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The Day of the Jackal
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Why Day Of The Jackal Season 1 Ending Changes The Major Death From The 1973 Movie Explained By Director
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The Day of the Jackal is a TV adaptation of Frederick Forsyth’s iconic novel of the same name, and it’s already proven to be one of 2024’s most popular shows. The series tells the fictional story of a killer named the Jackal, an assassin-for-hire whose dangerous methods and mastery of disguises have allowed him to evade the police for many years. It’s a high-stakes game of cat-and-mouse that takes place throughout Europe, with the Jackal leaving a trail of destruction and chaos in his wake.
The Day of the Jackal has become a streaming sensation, but it’s not the first project to tell this kind of epic, sprawling story. The series is clearly inspired by many other thrillers that came before it, and thankfully, these are perfect shows to watch in the tantalizing gap between The Day of the Jackal’s first and second seasons.
10 Reacher (2022-Present)
Starring Alan Ritchson & Willa Fitzgerald

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154 9.3/10
Reacher
TV-MA
Drama
Crime
Action
Produced by Amazon Prime Video, Reacher adapts Lee Child's Jack Reacher book series to live-action. The series follows veteran Military Police Officer Jack Reacher as he unravels a dangerous conspiracy in the fictional town of Margrave, Georgia. Played by the towering Alan Ritchson, the titular hero collaborates with officer Roscoe Conklin (Willa Fitzgerald) and Chief Detective Oscar Finlay (Malcolm Goodwin) to clean his name and save Margrave from crime and corruption.
- Release Date
- February 4, 2022
- Main Genre
- Action
- Cast
- Malcolm Goodwin, Maria Sten, Willa Fitzgerald, Bruce McGill, Chris Webster, Alan Ritchson, Anthony Michael Hall, Brian Tee, Johnny Berchtold, Daniel David Stewart
- Creator(s)
- Nick Santora
- Seasons
- 3
- Writers
- Nick Santora
- Directors
- Nick Santora
- Showrunner
- Nick Santora
Reacher is another high-stakes thriller, this time based on Lee Child’s internationally successful series of books. The novels, much like the show, follow an ex-military soldier named Jack Reacher whose professional background gets him involved in an endless series of dangerous and explosive conspiracies that only somebody with his expertise could solve.
Related
The Day of the Jackal is getting tense as the finale is fast approaching and secrets are starting to be peeled back, with episode 8's massive reveal.
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Each season of Reacher is based on a different one of Lee Child’s Jack Reacher books, telling a complete narrative over the course of eight episodes while building character relationships and sprawling arcs that connect the seasons in rich, thematic ways. Its narrative isn’t quite as sprawling or high-stakes as The Day of the Jackal, but its method of storytelling is just as exciting and action-packed.
9 Black Doves (2024)
Starring Ben Whishaw & Keira Knightley

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31 8.5/10
Black Doves
Drama
Thriller
Black Doves is a drama series that centers on the complex interplay of espionage and personal relationships. Focused on Helen Webb, a seasoned spy striving to balance her covert missions with a turbulent family life, the series delves into themes of loyalty, betrayal, and sacrifice. Starring Keira Knightley, it examines the moral ambiguities faced by those who live double lives in service to their countries.
- Release Date
- December 5, 2024
- Cast
- Keira Knightley, sarah lancashire, Ben Whishaw, Andrew Koji, Andrew Buchan, Omari Douglas, Kathryn Hunter, Sam Troughton, Ella Lily Hyland
- Creator(s)
- Joe Barton
- Producers
- Jane Featherstone, Chris Fry, Joe Barton
- Seasons
- 1
Black Doves is another huge streaming hit from 2024, following the story of two ex-spies who are brought together when a mysterious group of assassins enters their lives and threaten their loved ones. It’s an original story that’s brimming with mysteries and conspiracies for the audience to solve, though its complex storytelling never makes that easy.
Much like The Day of the Jackal, the best part of Black Doves is the fierce lead performances that bring these unique characters to life in absorbing ways. Whishaw and Knightley have excellent on-screen chemistry in the show, and it’s the evolving dynamic between their characters that allows this show to thrive.
8 The Continental (2023)
Starring Mel Gibson & Colin Woodell

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9.5/10
The Continental
TV-MA
Thriller
Crime
Action
The Continental is a spinoff series set in the John Wick universe. The Peacock show follows the origin of the hotel for assassins, with the leading character, Winston Scott, headed back there to face his past. The Continental is set in 1975 and sees an underworld group trying to take over the hotel. The series is a three-night special event, with each episode running for 90 minutes.
- Release Date
- September 22, 2023
- Cast
- Jessica Allain, Colin Woodell, Hubert Point-Du Jour, Nhung Kate, Ben Robson, Mel Gibson, Mishel Prada, Jeremy Bobb, Peter Greene, Ayomide Adegun
- Seasons
- 1
- Writers
- Greg Coolidge, Shawn Simmons, Derek Kolstad, Kirk Ward, Chris Collins, Ken Kristensen
- Directors
- Albert Hughes, Charlotte Brändström
- Showrunner
- Greg Coolidge, Kirk Ward
The Continental is a spin-off series based in the world of John Wick, which in itself is clearly inspired by the cloak-and-dagger mysteries of Forsyth’s original novel. The show takes place many years before the films take place, following a younger version of Ian McShane’s Winston during his formative years climbing the ladder of the Continental organization.
By design, the entire story is built on lies and betrayals that keep the audience at a distance and never let the truth of the narrative prevail, which makes for a fascinating viewing experience where you’re never entirely sure who’s telling the truth.
The Continental answers many secrets from the John Wick movies that were certainly rewarding for long-time fans, but it also has a standalone narrative of power and deception that’s just as engaging for complete newcomers. By design, the entire story is built on lies and betrayals that keep the audience at a distance and never let the truth of the narrative prevail, which makes for a fascinating viewing experience where you’re never entirely sure who’s telling the truth.
7 The Blacklist (2013-2023)
Starring James Spader & Megan Boone

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7.5/10
The Blacklist
Crime
Drama
Thriller
Action
The Blacklist is an action/thriller crime-drama TV series on NBC from creator Jon Bokenkamp. The show follows former intelligence officer turned master criminal Raymond Reddington (James Spader) and FBI agent Elizabeth Keen (Megan Boone.) Red, one of the FBI’s most wanted fugitives, known as “The Concierge of Crime,” mysteriously surrenders to the FBI and offers to help them catch a deadly terrorist, with the condition that he only speaks to Elizabeth- who just so happens to be starting her first day on the job. The two continue to partner to tackle Red's "Blacklist," which he offers in exchange for immunity for his past crimes.
- Release Date
- September 23, 2013
- Cast
- Harry Lennix, Megan Boone, James Spader, Diego Klattenhoff, Ryan Eggold, Parminder Nagra
- Seasons
- 10
- Writers
- Jon Bokenkamp
- Directors
- Jon Bokenkamp
- Showrunner
- Jon Bokenkamp
The Blacklist was one of the most formative crime shows of the 2010s. The series follows a notorious criminal named Raymond Reddington who’s brought in to assist a group of skeptical law enforcement agents in catching some low-level criminals, with the only condition that he’s allowed to work with an upcoming talent in the precinct. Much like The Day of the Jackal, this show really thrives in its character development - particularly through the villainous Reddington.
One benefit of having such a long-running show like The Blacklist is its ability to craft grounded, slow-burn narratives that plant their seeds right at the beginning and don’t let them bloom until the very end. The entire show is an extremely rewarding watch, brought to life by one of James Spader’s most underrated performances.
6 Citadel (2023-Present)
Starring Richard Madden & Priyanka Chopra Jonas

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9.3/10
Citadel
TV-14
Drama
Sci-Fi
Thriller
Citadel is a 2023 action-thriller series developed by the Russo Brothers. The narrative follows agents Mason Kane and Nadia Sinh, played by Richard Madden and Priyanka Chopra Jonas, who work for a global spy agency intent on maintaining world stability. They must confront a new threat from a shadowy organization bent on global chaos. Stanley Tucci and Lesley Manville co-star in this high-stakes, globe-trotting espionage drama.
- Release Date
- April 28, 2023
- Main Genre
- Thriller
- Cast
- Richard Madden, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Stanley Tucci, Lesley Manville, Osy Ikhile, Ashleigh Cummings
- Seasons
- 1
- Writers
- John Applebaum, Bryan Oh, David Weil
Citadel was infamous for being one of the most ambitious and pioneering streaming shows of all time, with a huge budget that allowed the show to jump across the globe and visit several different locations in this sweeping narrative. Thematically, it shares many similarities with The Day of the Jackal - it’s a tale of spies, international espionage, and global surveillance.
Related
Why Day Of The Jackal Season 1 Ending Changes The Major Death From The 1973 Movie Explained By Director
The Day of the Jackal’s director Brian Kirk explains the finale’s shocking twist and how they came to the decision to derive from the source material.
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Citadel may not have been a huge success, but the first season did a great job of laying the groundwork for what’s to come in future episodes. It’s a slow-burn thriller that evolves into a deadly cat-and-mouse chase across the world, exploring the topical question of how much our governments are prepared to operate in the shadows to protect their secrets.
5 Slow Horses (2022-Present)
Starring Gary Oldman & Jack Lowden

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33 10/10
Slow Horses
Thriller
Drama
Slow Horses is an adaptation of CWA Gold Dagger Award-winning Mick Herron’s first novel in the "Slow Horses" series, which follows a team of British intelligence agents who serve in a dumping ground department of MI5 – Slough House. Gary Oldman stars as Jackson Lamb, the brilliant but irascible leader of the spies who end up in Slough House due to their career-ending mistakes.
- Release Date
- April 1, 2022
- Cast
- Jonathan Pryce, Kristin Scott Thomas, Jack Lowden, Gary Oldman, Saskia Reeves, Chris Reilly, Rosalind Eleazar, Christopher Chung, Olivia Cooke
- Seasons
- 4
- Writers
- Will Smith, Mark Denton, Morwenna Banks
Slow Horses is one of the best shows on Apple TV, but the series doesn’t receive anywhere near the amount of acclaim that it deserves. The story follows the obnoxious boss of a dysfunctional MI5 unit who are tasked with protecting the safety of their country while trying to see through the fog of an ever-changing diplomacy that puts their job at risk.
Like The Day of the Jackal, Apple TV’s Slow Horses is a product of two things: the show’s biting, witty scripts, and the hugely entertaining performances that drive the story forward.
Like The Day of the Jackal, Apple TV’s Slow Horses is a product of two things: the show’s biting, witty scripts, and the hugely entertaining performances that drive the story forward. In this case, it’s Academy Award-winner Gary Oldman and Jack Lowden whose on-screen dynamic makes Slow Horses such a fun watch, as their characters attempt to navigate a world that they’re not always cut out for.
4 Mindhunter (2017-2019)
Starring Jonathan Groff & Holt McCallany

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22 9.7/10
Mindhunter
TV-MA
Crime
Drama
Thriller
From executive producers David Fincher and Charlize Theron comes Mindhunter, a series that chronicles the founding of the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit used to track and apprehend serial killers. Mindhunter follows Agent Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) and Bill Tench (Holt McCallany) as they work to establish a framework for understanding the minds of some of America's most dangerous serial killers. Mindhunter adapts a number of true crime stories, including the BTK murders and the notorious Co-Ed Killer, Edmund Kemper.
- Release Date
- October 13, 2017
- Cast
- Jonathan Groff, Holt McCallany, Hannah Gross, Cotter Smith, Anna Torv, Stacey Roca, Cameron Britton, Michael Cerveris, Joe Tuttle, Lauren Glazier
- Seasons
- 2
- Writers
- Joe Penhall
- Directors
- David Fincher
- Showrunner
- Joe Penhall
David Fincher’s Mindhunter is a show infamous for its premature cancelation, but the show is still worth watching for the incredible quality of the two seasons that were commissioned. The series centers around a team of FBI agents who work alongside criminal psychologists to get inside the minds of some of America’s most notorious killers, using what they’ve learned to build profiles and apply them to other criminals who haven’t yet been caught.
What made Mindhunter such an intense viewing experience, beyond the dynamic direction and strong performances, was the show’s ability to forge intricate, complex mysteries that were impossible to solve despite all the clues being there. It really allowed the audience to get absorbed into the narrative - a quality it shares with The Day of the Jackal.
3 The Serpent (2021)
Starring Tahar Rahim & Jenna Coleman

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The Serpent
TV-MA
Drama
Crime
The Serpent is a true-crime drama series based on the real-life story of Charles Sobhraj, a serial killer who preyed on tourists in Thailand in the 1970s. The series follows the story of Herman Knippenberg, a junior diplomat at the Dutch Embassy in Bangkok, who becomes obsessed with tracking down Sobhraj.
- Release Date
- January 1, 2021
- Main Genre
- Drama
- Cast
- Tahar Rahim, Jenna Coleman, Ellie Bamber, Billy Howle, Mathilde Warnier
- Creator(s)
- Toby Finlay, Richard Warlow
- Seasons
- 1
Narratively, The Serpent shares many qualities with The Day of the Jackal. Both shows center around a serial killer who uses disguises and fake identities to avoid suspicion, both shows follow these killers as they travel across the world to multiple different locations, and both shows explore how the authorities ultimately used the killers’ weaknesses to track them down and pick up the clues they leave behind.
Additionally, The Serpent is loosely based on a true story - which gives an extra dimension of intrigue and eeriness to everything that happens on the show. It blends fact and fiction in a way that’s consistently interesting, avoiding the many pitfalls of true crime dramas and instead forging a well-written story that merely uses this case as inspiration for something truly gripping.
2 Bodyguard (2018)
Starring Richard Madden & Keeley Hawes

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10/10
Bodyguard
Bodyguard tells the fictional story of David Budd, a heroic but volatile war veteran now working as a Specialist Protection Officer for the Royalty and Specialist Protection Branch of London's Metropolitan Police Service.
- Release Date
- August 26, 2018
- Cast
- Richard Madden, Keeley Hawes, Gina McKee, Sophie Rundle, Vincent Franklin, Pippa Haywood, Paul Ready, Tom Brooke, Nicholas Gleaves, Stuart Bowman
- Creator(s)
- Jed Mercurio
- Seasons
- 1
Bodyguard is a British TV series that takes the complex, intricate storytelling of The Day of the Jackal and applies it on a more intimate, personal level. The narrative follows a war veteran who finds himself assigned as the personal bodyguard of a prolific politician, which becomes complicated when he develops a mistrust of her personal beliefs and policies.
Although its story takes place on a national stage with prolific characters, The Bodyguard is much more of a personal, character-driven story than The Day of the Jackal.
Although its story takes place on a national stage with prolific characters, The Bodyguard is much more of a personal, character-driven story than The Day of the Jackal. It focuses primarily on the shifting relationship between these unlikely colleagues, using the diplomatic uncertainty of their work merely as a backdrop to explore their own ideologies and conflicting beliefs.
1 Homeland (2011-2020)
Starring Claire Danes & Mandy Patinkin

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5/10
Homeland
TV-MA
Crime
Drama
Mystery
Homeland is a Showtime original series starring Claire Danes, Mandy Patinkin, and Damian Lewis. The TV show ran for eight seasons on the network and focused on Danes' characterCarrie Mathison, a bipolar CIA operative that believes a terrorist attack is imminent after a prisoner of war is returned home.
- Release Date
- October 2, 2013
- Cast
- Claire Danes, Mandy Patinkin, Damian Lewis, Rupert Friend, Maury Sterling, F. Murray Abraham, Morena Baccarin
- Producers
- Alex Gansa, Alexander Cary, Chip Johannessen, Henry Bromell, Howard Gordon, Meredith Stiehm, Avi Nir, Gideon Raff, Ran Telem
- Seasons
- 8
- Writers
- Alex Gansa, Howard Gordon
- Directors
- Lesli Linka Glatter, Michael Cuesta
- Showrunner
- Alex Gansa
Homeland is arguably the definitive political thriller of the 2010s, and that’s proven both in its undeniable longevity and continuing popularity even today. The show centers around a CIA operative working alongside the Department of Homeland Security to identify an American prisoner who’s suspected of having joined forces with a dangerous terrorist organization that could pose a serious threat to the United States. The show ran for eight seasons between 2011 and 2020, receiving huge critical acclaim for its early episodes before ultimately being canceled by Showtime in 2020.
Homeland was a huge critical success, beating shows like Game of Thrones and Mad Men at the Emmys during the peak of their popularity. It was praised for its sharp, topical exploration of the American government’s foreign policy and the looming threat of terrorism in the country, which was at its most prevalent in the first season but remained an important theme. Its narrative was on a much more global scale than The Day of the Jackal, but both shows benefited from their ability to effectively navigate the more secretive, private aspects of government and diplomatic relations.

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8/10
44 9.2/10
The Day of the Jackal (2024)
Drama
Thriller
In this gripping thriller, an elusive assassin known as the Jackal orchestrates high-stakes hits for exorbitant fees, only to confront a determined British intelligence officer. Their tense pursuit unfolds across Europe, blending intense action with strategic maneuvers in a relentless cat-and-mouse chase.
- Release Date
- November 7, 2024
- Main Genre
- Thriller
- Cast
- Úrsula Corberó, Eddie Redmayne, Lashana Lynch, Ben Hall, Sule Rimi, Florisa Kamara, Stuart Whelan, Jonjo O'Neill, Adam James, Christy Meyer, Lee Byford, Martin McDougall, Russell Balogh, Andreas Jessen, Jan-Martin Müller, Lucy Russell, Gerard Kearns, Eddie Elks, Charles Dance, Richard Dormer, Chukwudi Iwuji, Lia Williams, Khalid Abdalla, Eleanor Matsuura
- Seasons
- 1
- The Day of the Jackal
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