The Day of the Jackal has proven to be a huge success for Sky, and what's more, it has been renewed for a second season!
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The thriller series starring Eddie Redmayne and Lashana Lynch follows "an unrivaled and highly elusive lone assassin, the Jackal," who makes his living carrying out hits for the highest fee.
The synopsis continues: "But following his latest kill, he meets his match in a tenacious British intelligence officer who starts to track down the Jackal in a thrilling cat-and-mouse chase across Europe, leaving destruction in its wake. "
The series has been a hit with viewers across the world. According to Sky, The Day of the Jackal has become the biggest Sky Original ever and the biggest launch on Sky in over two years, drawing a record audience of three million in its first week alone!
Eddie Redmayne stars in The Day of the Jackal. Marcell Piti/Sky/Carnival
In the US, the series ranked number one on Peacock's Top 10 TV shows and was a Top 5 streaming original in the US for its opening weekend.
The Sky series is a contemporary reimagining of the Frederick Forsyth novel, previously adapted to film in 1973. The 10-part drama saw Redmayne at the helm, with many familiar with Edward Fox as the assassin.
Speaking with Radio Times magazine, Redmayne reflected on having big shoes to fill.
He explained: "Edward Fox is so relentless in the movie, and for two hours is this vessel of ruthless charisma, but you know nothing about him.
"With this version, you’re doing 10 hours, and you can’t sustain that. So this idea of family life and seeing the other side of him felt new and interesting and a challenge.
"How do you marry those two sides?"
The Day of the Jackal is now available on Sky Atlantic and NOW.
Katelyn Mensah is the Entertainment and Factual Writer for Radio Times, covering all major entertainment programmes, reality TV shows and the latest hard-hitting documentaries. She previously worked at The Tab, with a focus on reality TV and showbiz news and has obtained a BA (Hons) in Journalism.
