Here’s what you need to know about them, as well as the life of their author and the many adaptations of Lupin that predate the Netflix series. The Lupin books are quite popular in France, but are less known in other parts of the world. While Netflix’s Lupin is not a strict adaptation of this book, it uses Leblanc’s work and his central character to inform many of Assane’s choices and motivations-as is noted early on by a savvy police detective whose coworkers refuse to take his theories seriously. That book, Maurice Leblanc’s Arsène Lupin, Gentleman Burglar, provides a roadmap of sorts to a young Assane.
Like the first part of Lupin, the series jumps between timelines, from Assane’s coming-of-age to his life in the present day as an adult, and continues to show the influence that one very special book had on his life. The first five episodes of the series found Assane avenging his father’s death-and the next five bring us right back into the action with the protagonist doing whatever it takes to protect the ones he loves most. The wait is finally over as Lupin: Part 2 makes its debut on June 11 with Omar Sy back as the quick-witted thief Assane Diop. Its success, particularly in the United States, spoke to a growing appetite for foreign-language television, with viewers anxiously awaiting the next installment of the series. The series was viewed by more than 70 million households within its first month on the streaming service, and landed on the platform’s number one spot in their top 10 rankings across the globe, from Brazil to Germany to the Philippines.
When they arrived on Netflix in January, the first five episodes of the action-packed French thriller Lupin became instant must-see television.