Netflix’s Under a Dark Sun, the six-part French thriller that premiered July 9, 2025, has surged to the streamer’s top 10 globally, blending Provence’s lavender fields with a labyrinth of murder, inheritance, and family deceit that’s got fans hooked on its “maze of shocking twists.” Starring two-time Oscar nominee Isabelle Adjani as Beatrice, the enigmatic matriarch of a wealthy flower farm empire, the series follows Alba Mazier (Ava Baya), a young single mother on the run from her troubled past, who lands a job as a picker only to become the prime suspect when her boss, Arnaud Lasserre (Thibault de Montalembert), is brutally murdered. As Alba discovers Arnaud was her biological father and stands to inherit part of the estate, tensions erupt with her newfound siblings and Beatrice, unraveling a web of “deeply-rooted” secrets that turn idyllic fields into a battleground of betrayal. “It’s a classic noir under sunny skies – compelling, twist-filled, and impossible to predict,” director Marie Jardillier tells Netflix Tudum, her vision fusing suspense with emotional depth in a story that explores motherhood, identity, and vengeance.

The saga’s sinister spark? Spellbinding: Alba, fleeing abuse with son Leo (Max Harter), arrives at the Lasserre farm hoping for redemption, but Arnaud’s death thrusts her into suspicion, her “troubled history” clashing with Beatrice’s cold calculation – dressing in pink for the funeral with a ChatGPT eulogy, per the trailer. Adjani’s Beatrice? A “tour de force of tension,” her icy elegance hiding a “ruthless” resolve. Baya’s Alba? A “gripping” gasp of grit and grace, her fight for innocence a fight for her future. Co-stars carve the chaos: Guillaume Gouix as a suspicious sibling, Louise Coldefy as a scheming sister, Claire Romain as a loyal laborer with secrets. Creators Nils-Antoine Sambuc and directors Jardillier and Édouard Salier wield sun-drenched visuals and shadowy flashbacks, a score that throbs like a buried heartbeat.

The “shocking twists”? Seismic: What starts as a simple murder spirals into inheritance intrigue – Alba’s “heir” status igniting family feuds, Beatrice’s “unfazed” facade cracking under scrutiny. Good Housekeeping raves the “compelling” drama’s “axis-spinning plot,” Netflix Junkie the “dark secrets blooming darker than night.” Filmed in Provence’s picturesque fields, it’s a “must-binge” with 93% Rotten Tomatoes buzz, outpacing The Survivors. Socials seethe: #UnderADarkSun racks 2.8 million posts – “Twistier than ever!” vs. “Unputdownable!”

This isn’t mystery mush; it’s a masterful maze, the series a reminder that fortunes fester in family fields. Alba’s ascent? Audacious. Beatrice’s bite? Brutal. July 9? Not a drop – a deluge. Binge it; the murders mesmerize, the motives madden. Adjani’s allure? Audacious. The obsession? Overnight, inescapable.