Director: Marcela Said, Ludovic Bernard, Louis Leterreir

Cast: Omar Sy, Shirine Boutella, Soufiane Guerrab, Antoine Gouy, Hervé Pierre, Adama Niane, Fargass Assandé, Anne Benoît

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Like, Wow! I wasn’t expecting this series to be what it was. Then again, knowing that some of the background thinking involved those who worked on #NowYouSeeMe (one of my fave movies), maybe I should’ve known. 

I’ve never read the book that the series is adapted from, but I am sure that it was loosely adapted to incorporate a very apparent, albeit unspoken race-related component which elevated the story for me.

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Below are my grades for key components in #Lupin that I find to be key in any story/tv series—Plot, Pacing, and Character Arc/Development.

Additionally, I have added an entertainment factor scale to help you determine whether or not the series is something you’d be interested in taking time out of your weekend, evening, or day to watch. The scale range consists of: Worth the Binge, Interesting Enough (if looking for something new to start), & Don’t Rush.

I have also added a few non-spoiling thoughts, wonderings, and comments as I watched the series to help give some rationale for my grades and entertainment scale. 

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Plot: A

Pacing: A-

Character Arc/Development: A

Entertainment Factor: Worth the Binge

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My Takeaways—(BOLD = Thumbs Up/Pluses, & Relaxed = Thumbs Down/Missteps):

1. Omar Sy delivers a really good protagonist for this series! And he wears the HELL out of a peacoat! LOL My goodness! LOL 

2. One highlight for the culture that was small, yet appreciated in Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse was seeing Miles wearing Retros. The same appreciation/joy is seen when seeing Omar in them, too. 

3. One thing about Netflix series that I’ve come to notice is that they always have this string of episodes that are oddly placed in the plot in order to give an important and relevant backstory to something. In this case, that didn’t happen. Instead they were woven in with each episode, which was better… 

4. …however, to continue with #3, you could tell that there was too much trying to be packed in episode 1 due to this. For some, it might feel like it drags a few minutes too long due to the exposition set up + the backstory 1 + a backstory 2 + the climax etc. 

5. Chile… this series will eventually cause you to have conflicting feelings about Assane, and I liked it! 

6. I really enjoyed the comedic aspects of the series. 

7. The dubs were WELL done! The voice acting was cast well. 

8. Also, I thought that the series was meant to be dubbed, and didn’t realize until episode 4 (when I got my best friend to watch it, and because he speaks a little French wanted to see if he could change the audio settings) that you can actually watch it in French with English captions, which didn’t take anything away from the series’ appeal. 

9. That ENDING! O. M. G. WOOOOOOOW! 

10. Some aspects of the story, like the “villain”, is actually a little predictable; but it also seems like that predictability wasn’t a major concern for the overall story. 

11. The “sketches” moment… … … LOL LOL LOL LOL It’s the subtle, yet intentional jabs at racism for me. 

12. I want Assane’s wardrobe! 

13. I found it cute how the series also plugs the joy of reading/getting lost in a good book for the teenage viewers (due to its TV-MA rating). 

14. To piggyback off of #7, the overall casting was also well done in terms of actors who portrayed the characters as children. I always appreciate a good effort to meet resemblance. 

15. That was a long ass applause… she had to come down ALL them stairs, and then walk to the stage. LOL LOL 

16. To piggyback off of #5, that moment when you get that additional depth to his character…wearing that damn earring! LOL like, WWWWHHHHHHY! LOL LOL 

17. I wonder what’s the “orange” about… … …

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Overall, the series is fun-paced, keeps your interest, and is also digestible (only 5 episodes). I definitely reached the end wishing it wasn’t over just yet. Just a very well done series.