Peacock’s 2-Part Spy Thriller Is Officially One of Streaming’s Best Remakes

The Day of the Jackalis one of the best films by the Academy Award-winning director Fred Zinneman, and one that reinvented the international spy thriller subgenre within the context of political paranoia in the ‘70s. While many political thrillers in the New Hollywood era dealt with the fallout of the Watergate scandal, The Day of the Jackal opened up to international intrigue involved in the revolving door of infrastructure upheaval in Europe during the Cold War. It’s an incredibly faithful adaptation of the 1971 novel of the same name, and not one that would be improved upon by a stylistically similar retread that attempts to attack the same exact themes. Peacock’s The Day of the Jackal is a successful reboot because it modernizes the story for a new era in which conspiracy theories have gained more traction in mainstream reporting. It’s also one of the slickest, most entertaining productions Peacock has ever made, proving that the service has what it takes to compete in the streaming wars.