The Day Of The Jackal: Will there be a season two? Season one ending explained - is it different to the novel?
The Day Of The Jackal has rounded off its first series and fans are already eagerly awaiting a new instalment.
The show has become a hit with viewers and critics alike, with stars Eddie Redmayne and Lashana Lynch wowing in their roles. The Day Of The Jackal even picked up Golden Globe nominations earlier this week - one for Best Television Series (Drama) and Best Actor (Drama) for Redmayne.
The shocking finale aired on Wednesday, December 11, bring the series to a close. But what happened, and has the show been renewed for season two? Here’s everything you need to know.
What happened in The Day Of The Jackal season one finale?
The 10th episode of the show saw Eddie Redmayne’s titular assassin, Jackal, finally come face-to-face with Lashana Lynch’s MI6 agent Bianca. The pair has been embroiled in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse for most of the series, with Bianca hellbent on putting an end to The Jackal’s killing spree.
In the finale, we see Bianca and Vince Pyne, played by Nick Blood, track down a personal address for the assassin. They discover the home address in Spain while investigating the arrested of his brother in law Alvaro.
When the pair arrive at the Spanish home to confront The Jackal, they spot his wife carrying their infant son into a taxi. The duo conclude that she is leaving her husband, with the contract killer later turning up to the home to realise that she has left.
Injured from an earlier hostage situation, The Jackal is alerted to Bianca and Vince’s presence at the home after Bianca guns down Alvaro, who caught the pair as they attempted to sneak inside.
He then hides inside his weapons locker behind a two-way mirror in his bedroom. Bianca comes within a hair’s breadth of the killer, before heading downstairs.
In a shocking end to the series, The Jackal outmanoeuvres Bianca and Vince inside his own home and shoots them both. It appears that Bianca is dead as she drops to the floor from the bullet to the chest and blood trickles out of her mouth.
What happened in the Frederick Forsyth novel?
The death of Bianca will have come as a shock to many viewers of the show. For some, her death will be shocking because viewers followed her story so closely over the series, but for others, it is surprising because of the way it detracts from Frederick Forsyth’s 1971 novel of the same name.
In the novel, Jackal is killed by Inspector Claude Lebel, his literary nemesis, in one final shoot-out, before the police chief later attends his funeral in the epilogue. The show is loosely based on the 1971 novel, placing The Jackal in a modern setting and changing features of the story, including his targets and his MI6 nemesis.
Will there be The Day Of The Jackal season 2?
The Day Of The Jackal has already been renewed for season two. It was renewed shortly after it premiered, meaning that Bianca and Vince’s death won’t be the end of the line for The Jackal’s story.
While a release date has not yet been confirmed, speculation suggests that fans may be able to watch from 2026 at the earlier. However, the timeline will all depend on filming for the new series, which has not begun yet.
Depending on schedules, fans may have to wait a little longer for the next instalment.