Season 1:

It has a 98% critic rating & 79% for 'viewers'.

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/lupin/s01/reviews?type=top_critics

It has an 82% (critics) on Metacritic.

https://www.metacritic.com/tv/lupin/season-1/critic-reviews

Rolling Stone has it at 4/5 stars.

https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/tv-reviews/lupin-netflix-review-1117338/

Here are 2 reviews for season 2:

https://www.npr.org/2021/06/11/1004412191/lupin-review-season-2-omar-sy-netflix

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/jun/11/lupin-part-2-review-a-thrilling-encore-for-tvs-suavest-scammer

I like Omar Sy & would love to see this series BUT I just won't subscribe to Netflix. I'll wait for it to come out on DVD & get it at my local library (for free).

The Rotten Tomatoes is telling. I don't usually go "review hunting" before watching something, but man am I getting tired of the disappointments! :)

Thanks for sharing your thoughts/feedback!

@Daddie0 said:

And the larger question: can ratings/reviews/recommendations/trends on sites such as TMDB even be trusted,

These days I don't think anything can be trusted. But unfortunately we need some sort of filter. I tend to check all of those and try and decide if the product looks like it might have had some genuine effort put into it and has an interesting or unique aspect to it.

I've sat through some crap films from listening to reviews, ratings, etc and I've probably missed some really fun ones too. But what else is there?

@Daddie0 said:

But I wonder, are these reviews driven by "early adopters" unthinking "click-baiters" who do not discern quality in the same standards that I do?

I don’t know what your criteria are, but here is my take after finishing the first season:

I do not read reviews or trust ratings in general and I mostly go with the feeling. I post-poned watching the series because I had other things to do, but I was attracted by it because I used to read the books as a kid and I remember good times doing so.

Although “Lupin” clearly advertise some brands, beside Apple, I could not recognise any, but probably because I don’t care much about brands in general.

The show was enjoyable and worked well for me as an emotion-trickster. It has its own “scenaristic shortcuts” that could have been better developed, but on my 5-based rating scale, I gave it a 4 (8/10) for a “I enjoyed it and would recommend it.”

It’s up to you now. :)

@arkhi said:

I do not read reviews or trust ratings in general and I mostly go with the feeling. I post-poned watching the series because I had other things to do, but I was attracted by it because I used to read the books as a kid and I remember good times doing so.

I didn't even know it was based on books, so that's interesting.

@arkhi said:

Although “Lupin” clearly advertise some brands, beside Apple, I could not recognise any, but probably because I don’t care much about brands in general.

The show was enjoyable and worked well for me as an emotion-trickster. It has its own “scenaristic shortcuts” that could have been better developed, but on my 5-based rating scale, I gave it a 4 (8/10) for a “I enjoyed it and would recommend it.”

It’s up to you now. :)

At least this is a personal endorsement. That's kinda my point: I have found gems, mostly based mostly on other people's recommendations or conversations here on TMDB. The crazy thing is that it seems to me (and I could be completely wrong) that many of these self-produced series/films start out with crazy high ratings (as in higher that many "classic" great films) and only wane/adjust over time. Either way, thanks for the input!