Author Frederick Forsyth’s 1971 political thriller “The Day of the Jackal” has been adapted into feature films several times, including 1973’s The Day of the Jackal starring Edward Fox, and 1997’s The Jackal starring Bruce Willis. Now Sky and Peacock have given the novel it’s first longer-length adaptation with the 2024 series The Day of the Jackal, which stars Oscar-winner Eddie Redmayne as the titular assassin. The series is a modern reimagining of the story, that also pays homage to the classic 1973 film.

The Jackal (Eddie Redmayne, Fantastic Beasts franchise, The Danish Girl) is a world class assassin who will locate and kill any target if the price is right. He has no issues using people to get what he needs, playing with their emotions, and disposing of them when they are either no longer of use or could become a liability. He’s impeccably-dressed and a master of disguise, utilizing prosthetics to alter his appearance, and able to pick up new languages quickly in order to blend in. He’s also skilled marksman with any weapon, and a world class sniper, able to take down his victims with a single bullet from distances that rival any world record. This is in part thanks to his bespoke rifle that can be quickly disassembled to fit into a small suitcase such that it cannot be detected by airport security.

As the series opens, The Jackal been hired to kill politician Manfred Fest, the favored candidate to become the next German Chancellor. He is able to carry out his detailed plan with ease. However, his actions catch the eye of ambitious British intelligence agent Bianca Pullman (Lashana Lynch, No Time To Die, Captain Marvel). She’s an expert on weapons and quickly pursues some leads involving the only person who could have created such a weapon. Her methods are a bit rogue, and sometimes she needs to use her assets for the greater good, but so far she’s the only one making progress on the case at at MI6, so her partner (Chukwudi Iwuji) and boss (Lia Williams) are usually left to clean up the mess she tends to leave in her wake. Bianca quickly becomes all-consumed with catching the assassin before he can kill again. She often puts the case ahead of her own family, and even ends up putting them in danger. It soon appears that there may be a leak in her department, and Bianca wonders who she can really trust, and is forced to continue to go rogue.

Meanwhile, The Jackal’s assassination of Fest also caught the eyes of an impressed potential client, who wants to hire him to take out an even riskier, higher profile target. Elon Musk-type Ulle Dag Charles (UDC) is a tech entrepreneur and visionary investor whose latest project, River, will attempt to usher in a new era of financial transparency and global economic justice by exposing where big money is coming from and where it goes. One powerful person who strands to lose a lot if this becomes a reality is Timothy Winthorp (Charles Dance), who is willing to pay The Jackal $100M to have UDC taken out. The Jackal sees this as the opportunity to make one final score, and then he can leave this dangerous business and settle down with his wife and daughter in Spain. However, his lies and double life are starting to catch up with him, and his wife, Nuria (Úrsula Corberó), starts to suspect her husband is hiding something and seeks to uncover the truth. Can The Jackal complete his latest mission before his secrets are exposed, and before Bianca is able to track him down?

The Day of the Jackal wastes no time jumping right into the action and showcasing how skilled, talented and manipulative The Jackal can be. There are so many unexpected twists and turns throughout the season, with episodes often ending on some big reveal, making you eager to keep watching to see what happens next. Over the course of the season it becomes a tense, slow burn game of cat an mouse as the determined MI6 agent Bianca tries to figure out who The Jackal is, and where his is hiding. But things ultimately build to an exciting, action-packed finale as these two sides finally come together.

One nice thing about a 10-episode series rather than a 2-hour movie is that it gives a lot more time to delve into these characters and make them feel more three-dimensional and real. With Bianca, we see how her dedication to her work starts to affect her family life, and how she must choose between one or the other. We also see how her rogue actions have consequences, and how she must decide if she is OK with the lives she is ruining in the process of trying to stop this killer. The series also explores two very different sides of The Jackal. We see how he is a skilled killer, and seemingly cold and calculating, willing to use people and throw them away for his personal gain. However, the season also explores The Jackal’s personal life, and how he’s not just this stone cold killer, but how he has also tried to make a somewhat normal life for himself with a wife and daughter. However, things start to unravel and he can only keep his work and home lives separate for so long before things start crumbling.

The cast is excellent. Eddie Redmayne really transforms himself into this character, which is quite physically demanding. Not only does he have to be in top physical shape, but The Jackal is constantly changing his appearance and speaking different languages. Redmayne is able to make you believe that this assassin is able to convince others that he’s someone he’s not. You find yourself rooting for the character even though he’s a killer. His love for his wife and child feel quite genuine, and later in the season, he strikes up a relationship with venue guard Rasmus (Andreas Jessen) that feels (and you hope is) genuine, but know that The Jackal is probably just using this young man. Lashana Lynch is also fantastic in this role, which is quite different from previous adaptations. She not only plays this intelligent, strong, determined agent, who is constantly sticking up for herself at work. But we also get to see a softer side of the character with her home life.

The first season is beautifully shot, with scenes taking place at picturesque locations all over Europe. There’s also a shot-for-shot homage to one of the most iconic scenes from the original film adaptation (the watermelon shooting scene). In addition, there is a lot of great music and a wonderful score utilized throughout the episodes, which helps set the tone of each scene. The first season tells a complete story and builds to a strong, action-packed season finale. However, it also leaves things a bit open, setting up some exciting potential storylines for the upcoming second season—which I will certainly be watching!

Universal has released this first season of The Day of the Jackal for purchase on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital, and it is currently still streaming on Peacock. We were sent the Blu-ray release for review from AV Entertainment, and was quite impressed with the presentation. The video looks near-perfect, with a clean and pristine picture that captures all of action with a solid level of detail. It also really showcases the beauty of the foreign locales. The audio track provides clear dialogue, while also filling the room with an immersive ambiance, and showcasing the show’s great soundtrack and score.

The first season’s 10 episodes are spread across 3 discs, which are placed on a tray in a standard-sized Blu-ray keepcase. The bonus material consists of three featurettes with the cast and crew totaling about 18 minutes. There is no digital copy included, and our review copy did not include any slipcover.

What’s Included:

Episodes: (533 min)

• All 10 episodes of season one:
  Disc 1: Episodes 1-4
  Disc 2: Episodes 5-7
  Disc 3: Episodes 8-10
• 1080p / Widescreen 2.39:1
• Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
• Subtitles: English SDH

Extras:

• Melon Scene Breakdown (2:58)
  Star/executive producer/Eddie Redmayne (“The Jackal”) and director Anthony Philipson (Block 2) talk about filming the watermelon scene, and recreating it frame-for-frame from the 1973 film. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and clips from the original movie.
• Becoming The Jackal (7:17)
  Star Eddie Redmayne talks about the character of The Jackal and his skills, what attracted him to the role, the costumes, the prosthetics, his training routine, the different languages he speaks, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage.
• Becoming Bianca (8:02)
  Star/co-executive producer Lashana Lynch (“Bianca”) talks about her character, her hair and wardrobe, on-screen representation, her training routine, becoming a producer on the project, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with hair artist Morris Roots.

Final Thoughts:

The Day of the Jackal is an engaging adaptation of the classic novel. It features a stellar cast, well-defined characters, and lots of exciting twists and turns to keep you guessing. It is beautifully shot, with some amazing locations. The first season tells a complete story, while also setting things up for the next season (I wish all shows would do this!). Universal’s Blu-ray release looks and sounds great, and even includes a small selection of behind-the-scenes bonus material. This release comes highly recommended for fans of the cast or of the book/films, or for anyone looking for a great new spy thriller!