Picture Credit: Netflix
A completely immersive family show that was almost entirely shot on location in the West Indies: the new project from The Bureau showrunner Éric Rochant (alongside co-creator, co-showrunner, and daughter Capucine Rochant) has ambitions in spades. But does it actually deliver the goods? Some answers, with our – as usual – spoiler-free review!
Right after the end of The Bureau, the international success produced by Canal+ gave Éric Rochant many options for where to go next. Movies, of course, as a veteran director, but also many premium series; one of his role models, though, is Michael Mann. Mann is known for his documentary-style approach and second-to-none research into the topics he addresses on screen, to create as authentic a universe as possible as he deploys his plots and characters. Rochant very much imitates this approach with Bandi, which is coming out this week on Netflix, but went the extra mile; in order not to approach a story set – and shot – in Martinique from his own point of view, he worked with hundreds of local actors and a very local shooting crew on set; but he also invited West Indies-set writers, such as Jimmy Laporal-Trésor and Khris Burton to write and produce the eight episodes. Therefore, we included Bandi as one of our most anticipated European shows of 2026.
The starting point of Bandi is the unexpected death of Marilyn Lafleur (Sandrine Velayoudon), a force of nature and matriarch of 11 kids aged 7 to 23, who managed to keep an eye on all of them and offer them as good a start in life as any. But she had a rule: no matter the circumstances, never resort to the drug trade in order to make ends meet. Unbeknownst to her, that rule has already been broken by one of his sons, Kylian (Djody Grimeau), who, at the young age of 16, fashions himself as a drug kingpin, with goals to import drugs in Metropolitan France. He is already active as a shadow figure nicknamed Milord, and nobody in his family knows about his double life. On the other side, his brother, charming and outspoken Kingsley (Rodney Dijon) is more fond of the get-rich-quick schemes, which involves trying to raid the money stash of local drug dealer SherKhan (Evil P, also a local trap artist). As Marilyn is buried, luck and plans are running out, and some of the younger kids are about to be in the custody of widely reviled Aunt Régine. Bandi is the story of a family whose siblings are prepared to do whatever it takes to stay together and keep the Lafleur family name respected, even as it threatens to tear all of their lives apart.
The remarkable feat of the show is give almost each of the Lafleur siblings a personality and ample time to be known and recognized: Annabelle (Ambre Bozza) is the most sensible and emotional of the group, Cassandra (Kahela Borval) is an aspiring rap artist and one of the most fiery of the bunch; Marvin (Cédric Camille), as the big brother, is the most imposing and authoritative of the crew, working in gardening. But some, or most of them, are also first-time or inexperienced comedians, and that’s where the problems of Bandi start.
The amount of fresh faces trusted to lead a major Netflix show like Bandi is commendable; however, no matter how well written the show is, and how the directors (including Rochant) take full advantage of the scope afforded by a Netflix production, the inexperience eventually shows. Wooden delivery makes the first episode a harder watch, for example, in a birthday party scene, also designed to introduce us to more main characters. Eventually, as the show settles into a duel between Kylian and Kingsley, the two comedians can showcase the complexity of their characters better. But what appears to be a family drama at first is overshadowed by a drug-trade thriller that tends to overlook the family relationships, returning only for tense confrontations. The pace of Bandi, with an extended 60-minute runtime per episode, never seems to pick up during the action scenes, which are few and far between. As the show makes the best of its vibrant colors, street chases, and a very local soundtrack full of recent West Indies trap music, its sluggish editing eventually works against it.
Djody Grimeau as Kylian Lafleur. (Cr : Netflix)
There is a good show contained within Bandi, however, the tension of several business meetings and caricatural depictions of some drug czars make it feel more like Drug Trade 101. The characters get deeper into a spiral of power and violence, which never ceases to trigger outbursts or claim many victims; the show, no stranger to controversy, also depicts the effect of gun violence from underage kids, but this particular plot never seems to pick up steam and remains in the background. Appearances from Jonathan Zaccaï (Sisteron in The Bureau) as a shady, ruthless businessman whose daughter is also involved with Kylian also make the show seem overcrowded instead of giving it some anchors.
All in all, Bandi delivers a polished product that depicts daily lives and territories barely seen on French television. If humanity and fleshed-out characters help it escape voyeurism, the drug trade aspect overshadows the internal strife and brotherhood of the Lafleur clan; as a second season is not guaranteed, it remains to be seen whether Netflix subscribers will want to revisit this slice of Martinique again.
Watch Bandi if you like
- Top Boy
- Blood Coast
- Undercover
The Verdict
Even if some of the family themes and performances eventually are endearing, some average performances and worn-out drug-trade plots, as well as a glacial pace, get into much of this first season to truly deliver the goods. As a project, it attests of Netflix’s track record at taking risks and significant bets, which tended to be muddled in the barrage of adaptations.
