Before Omar Sy was charming his way through Paris in a tailored coat, Arsène Lupin was charming his way through French literature. The gentleman burglar created by Maurice Leblanc more than a century ago is the reason Lupin — now back on Netflix with its fourth season — exists at all. Assane Diop does not just steal like Lupin; he studies him, quoting the original stories as a playbook for every heist he plans.
That literary DNA is what separates Lupin from every other crime show on the streamer. The French mystery series, created by George Kay in collaboration with François Uzan, stars Sy as a modern-day thief who uses disguises and cons rather than violence to get justice. Season 4, which debuted Oct. 23 after a three-year wait, picks up four years later with Assane in a high-security prison — and a copycat committing heists in his name.
(ManoSolo13241324 / Wikimedia Commons (CC0))More Control for Its Star
One of the season’s biggest behind-the-scenes stories is Sy himself. Alongside returning as Assane, the actor now serves as co-showrunner with director Louis Leterrier — an upgrade from his previous role as artistic producer, and a condition, reports suggest, of his return after the hiatus. The result, per early coverage, is a bolder, more cinematic chapter that pushes the series toward its own Lupin universe rather than simply adapting Leblanc.
The logline for the new season is pure Lupin: multiple museums are to be hit with simultaneous heists announced in Lupin’s name, the thefts succeed despite heightened security, and Assane — proclaiming his innocence — must escape prison and don the costume once more to unmask the impostor. A camera even catches him at one of the museums during a robbery in which Captain Belkacem is seriously injured.
The New Blood
Season 4’s casting tells its own story about where the show is headed. Théo Christine takes over as the older Raoul Diop, Assane’s son, stepping in for Etan Simon after the four-year time jump. Christine arrives with credits in Skam France, Summit Fever, Infested and My Best Part — and, in a neat twist, he and Sy are also co-starring in the upcoming epic adventure film Dumas: Black Devil, a fact Sy shared with Variety.
(Giles Laurent / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0))The rest of the newcomer class fills out the world: Laïka Blanc-Francard (Reign Supreme, Stalk, The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon) in an undisclosed role, Brice Derouéné as the younger Benjamin Férel, Agustín Bruzzone as a douanier — a customs officer — and Noah Pierre D. as Samuel across three episodes. Around them, the familiar ensemble holds firm: Ludivine Sagnier as Claire, Antoine Gouy as Benjamin, Soufiane Guerrab as Guédira, and Shirine Boutella as Belkacem.
Why the Gentleman Thief Endures
A century after Leblanc invented him, the gentleman thief remains irresistible because he is the rare criminal who steals from the powerful and charms everyone else. Lupin understood that from its first episode: Assane is not an antihero so much as a folk hero, and season 4’s copycat plot is the ultimate test of that idea — forcing him to defend not just his freedom, but his legend.
(Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0))All eight episodes of season 4 are streaming now. For newcomers, it is the perfect entry point into television’s slickest heist show; for longtime fans, it is the homecoming three years in the making.
A Century of the Gentleman Burglar
It is worth pausing on how remarkable Lupin’s longevity is. Maurice Leblanc introduced Arsene Lupin in 1905, and the character has survived two world wars, the birth of cinema, and the streaming era — because the fantasy never ages. The gentleman burglar is the outlaw as artist: he robs the rich, outwits the powerful, and never loses his manners. Every generation gets the Lupin it deserves, and ours gets Omar Sy in a Paris that glows like a jewel box.
Season 4’s confidence — eight episodes dropped at once, a star upgraded to showrunner, a time jump that reshuffles the emotional deck — suggests a series that knows exactly what it is. The copycat plot is new, but the pleasure is old: watching the cleverest man in the room prove it, one impossible heist at a time.