When Kemi Adetiba dropped To Kill a Monkey on Netflix this July, she didn’t just release another crime thriller, she released an ambush that serves heart palpitations. From shrine rituals to cyber-heists and Lagos grit that hits like gridlock, the show has fans obsessed, angry, and incensed, all before the end credits roll.
At the center of it all is Efemini, played by William Benson, a struggling father who reconnects with an old buddy, Bucci Franklin’s suave but shady Oboz. Their reunion catapults him into cybercrime waters deeper than any Lagos flood. Meanwhile, Bimbo Akintola shines as Inspector Motunrayo, a grieving cyber-crime investigator haunted by her own loss.
Fan reactions? Twitter’s in a full-scale meltdown.
Model and visual artist Nedu Johnson (X: @chi_chilz) kicked things off with “This weekend is for To Kill a Monkey!” before pleading to X users to not post spoilers, which became a live invitation to spoiler police vigilance.
On Reddit, users are torn: one r/Nigeria poster confessed they enjoyed the show but thought Efe was a “spineless crybaby” who made absurd choices. Another review called it “bloated” at times yet praised Bucci Franklin’s performance for saving even the weakest scenes.
That’s Nollywood magic: the same series that gets dragged for “weak dialogue and cliché plotlines” is the one we can’t stop talking about. Critics call it loud, over‑soundtracked, and messy “like Lagos traffic” while we nod and ask for more.
Here’s why the hype is real and this isn’t fluff. With eight tight episodes, Adetiba leans into the thriller genre and demands we stay cynical. She shows cybercrime like a curse we all chase, rituals that aren’t just theatrical, and ordinary Lagosians caught in extraordinary violence.
Win or fail, To Kill a Monkey taps our emotional triggers: betrayal, faith, fear, and street pressure. Let’s face it, this chaos is our chaos. Sure, we make memes, we troll the lead, and yes, we complained about the soundtrack but that’s the sign of something that matters.
In the end, Kemi Adetiba gave us texture. Bugs in the system? That’s intentional, our world is glitchy. And like Nedu said, just don’t spoil it, k? This is one series worth letting land unspoiled.
