The Day Of The Jackal may only be midway through its run on Sky, but more days of the Jackal are already on their way. That’s right, folks — after hitting the mark with audiences around the world, becoming the biggest Sky Original of all time here and an instant No. 1 smash on Peacock stateside, Top Boy creator Ronan Bennett’s Eddie Redmayne and Lashana Lynch led espionage thriller has landed itself a swift Season 2 renewal.
A story of ‘analogue spycraft’ based on Frederick Forsyth’s 1971 novel (a book which, it’s worth noting, previously provided the basis for Fred Zinnemann’s same-named 1973 genre classic film), The Day Of The Jackal follows international assassin The Jackal (Redmayne), who — having just pulled off a spectacular kill in Munich — finds himself contracted to kill a tech billionaire with a God complex (Khalid Abdalla). At the same time, Lashana Lynch’s MI6 agent Bianca Pullman tails the elite assassin, constantly having to spin the plates of her spiralling family life and her obsessive compulsion and dogged determination to catch the Jackal at any cost. Reminiscent of David Fincher’s The Killer in places, yet infused with Bennett’s keen eye for and interest in criminals existing on society’s margins, this contemporary take on The Day Of The Jackal offers a brilliantly balanced blend of old-school spycraft and in-depth character study. All of which is to say, a second season renewal comes as absolutely no surprise.
Given the fact this current season of The Day Of The Jackal is still yet to reach its 12 December two-part finale on Sky, we’ve no word yet on whether Redmayne and/or Lynch will return for Season 2, what or who the series’ sophomore outing will centre around, and when we can expect it to hit our screens. But now that we know it’s coming, we’ve got the Jackal locked in our crosshairs and we’ll keep you posted with his every movement until we learn more about what the next season has in store. Empire over and out…