The Day of the Jackal just broke a Sky streaming record but it’s not as big on Peacock grace.morris@futurenet.com (Grace Morris) | usagoldmines.com

• The Day of the Jackal has broken a Sky streaming record by becoming the broadcaster’s biggest new series ever
• The first episode reached an audience of 4.5 million after 26 viewing days in the UK
• 2024 has been Sky Original drama’s best performing year in its history

After being renewed for season 2, The Day of the Jackal has achieved another milestone as the espionage thriller is the biggest new series to ever launch on Sky.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the first episode reached a UK audience of 4.5 million after 26 viewing days, which makes The Day of the Jackal the most popular new series ever on Sky. Amongst the top 10 Sky shows this year at the time of writing, The Day of the Jackal beat the likes of House of the Dragon season 2, True Detective season 4, and The Penguin to the top spot.

2024 has been a hugely successful year for the broadcaster with Sky Original dramas achieving its best performance in Sky’s history with the likes of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Sweetpea and The Day of the Jackal all being watched by an audience of over two million when they launched.

Cécile Frot-Coutaz, CEO of Sky Studios and Chief Content Officer for Sky told the publication: “This year marks our best performing year for Sky Original drama in our history, which is particularly gratifying at a time when audiences are spoiled for choice. It’s a privilege to bring Sky customers such compelling, high-calibre programming, and I’m excited to show our audiences what is coming next.”

How did The Day of the Jackal do on Peacock?

The Day of the Jackal has proven to be a huge hit since it aired on Peacock in the US and Sky in the UK, receiving an 85% Rotten Tomatoes score. On Peacock, the show didn’t break a streaming record as huge as Sky, but it still did extremely well as it became the number one most-watched show on the streamer and was a top five streaming original in the US for its opening weekend, as per Nielsen data.

Based on Frederick Forsyth’s 1971 novel of the same name, The Day of the Jackal stars Eddie Redmayne as elusive assassin the Jackal. When he’s hired to kill a powerful tech tycoon for a huge fee, the Jackal soon becomes embroiled in a cat-and-mouse chase with determined MI6 agent Bianca (Lashana Lynch) who will stop at nothing to take him down.

If that facts and figures aren’t enough to prove how successful the show is, The Day of the Jackal has since been renewed for season 2. However, since the finale is yet to air on December 12, there are no plot details or whether Redmayne and Lynch will reprise their roles just yet.

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