The Day of the Jackal viewers share their fury over ‘annoying’ problem with Sky TV as Eddie Redmayne’s new series hits screens

Sky’s long-awaited new thriller The Day Of The Jackal finally hit screens on Thursday, but viewers have already pointed out one glaring problem with the show.

The series, which is based on the Frederick Forsyth novel of the same name, stars Eddie Redmayne as the assassin being targeted by an intelligence officer, played by Lashana Lynch.

As the series kicked off on Sky Atlantic and NOW, viewers were quick to complain about one ‘annoying’ element with the programme.

Taking to X, fans complained that in the middle of breaks for the show, rather than being shown trailers for other Sky content, a trailer for The Day Of The Jackal was played instead.

Posts to X included: ‘Why do Sky show trailers for The Day of The Jackal during ad breaks for The Day of The Jackal? WE ARE ALREADY WATCHING IT FFS. #thedayofthejackal

‘Hey NOW TV – Should there be a trailer for Day Of The Jackal on before…..Day Of The Jackal? I’ve decided to watch it so there’s no need!’

‘The Day of The Jackal trailer says he never looks the same twice, then proceeds to show several versions of clearly the same distinctive spam-faced weasel man in a succession of wigs;’

‘Sky is making me watch an unskippable 30-second trailer for Day of The Jackal, before I can watch Day of The Jackal. Come on guys;’

The series has received mixed reviews from critics, with some hailing the Eddie Redmayne reboot ‘truly compelling’ while others branded it ‘dull and pointless’. 

Eddie stars as Jackal the elusive assassin who makes his living carrying out hits for the highest fee. But he soon meets his match in a tenacious British intelligence offer who tracks him down in a thrilling cat-and-mouse chase across Europe. 

The Telegraph claimed the 21st-century reboot was ‘truly compelling’ as they assessed Eddie’s character.  

Jasper Rees rated the series a star rating of four out of five and wrote: ‘The main event of the chase is prone to misfire and mid-story sag. Still, the otherness of Redmayne compels.’ 

While the Irish Independent claimed The Day Of The Jackal is ‘long and baggy’ and has too many ‘uninteresting characters’. 

The series stars Eddie Redmayne as the assassin being targeted by an intelligence officer, played by Lashana Lynch (pictured)

Viewers were quick to complain about one ‘annoying’ element with the show, revealing that in the middle of breaks for the show, a trailer for The Day Of The Jackal itself was being played

Pat Stacey wrote: ‘This Day of the Jackal is… well, not. It’s long and it’s baggy, with too many uninteresting characters, too many tedious domestic scenes, and the usual overblown and unbelievable shootouts and car chases.’ 

Meanwhile, Rebecca Cook from Digital Spy said The Day Of The Jackal is a ‘compulsive but conventional watch’. 

The reviews from critics come after Eddie recently revealed that he ‘barely’ saw his co-star Lashana on set, despite the pair taking centre stage in their thrilling new series.

The actor and actress joined host Nick Grimshaw, 40, on BBC Radio 1 last month.

However, Eddie revealed that promoting the series has been the most ‘fun’ part as the pair finally get to ‘hang out and spend time together’. 

Revealing that they barely saw each other during filming, Eddie said: ‘Even though Lashana and I are in it (the series) we barely got to see each other while we were making it.’ 

‘Because it was kind of a cat and mouse story and we’re kept apart for a huge amount of it.’ 

He confessed: ‘So, the promoting (side) has been the fun bit because we got to hang out and spend time together.’ 

The series has received mixed reviews from critics, with some hailing the Eddie Redmayne reboot ‘truly compelling’ while others branded it ‘dull and pointless’ 

Lashana agreed with Eddie’s statement by saying: ‘It really is, being producers on the show as well, we’ve had a year of chatting about every nook and cranny of the show,’

‘We’ve seen everything, every edit and every juncture of this process, and it’s just been really lovely getting to know each other in that way.’

Eddie also revealed to the radio host why he decided to take part in the new series which is a modern version of the original movie and book. 

Revealing he was hesitant to star in it at first, Eddie said: ‘I kind of loved the original movie and the book growing up,’

‘So, when the scripts arrived in my inbox there was a massive amount of trepidation because you don’t want to butcher something that you love.’ 

Confessing that he changed his mind once he saw the script, he added: ‘(The script) had basically been updated to now, and the scripts were just so propulsive and it felt completely fresh and new.’

‘But it retained the DNA of what was so wonderful in the original, this kind of cat and mouse quality, and the fact that Jackal is basically a chameleon who shapeshifts, you never quite (know) what you’re gonna get.’

Per an IMDB synopsis, the show charts ‘a manhunt taking place for a dangerous elusive assassin known only as the Jackal’.

Eddie plays the deadly Jackal, with Lashana’s character leading the search to discover his identity.