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The hit spy thriller The Day of the Jackal is heading into its second season with a major change behind the scenes. Ronan Bennett, the acclaimed screenwriter who created the series for Sky and Peacock, is stepping back from his writing duties. Bennett, however, will remain on board as an executive producer, ensuring continuity for the show as it evolves.
Taking over the role of lead writer is Scottish playwright and screenwriter David Harrower, best known for Lockerbie: A Search for Truth. That drama, also produced by Carnival Films and aired on both Sky and Peacock, starred Colin Firth and chronicled the decades-long investigation into the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988. Harrower’s work on Lockerbie earned wide critical acclaim for its sensitivity and depth, qualities that Carnival now hopes he will bring to The Day of the Jackal.
Carnival CEO Gareth Neame recently confirmed to Variety that the first season of The Day of the Jackal intentionally diverged from Frederick Forsyth’s original novel while retaining its central theme of hunter versus hunted. Season one starred Eddie Redmayne as the elusive assassin and Lashana Lynch as the determined MI6 officer tracking him, offering viewers a modern reimagining of Forsyth’s iconic tale and the 1973 film adaptation. Despite its fresh approach, the show contained numerous nods to the original story, and Neame revealed that season two will lean more heavily on unused material from Forsyth’s novel.
“Hopefully it’s going to be another very lavish, slickly directed, well acted, high-octane twist and turn thriller,” Neame said, adding that the creative team sees untapped potential in Forsyth’s work that can continue fueling the story. Production on the new season is expected to begin in the coming months.
The first season proved to be a massive success for both broadcasters. In the U.K., it became Sky’s biggest Original series ever, drawing in 3 million viewers in its first week of release in November 2024, surpassing juggernauts like House of the Dragon and Chernobyl. In the U.S., NBCUniversal announced that the series had become Peacock’s most-watched new original drama within its first 75 days.
Bennett, meanwhile, remains an in-demand creative force. In addition to his continuing role on The Day of the Jackal, he is behind Paramount+’s MobLand — a crime drama starring Tom Hardy and Pierce Brosnan renewed for a second season — and is developing Army of Shadows for Channel 4, a near-future thriller inspired by the French Resistance.
With Harrower stepping in, season two of The Day of the Jackal looks set to blend Forsyth’s classic intrigue with fresh creative vision, ensuring audiences can expect another tightly wound, high-stakes thriller.
