Netflix has had trouble creating big series in recent years. Not series that succeed, but series that truly become enormous social phenomena. Maybe it’s because the competition has become much fiercer, maybe because Netflix has grown far too comfortable, but the fact is that they no longer have that same magic. Which doesn’t mean they don’t have some series that have managed to achieve great success.
Although it’s true that part of the problem of the lack of success can be traced to an important detail: having focused less on regional series. Paying less attention to what markets outside the US have to offer. Netflix showed that non-English-speaking countries could make excellent series that could succeed all over the world, as seen with Dark or Money Heist. Or with a French series that now returns with a fourth season: Lupin.
A mythical character of French literature
The series takes its name, obviously, from the mythical gentleman thief Arsène Lupin. Created in 1905 by Maurice Leblanc, probably inspired by Sherlock Holmes, his main characteristic is that he is a thief who never resorts to violence, but rather to his privileged intellect. Spanning 24 books, he was a great success in France in his day and throughout Europe. And beyond it. So much so that in Japan he became a famous character who would eventually get his own anime. Or at least, his grandson, since Lupin the Third, by mangaka Monkey Punch, would follow for years the adventures of Lupin III, one of his direct descendants.
Lupin is not a reinvention or a remake or a reboot of Leblanc’s stories. It’s something simpler and more interesting. It’s the story of a man, Assane Diop, who is inspired by Lupin, the gentleman thief, to become a master thief, subterfuge, and charisma in order to avenge his father.
Because Diop has quite a few reasons to take revenge. His Senegalese father is unjustly accused of stealing a very expensive necklace from his employer, the powerful Hubert Pellegrini, which leads him to kill himself in prison. Which is why his son decides to follow this path of elegant crime to set things right. Even if that goes against his own life.
A character for the present day
But what makes Lupin work, it’s because it is equal parts Lupin and Diop. Those who are fans of Lupin will find in the series everything found in the novels and stories. A protagonist seducing women, deceiving men, always being the smartest and most ingenious person in the room and always carrying out seemingly impossible plans to get hold of what belongs to others, but in a way that is never anything less than elegant.
The difference is that in the 21st century, he is no longer Lupin. He is Diop. Tech-savvy, street-smart, and with connections a high-society gentleman wouldn’t have, he knows how to operate in a way that would be completely alien to Lupin, but that feels fresh and interesting in a Netflix series. Thus bringing a classic to life.
Though he is still a thief. One inspired by a famous one. Something that leads to one of Lupin’s most interesting plotlines: how Diop constantly imitates and follows in Lupin’s footsteps and one of his greatest rivals, Detective Gédira, follows him closely because he too is a great fan of Lupin. And in that love for the same man, but opposition because they are on different sides of the law, they end up facing off in a story in which they constantly play cat and mouse trying to catch and evade each other in a game, not always conscious, of their love for Leblanc’s work.
All of this has earned it enormous enthusiasm from critics, especially for Omar Sy’s spectacular performances as Diop. But from viewers too, who have found in the series a splendid reinvention of a classic. Now Netflix premieres its fourth season promising more Lupin after three years of waiting, and who are we to resist?
