Eleanor Matsuura is one of the most underrated stars of The Walking Dead's final few seasons, but she's definitely one of the cast members to watch after her latest action thriller made waves in 2024.
Of course, I'm talking about The Day of the Jackal, the Sky Atlantic and Prime Video series, that premiered at the very end of 2024. It was one of the most successful TV releases of the year, and Matsuura was excellent in the series.
For those who don't remember, Matsuura starred as Yumiko Okumura, also known as Miko, starting in season 9. She continued to play a big role in the series in the show's final two seasons, season 10 and season 11, which came to an end in 2022.
Matsuura made her TV return for The Day of the Jackal a couple short years after The Walking Dead ended, and it's possibly her best role yet, although the role is a little bit more limited.
The Day of the Jackal, which is based on Frederick Forsyth's book of the same name, tells the story of The Jackal, an assassin played by Eddie Redmayne, who carries out a hit on a German politician that becomes international news. When a weapons expert from MI6 takes an interest in the case, The Jackal's identity has never been closer to being revealed.
In the series, Matsuura stars as Zina Jansone, who is basically the middle man or go-between between The Jackal and his employer for his latest missions, Winthrop, played by Charles Dance. There are frequent meetings between Zina and The Jackal, and that's not a spoiler, but I simply want you to understand just how crucial she is to this story.
The Day of the Jackal is, of course, not a zombie series. It has few ties to The Walking Dead outside of Matsuura. So, I always get a little nervous recommending non-zombie shows to Walking Dead fans, but I feel strongly about this show being hit among Walking Dead nation.
Outside of the Matsuura connection, The Day of the Jackal is a pulse-pounding thriller with incredibly high stakes. It's not quite zombie apocalypse stakes, but it's still a thrill ride with epic twists and turns as The Jackal tries to evade custody, make good on his agreements, and get paid at the end of the day.
The Day of the Jackal also stars Lashana Lynch, Úrsula Corberó, Chukwudi Iwuji, Khalid Abdalla, and Lia Williams.
Sky and Prime Video picked up The Day of the Jackal season 2, but it's unclear at this time if Matsuura is involved in the second season. I'm hoping that Matsuura will be involved, and I don't know if there's a way to continue the story without her based on how the first season ends, which I'm definitely not going to get into right now.
If I've done a good job and you're thinking about watching The Day of the Jackal on Prime Video (or Sky if you live in the UK) right now, you have plenty of time to watch before season 2 premieres sometime later this year. We don't know exactly when the new season will premiere, but it should be sometime around the end of the year.
If you like Matsuura in The Walking Dead, you're going to love The Day of the Jackal!
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