In 'The Day of the Jackal' Trailer, the Hunt for Eddie Redmayne Is On
Eddie Redmayne in "The Day of the Jackal"
(Photo: Peacock)
Although almost everybody had to get at least a little bit familiar with Peacock in order to watch the Paris Olympics over the summer, much of the NBC streamer's original programming still largely flies under the radar of mainstream viewers. True, reality juggernaut The Traitors is helping to shift that, but too many British series — We Are Lady Parts, The Capture, Vigil, Everything I Know About Love — are still left to languish in the unexplored depths of its originals catalog. Perhaps, that too is finally about to change, as Peacock prepares to drop one of its biggest and buzziest titles to date: An all-star, prestige remake of classic thriller The Day of the Jackal is set to hit our screens this November.
Based on the 1973 Frederic Forsyth novel of the same name (and the Oscar-nominated feature film adaptation that followed), The Day of the Jackal is a fictionalized retelling of a real-life assassination attempt on the life of French president Charles de Gaulle that ultimately spirals out into a high stakes cat and mouse chase around the globe.
The ten-episode limited series stars Eddie Redmayne (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them) as the titular elusive and highly effective killer for hire known as the Jackal. The chameleon-like assassin has pulled off several high-profile crimes, but his latest kill has attracted the attention of a tenacious British intelligence officer named (played by The Marvel's Lashana Lynch) who is determined to bring him to justice, no matter the cost.
If the series trailer is anything to go by, The Day of the Jackal will feature everything viewers have come to expect from a high-octane espionage thriller, from a variety of intriguing disguises and false identities to full-on explosions and dramatic chases through an assortment of exotic settings.
Here's the series' synopsis.
An unrivaled and highly elusive lone assassin, the Jackal, makes his living carrying out hits for the highest fee. 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.
Alongside Redmayne and Lynch, the ensemble cast also includes Charles Dance (The Serpent Queen), Richard Dormer (Blue Lights), Úrsula Corberó (Money Heist), Chukwudi Iwuji (The Split), Lia Williams (Mr Bates vs The Post Office), Khalid Abdalla (The Crown), Eleanor Matsurra (The Walking Dead), Jonjo O'Neill (The New Look), Sule Rimi (Foundation), and Florisa Kamara (Dodger).
All ten episodes are written by Ronan Bennett (Top Boy), with Brian Kirk (Luther) directing. Redmayne and Lynch are both executive producers, along with Sue Naegle, Marianne Buckland, Gareth Naeme, and Nigel Marchant for Carnivals Films and Sam Hoyle for Sky Studios.
The first half of The Day of the Jackal will now premiere on November 14 on Peacock, with new episodes arriving each Thursday afterward, leading up to a double finale on December 12.
