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Eddie Redmayne said he joined The Day of the Jackal because he loved the 1973 film, and because Ronan Bennett’s scripts made the story feel new without losing the old-school spycraft he admired. He was initially cautious about adapting a beloved story; the scripts’ momentum and the chance to play a physically transformative character overcame that hesitation.
His attachment to the original made him cautious
Redmayne told Town & Country in December 2024 that he had loved Fred Zinnemann’s 1973 film since watching it repeatedly with his father, for whom it was a favorite. That history made the adaptation personal—but also raised the stakes. As Redmayne put it, he did not want to “butcher something that you love.”
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The Day of the Jackal | $7.99 | Buy on Amazon |
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The Day of the Jackal: Season One [DVD] | $19.96 | Buy on Amazon |
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The Day of the Jackal | $7.19 | Buy on Amazon |
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Day of the Jackal [DVD] | $73.11 | Buy on Amazon |
The series is based on Frederick Forsyth’s 1971 novel; the film Redmayne remembered was a later adaptation of that book. His affection was for the film, while the new series takes its source material from Forsyth’s novel.
The scripts balanced a modern setting with analog spycraft
What persuaded Redmayne was not simply nostalgia. The series is set in the present, yet he said it retained the practical, old-fashioned pleasures of espionage that had appealed to him in the film. “Because it was set now, it felt like something completely other, completely different, but it retained lots of those qualities, this kind of analog, old school, spycraft satisfaction that I had adored about the original,” he told Town & Country.
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The scripts were the decisive factor. Redmayne said he “just couldn’t put them down” and found them so propulsive that he wanted to be involved. In a Television Academy feature published June 4, 2025, he described having “massive trepidation” about the decision; the feature says reading Bennett’s scripts convinced him to join.
The Jackal offered a different kind of role
Redmayne also saw an acting challenge unlike the real-life roles he felt audiences associated with him. He described the Jackal as a physical, transformative part built around disguises and multiple personas. The Television Academy’s account notes a silent opening sequence, German dialogue, and prosthetics among the role’s demands.
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- Runtime: 530 minutes
For a television series, Redmayne felt the character needed more depth than an emotionless assassin archetype could provide. His version of the Jackal has a family life and a military background, details that offer context for his behavior. Redmayne was not only the lead actor: he also served as an executive producer and said he wanted the adaptation to do justice to the story he valued.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Where the series fits in the story’s history
Peacock’s series page identifies Redmayne as the Jackal, with Lashana Lynch as Bianca Pullman and Úrsula Corberó as Nuria, and gives the premiere date as November 14, 2024. Peacock and Sky announced a second-season renewal on November 22, 2024.
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In that renewal announcement, Peacock said the series ranked No. 1 on its Top 10 TV Shows list and among the top five streaming Originals in the United States during its debut weekend. Those are platform-reported chart positions, not audience totals; Peacock did not provide a viewing figure or the ranking methodology in the announcement.
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