Lupin TALKING ABOUT...

Back to steal Netflix show

Five months after it became the first major streaming hit of 2021, Lupin will return today with fans desperate to see how Omar Sy’s gentleman-burglar escapes the latest cliffhanger.

Netflix delivered only the first five episodes of the show in January, inspired by the cat-and-mouse novels of Maurice Leblanc from the early 20th century, because the pandemic interrupted filming last year.

Sy plays Assane Diop, a fan of the novels who uses the character of Lupin as he seeks vengeance for his wrongly-accused father.

The combination of a charismatic lead, Parisian backdrops and an undercurrent of race relations made it the first bona fide made-in-France hit for Netflix, which is investing heavily in the country.

But despite the winning ingredients, Sy himself seemed rather perplexed when asked why it was so popular.

“I really don’t know!” he told reporters at a Netflix round-table, laughing.

“When something fantastic like that happens the thing is just to embrace it and don’t try to understand.

“It’s just beautiful, I’m very happy and thrilled.”

Writer George Kay, who also helped pen recent TV hits Criminal and Killing Eve, said the season takes a tense turn in the second half.

Assane finds himself “in a conflicted situation: do I keep pushing to get revenge for my father or do I focus on being a good dad”, he said at the round-table.

But Kay, who worked alongside French writer Francois Uzan, said Lupin remained a family-friendly show and “the central thing is to make it as fun as possible”.

Paris retains its starring role in the new season, with the Musee d’Orsay, catacombs and Chatelet Theatre making for sumptuous backdrops to the action.