Lupin beats Queen's Gambit in views

PARIS • Netflix-produced series Lupin will have been watched in 70 million households within its first month, setting a record for a French series, the streaming platform forecast on Tuesday.

On the basis of current trends, the series - starring Omar Sy of The Intouchables (2011) fame - will have breezed past Netflix's biggest recent blockbuster The Queen's Gambit (2020), which has 62 million views, and other English-language hits such as Bridgerton (2020).

The Netflix projection covers the 28 days to Feb 5, the company told Agence France-Presse.

"70 million, that's crazy," Sy tweeted. "So proud that Lupin is the first French series to have such an international success."

Only five of the first season's 10 episodes have been made available on Netflix so far.

The series has topped viewing charts around the world, including in Brazil, Spain and Singapore.

The 1905 book on which the series is loosely based, Arsene Lupin - Gentleman Burglar by French novelist Maurice Leblanc, has shot to the top of book sales charts on Amazon.fr since the release of the show.

In the series, which is set in modern-day Paris, Sy plays Assane Diop, who uses the gentleman thief and master of disguise as his inspiration in his quest to avenge his father for an injustice inflicted by a wealthy family.

The series, produced by the studio Gaumont, was mostly written by Briton George Kay, whose past work includes Killing Eve (2018 to present), Criminal (2019 to 2020) and The Hour (2011 to 2012).

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE