You're probably sitting on your couch, remote in hand, wondering about The Day of the Jackal how many episodes are actually left before the credits roll for good. It’s a fair question. This isn't your grandfather’s 1973 Edward Fox movie or even the original Frederick Forsyth novel. This is a sprawling, high-stakes reimagining that takes its time.
The 2024-2025 series starring Eddie Redmayne and Lashana Lynch is a 10-episode limited series.
If you've been bingeing it on Peacock or Sky, you know it doesn't move like a standard procedural. It breathes. It lingers on the cold, calculated prep work of a master assassin and the obsessive, often messy life of the intelligence officer trying to catch him. Ten episodes is a lot of real estate for a cat-and-mouse game, but the showrunners decided to trade the lean efficiency of the original film for a deep dive into the "why" behind the crosshairs.
Breaking down the episode count and why it matters
Most modern thrillers tend to settle into a comfortable six or eight-episode rhythm. You see it with Netflix or Apple TV+ shows all the time. However, the decision to push The Day of the Jackal how many episodes to double digits was intentional. The producers, including Ronan Bennett (the mind behind Top Boy), wanted to modernize the story by giving the Jackal a family.
That’s the big pivot.
In the original story, the Jackal is a ghost. He has no past, no attachments, and no internal life beyond the mission to kill Charles de Gaulle. In this version, Redmayne’s character has a wife and a child in Spain. He’s living a double life. To make that feel earned—and not just like a cheap plot device—the show needs those extra hours. We spend a significant amount of time watching the domestic tension bleed into the professional hits. Honestly, without the 10-episode structure, the emotional stakes with his wife, Nuria, would probably feel rushed or entirely disposable.
The pacing is deliberate. Some critics have argued that the mid-season stretch slows down a bit too much, but for fans of "process" TV, those extra episodes are where the magic happens. You get to see the craftsmanship. The fake passports. The custom-built long-range rifles. The subtle ways a man disappears in a crowded room.
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Where to stream the full season
Depending on where you are in the world, your access to all ten chapters varies. In the United States, Peacock is the exclusive home. They initially dropped a batch of episodes before moving to a weekly release schedule, which is a classic move to keep the conversation going on social media.
Over in the UK and Ireland, Sky Atlantic and NOW handled the distribution.
If you’re wondering why the episode count feels different from the 1970s version, it's because that was a tight 143-minute film. This series is roughly 500 minutes of television. That is a massive expansion. It allows for Lashana Lynch’s character, Bianca, to be more than just a background investigator. She’s a foil to the Jackal—equally obsessed, equally flawed, and often just as dangerous to the people she loves.
Does the 10-episode format hold up?
There’s a tension in modern TV. We want "prestige" feel, but we also don't want "bloat."
With The Day of the Jackal how many episodes were ordered, the creators had to fill a lot of gaps. They did this by globalizing the plot. We aren't just stuck in France or the UK. The show hops from London to Munich, Paris, and the Spanish countryside. It feels expensive. It feels like a globe-trotting epic.
Eddie Redmayne brings a specific kind of twitchy, focused energy that stays interesting even when the plot isn't exploding. He’s playing a chameleon. One episode he’s a German businessman, the next a janitor. This variety keeps the 10-episode count from feeling like a slog. You’re essentially watching a series of mini-movies that all feed into one giant finale.
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Key details for your watchlist:
- Total Episode Count: 10
- Average Runtime: 45 to 55 minutes per episode.
- Lead Actors: Eddie Redmayne (The Jackal), Lashana Lynch (Bianca), Úrsula Corberó (Nuria).
- Director Focus: Brian Kirk (who worked on Game of Thrones) directed several key episodes, giving the series its cinematic sheen.
The impact of the weekly release vs. the binge
A lot of people waited until all ten episodes were out before starting. I get it. The suspense of a sniper thriller is hard to maintain over two and a half months. But there is something to be said for the "watercooler" effect. When you look at the middle chapters—specifically episodes four through seven—the tension ratchets up in a way that benefits from a breather.
Bianca’s pursuit isn't a straight line. She messes up. She loses the trail. She deals with bureaucratic nonsense at MI6. In a shorter series, these realistic setbacks would be cut for time. Here, they add to the realism of international espionage. It’s not always a high-speed chase; sometimes it’s just staring at a computer screen until your eyes bleed, hoping for a breakthrough.
The show also tackles the ethics of modern assassination. It’s not just about a guy with a gun anymore. It’s about cyber warfare, financial markets, and the way one death can ripple through the global economy. Expanding the scope to 10 episodes allowed the writers to explore these "techno-thriller" elements without losing the core human story.
Is there a second season?
This is where things get interesting. Officially, the show was billed as a limited series. Usually, that means "one and done." 10 episodes, story over, everyone goes home.
However, given the ratings and the way the final episode wraps up, there’s always that lingering "what if." Without spoiling the ending, let's just say the world created here is big enough to support more stories. But for now, when you ask about The Day of the Jackal how many episodes, the answer remains a firm ten.
If you’re looking for more after finishing the tenth episode, your best bet is to go back to the source. Read the Frederick Forsyth book. It’s a masterclass in technical writing. Or watch the 1973 film directed by Fred Zinnemann. It’s fascinating to see how the same core concept—a man hired to kill a world leader—is handled with 1970s technology versus the drones and facial recognition of the 2024 series.
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Moving forward with your viewing
If you haven't started yet, give yourself a weekend.
Don't try to rush through all ten in one sitting. The show is dense. It’s the kind of thing you want to watch while actually paying attention to the background details. Redmayne is doing a lot of subtle physical work—changing his gait, his posture, his accent—that you might miss if you're just scrolling on your phone.
Start with the first three episodes to get the hook. By the time you hit the midpoint, the stakes for Bianca and the Jackal’s family become so intertwined that you won't need to check the episode count anymore; you'll just be riding the momentum to the finish line.
Keep an eye on the cinematography in the later episodes, particularly the use of wide shots in the European countryside. It’s gorgeous stuff that reminds you why this was a big-budget production for Peacock and Sky. Once you're done, you'll see why 10 was the magic number to tell this specific, modernized version of a classic.
To get the most out of your experience, check your local streaming listings to ensure the "Finale" or "Episode 10" tag is present, especially if you are watching in a region with delayed syndication. There is nothing worse than hitting a cliffhanger and realizing the final chapter hasn't dropped in your territory yet.