Drama series "The day of the jackal" in preparation at Peacock and Sky

A television series adaptation of Frederick Forsyth's thriller novel 'The Day of the Jackal' has been commissioned by Peacock and Sky, it was announced Thursday.

First published in 1971, the original novel "The Day of the Jackal" is set in 1963, the year the President of France, Charles de Gaulle, granted Algeria independence. This decision led to several assassination attempts on his life, mainly by the far-right Secret Army Organization (OAS). The novel centers on a fictional OAS plot to kill de Gaulle via a mysterious alien assassin codenamed "The Jackal". Meanwhile, the French government gets wind of the plot and hires Deputy Commissioner Claude Lebel to find and capture the assassin. The novel was well received upon publication, and Forsyth received an Edgar Award for Best Novel from the Mystery Writers of America in 1972.

The Sky and Peacock adaptation is described as a "contemporary reimagining" of the novel, drawing inspiration from both the original source material and the critically acclaimed 1973 British film adaptation, which starred Edward Fox and Michael Lonsdale and was directed by Fred Zinnemann. The show will focus more on the backstory of the mysterious Jackal and will be set in the modern political world.

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Ronan Bennett, best known for creating the detective series "Top Boy" and writing the scripts for films such as "Face" and "Public Enemies", will be the screenwriter and showrunner of the adaptation "The Day of the Jackal". . 'Game of Thrones' and 'Luther' director Brian Kirk will serve as the show's lead director. The cast for the series has yet to be announced, but production is expected to begin next summer.

Besides the 1973 film, two other films based on "The Day of the Jackal" have been made. In 1988, "August 1", an Indian film directed by Sibi Malayil, freely adapted the plot of the original novel. In 1997 came "The Jackal", a loose American adaptation of the book, directed by Michael Caton-Jones and starring Bruce Willis, Richard Gere and Sidney Poitier in his final screen role. Forsyth opposed the production of the 1973 film and pressured Zinnemann to change his name to disassociate it from the original work.

Carnival Films, a subsidiary of Universal International Studios, is producing 'The Day of the Jackal' in association with Sky Studios. Sky's Drama Commissioning director Gabriel Silver and executive producer Sam Hoyle commissioned the series for Zai Bennett, managing director of Sky UK & Ireland. Gareth Neame and Nigel Marchant will serve as executive producers for Carnival Films. Forsyth will serve as consulting producer, while Christopher Hall will serve as producer. The series will air on Peacock in the US and will be available on Sky in the UK, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. International sales will be handled by NBCUniversal Global Distribution.

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