The Day of the Jackal Review: Eddie Redmayne’s Peacock Thriller Is Sleek and Suspenseful

Peacock’s The Day of the Jackal reimagines Frederick Forsyth’s classic espionage thriller as a ten-episode cat-and-mouse game between a world-class assassin known only as the Jackal (Eddie Redmayne) and the British intelligence officer tasked with stopping him, Bianca (Lashana Lynch). The result is a stylish, globe-trotting thriller that showcases Redmayne in a role that is a deliberate departure from his usual fare and proves he can play cold menace as convincingly as he plays warmth.

How We Reviewed: Our assessment is based on comparison with the show’s prior seasons and genre benchmarks and viewing all available episodes before publishing. Ratings reflect full-season viewing, critical analysis, and production quality assessment. Our editorial team made all selections independently of brand relationships.

The Jackal

Eddie Redmayne plays against type as a methodical, emotionless contract killer whose precision and patience make him nearly impossible to catch. It is a performance of controlled stillness — Redmayne strips away his usual warmth and physicality, creating a character who is fascinating precisely because of what he withholds. The Jackal’s disguises, his meticulous planning, and his ability to disappear into different identities give the show its procedural spine. Watching him assemble a custom weapon, forge documents, or transform his appearance with prosthetics and behavioral adjustments provides a craftsmanship satisfaction that the best spy fiction delivers.

The show wisely avoids making the Jackal sympathetic. He is a technician of death, and the show’s tension comes from watching a supremely competent person execute a plan that we know must be stopped. Redmayne resists every temptation to humanize the character through charm, instead creating someone whose very blankness is unsettling.

The Pursuit

The show’s greatest strength is its cat-and-mouse structure. Each episode follows the Jackal preparing for or executing a contract while Bianca closes in, and the escalating game of intelligence and counter-intelligence between them generates consistent tension. Lashana Lynch is excellent as Bianca — sharp, determined, and increasingly willing to bend rules as the stakes rise. Her investigation takes her across Europe, and Lynch brings a physical intensity to the role that makes Bianca feel like a genuine threat to the Jackal rather than someone perpetually one step behind.

The dynamic between pursuer and pursued is the engine that drives the show, and the writers understand that both characters must be equally formidable for the tension to work. When the Jackal makes a mistake, it is a small one that Bianca notices only because of her exceptional skill. When Bianca gains ground, the Jackal adapts with chilling efficiency.

The Globe-Trotting

The European locations — London, Munich, Barcelona, the French countryside — are used to gorgeous effect, and the show captures the texture of international espionage with convincing detail. The tradecraft is presented with enough specificity to feel authentic without bogging down the narrative in procedural minutiae. The show understands that espionage is fundamentally about information — who has it, who needs it, and what they will do to get it — and the European settings provide a landscape where borders, languages, and jurisdictions become tools in the game.

The supporting cast includes Ursula Corbero as a woman who becomes entangled in the Jackal’s personal life, adding a human dimension to a character who would otherwise be purely mechanical. Their relationship provides the show’s most unexpected emotional beats and creates vulnerability in a man who has eliminated every other weakness.

Pacing and Structure

The show occasionally overstays its welcome at ten episodes — the source material was designed for a lean thriller, and the expansion sometimes means padding rather than enrichment. The middle episodes in particular could have been tightened, with certain subplots contributing more to runtime than to the central pursuit. But when The Day of the Jackal focuses on the central duel between its two leads, it is as taut and stylish as any thriller on streaming. The final three episodes build to a conclusion that rewards the investment.

Verdict

The Day of the Jackal is a handsome, well-acted espionage thriller that proves Peacock can produce prestige content. Redmayne’s transformation is the headline, but Lynch’s tenacious intelligence officer is the soul of the show. Despite some pacing issues in the middle stretch, the cat-and-mouse tension sustains across the season and delivers a satisfying conclusion.

Rating: 7.5/10

For more thrillers, see the Peacock Best Shows and Movies Guide and the Best Spy Thriller Shows Streaming.