5 good shows like The Day of the Jackal

The Day of the Jackal is one of the most popular shows on TV right now! After the five-episode series premiere on Nov. 14 in the US, fans are ready to watch the final five episodes on Peacock right now.

Unfortunately, it's a weird release schedule for The Day of the Jackal starring Eddie Redmayne and Lashana Lynch! The new episodes of The Day of the Jackal are dropping one at a time every Thursday until the two-episode season finale on Thursday, Dec. 12.

While you wait to watch those episodes, you should one of these five good shows like The Day of the Jackal right now!

Killing Eve

Where to watch: Netflix, AMC+, and Paramount+

Killing Eve starring Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer was the first show I thought of while watching The Day of the Jackal. Stylistically, these shows are very different. Killing Eve is basically its own genre while The Day of the Jackal feels very James Bond at times, even though it's not a spy show necessarily.

Killing Eve tells the story of one of the world's best assassins, Villanelle, played by Comer. An MI6 agent, Eve Polastri, played by Oh, becomes obsessed with Villanelle and catching her before she commits another crime. Villanelle is one of the world's best for a reason, and she's nearly impossible to find.

In a lot of ways, the beginning of Killing Eve reminds me of the early episodes of The Day of the Jackal.

There are four seasons of Killing Eve, and you can watch all of those seasons on a variety of streaming services, including Netflix, AMC+, and Paramount+. Of all the shows on this list, Killing Eve is the show to watch first if you like The Day of the Jackal. But, it's not the only show you should watch!

The Night Manager

Where to watch: Hulu and Prime Video

The Night Manager isn't an assassin series like The Day of the Jackal, but of the shows on this list, it's probably the most close to The Day of the Jackal in terms of vibes and style. The Night Manager stars Tom Hiddleston, Hugh Laurie, and Olivia Colman.

The series tells the story of the manager of a high-end hotel in Cairo who becomes a spy for the British government and becomes part of the inner circle of a notorious arms dealer.

The Night Manager is easily one of the best spy thrillers of all time. Hiddleston is fantastic in the series, which premiered on BBC in 2016. This year, BBC One and Prime Video teamed up to bring back The Night Manager for season 2 and season 3. We can't wait to find out more about this great story!

The Americans

Where to watch: Hulu and Disney+

The Americans is the perfect show for fans of The Day of the Jackal. First of all, it has an incredible cast, just like The Day of the Jackal with Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys, Noah Emmerich, and more.

The Americans is set in the Cold Ward and follows Elizabeth and Phillip Jennings, played by Russell and Rhys, who seem like the normal, all-American couple living just outside Washington D.C. But, they're actually Russian spies trying to search for government/commercial secrets to help the Russian government. Elizabeth and Phillip try to stay a step ahead of Stan Beeman, who heads the FBI division trying to find them. Oh, and he also happens to be their friend and neighbor.

If you like the cat-and-mouse aspect of The Day of the Jackal, The Americans is the show for you. The series ended in 2018 after six incredible seasons on FX!

Homeland

Where to watch: Hulu and Disney+

Homeland is one of the most popular spy thrillers of all time, which makes it another perfect cat-and-mouse series for fans of The Day of the Jackal to watch. Homeland stars Claire Danes as CIA agent Carrie Mathison who learns from her contacts in the field that an American Prisoner of War has been turned by a terrorist organization that is planning an attack on the United States from within the country. Carrie gets close to Nicholas Brody (Damien Lewis) because she thinks he might be the terrorist planning the attack.

That's how Homeland begins! The series ran for eight seasons on Showtime, which makes it one of the longest-running spy thrillers of all time, as well.

There are definitely some differences between Homeland and The Day of the Jackal, but Carrie and Bianca (Lashana Lynch) share the same drive to get what they're after by any means necessary.

The Night Agent

Where to watch: Netflix

The Night Agent is an easy addition to this list! The Netflix original series doesn't quite align with The Day of the Jackal in plot, themes, or style, but it just feels like fans of the Peacock series would like The Night Agent, which also has some assassin storylines of its own.

In the series created by Shawn Ryan and based on Matthew Quick's novel of the same name, Peter Sutherland, played by Gabriel Basso, is working desk duty for a spy program in the White House when a mysterious call from a non-spy leads Peter on a wild chase to stop someone from an imminent attack on the United States. Oh, and there are also assassins trying to take out Peter and his new friend, Rose, played by Lucianne Buchanan, who was related to two spies who were murdered.

The Night Agent is back for season 2 on Jan. 23, 2025. So, if you haven't seen this series yet and you like The Day of the Jackal, we highly recommend checking out the series before season 2 premieres!

Well, that's the list of shows like The Day of the Jackal that you need to watch right now. It should keep you busy while you wait for new episodes of the series!