through his family—his wife Nuria and their son—whom he must protect as the stakes rise ever higher.
The first season, which introduces a storyline that deviates from the original novel in major ways, begins with the Jackal killing a far-right politician in Munich using a sniper rifle from an astonishing distance—an act that draws the attention of MI6 gun expert Bianca. This sparks a prolonged cat-and-mouse chase in which the Jackal tries to outmaneuver Bianca even as he is hired by Winthrop to execute a riskier assassination—that of UDC before he can unveil River.
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As Bianca and MI6 close in on the Jackal by tracking down his associate and digging into his military background, he uses disguises, subterfuge, and increasingly elaborate strategies to complete the job, murdering several innocent people along the way. Meanwhile, his wife slowly uncovers his double life and web of deceit, which ultimately results in her leaving him.
Though Bianca uncovers the Jackal’s past and his true identity, the corrupt Isabel leads her to a fatal encounter with him, which results in Bianca’s death. The season ends with the Jackal meeting Zina on a park bench in Budapest, where the question of an “unpaid debt” arises, suggesting season two will see the Jackal go after Winthrop for refusing to pay for the hit on UDC and conspiring to get the Jackal killed.
Reception
The series was popular with viewers, ranking among the top 10 original dramas on a streaming platform in its debut week in the United States, according to Nielsen data. Viewing momentum continued, and the season finale featured in the top 10 as well. The show became the most-watched original series on both Peacock and Sky. Critics praised the series for its performances, especially those of Redmayne and Lynch, though some found the first season too long and its family-centered subplots more distracting than illuminating.
The first season was nominated for multiple awards, including two Golden Globes—best drama television series and best performance by a male actor in a television drama series (Redmayne). Following the success of the first season, the show was renewed for a second season, with Redmayne expected to reprise the role of the Jackal.