contemporary

“The Day of the Jackal,” a 10-episode limited series written by Ronan Bennett that premieres Thursday on Peacock, is a contemporary reimagining of Frederick Forsyth’s 1971 novel and the 1973 film, directed by Fred Zinnemann.

“It was a film I grew up on and held in high esteem, but when I read those first three scripts, not only was it completely contemporary and therefore of another world, but it retained that analog quality,” he says.

But horror is political, and the influence of various religious forces on contemporary American government — including but not limited to the Christian right — has been growing for many years.

“Haynes,” he added, “has no date on the way he plays. It is and always was contemporary.”

Simon Godwin’s production, which aired on PBS, proved it was possible to be dynamically contemporary while still faithful to the tragedy’s true source of timelessness, its dramatic poetry.