Sky and Peacock are forging a TV adaptation of Frederick Forsyths The Day of the Jackal With top boy Showrunner Ronan Bennett attached.
Described as a “contemporary reinterpretation of the beloved and acclaimed novel,” Universal International Studios label Carnival Films’ adaptation in partnership with Sky Studios is the first television makeover following Fred Zinnemann’s BAFTA-winning film 50 years ago. Production will start next summer.
The Day of the Jackal is one of the best-known and most respected British novels of the 20th century. It follows a professional assassin hired by a French paramilitary dissident to kill French President Charles de Gaulle. The novel is divided into three parts: Anatomy of a Plot, Anatomy of a Manhunt, and Anatomy of a Kill.
Game of Thrones’ Brian Kirk will direct and run the show alongside creative Irish Bennett. Bennett has thus found worldwide recognition top boy, the Netflix series about drugs and gang violence in London.
Carnival executive Gareth Neame said the adaptation will “retain the pan-European setting and play to the strengths of episodic television in this fast-paced, intelligent international thriller, with the story of an assassin and the race to stop him still being at the heart of the action.” “
Lis Katz, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming President of Scripted Content, added, “We’re thrilled to adapt this internationally acclaimed classic into an updated, contemporary political thriller. Led by novelist and showrunner Ronan Bennett and Carnival, this high-stakes action-packed drama is sure to be a thrilling adventure for Peacock audiences.”
Gabriel Silver, Sam Hoyle and Zai Bennett are commissioners. Neame is Executive Producer along with Nigel Marchant, Original Writer Forsyth is Consulting Producer and Christopher Hall is Producer. Peacock takes over the US rights, Sky has the UK and some European countries and NBCUniversal Global Distribution will distribute elsewhere.