The historic true story behind 'The Day of the Jackal'
We truly have been spoiled for must-watch television this winter season – alongside Joan, the compelling ITV series starring our Woman of the Year winner Sophie Turner, Disney Plus’ Rivals has also captured the nation’s imagination. A rip-roaring romp and tongue-in-cheek pastiche of the upper-classes, the new adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s classic second novel in her ‘Rutshire Chronicles’ series is ideal material if you’re looking for something fun, light-hearted and sexy.
But of course, as the nights get darker and the evenings draw in quicker, it may be time to tune into something a little more serious and heavy-hitting – with Sky Atlantic’s The Day of the Jackal needing to go to the very top of your ‘must watch’ list.
With an all-star cast including the Oscar-winning Eddie Redmayne and former Bazaar cover star Lashana Lynch, The Day of the Jackal centres on the ruthless British assassin known only by the codename ‘the Jackal’, and the intelligence forces tasked to capture him.
The 10-episode series is based Frederick Forsyth’s beloved 1971 tome – which borrowed extensively from the political environment at the time.
Here’s the true story behind the thriller everyone will be talking about for weeks.
Is The Day of the Jackal a true story?
The original novel follows a plot by the dissident paramilitary group OAS (Organisation armée secrete, which translates to ‘secret army organisation’) to assassinate Charles de Gaulle, who was then the President of France. The OAS’s aims were to prevent Algeria from becoming independent from French rule – something de Galle was planning a referendum on in 1961.
The OAS was real, as were their attempts to murder de Gaulle; the opening of The Day of the Jackal documents their initial genuine attempts to assassinate the French president. However, the subsequent plot described in the book is fictional. The new television adaptation has been modernised for a 21st century setting.
However, The Day of the Jackal has proved influential several decades after its release. The notorious Venezuelan political terrorist Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, who was arrested in the 1990s, was dubbed ‘The Jackal’ by The Guardian after one of its correspondents reportedly spotted The Day of the Jackal on the bookshelf of a friend's apartment where Sánchez had allegedly stashed some weapons.
The Day of the Jackal premieres on Sky Atlantic and NowTV on Thursday 7 November
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