Lex Africana is a six-episode French-Senegalese action drama that follows Gabriel Thiam, a brilliant architect based in Asia who returns home to Dakar after the suspicious death of his politician father in a car crash. Played by former stuntman and series co-creator Seydina Baldé (Alice Nevers, Murder In…), Thiam begins as an outsider to the world he’s drawn into, using his analytical skills to uncover buried truths. As the investigation deepens, he’s forced to adapt, developing a physical edge that reflects both survival and a reconnection to his roots.

Baldé’s performance is shaped by his long career as a stuntman, notably contributing to major studio productions such as Hitman (2007), Punisher: War Zone (2008) and the James Bond favorite Casino Royale (2006). That background gives the series a grounded approach to action, favoring realistic choreography over spectacle, with fights that feel immediate and character driven rather than stylized.

Maud Baecker (Camilla Läckberg’s Erica, Murder In…) co-stars as a key counterpart within the legal sphere, helping frame the narrative’s investigative dimension. Richard Sammel (A French Village) is central as a powerful and elusive figure operating at the intersection of business, politics and covert influence. His character embodies the pressures of foreign interests and internal power struggles, often manipulating events from behind the scenes.

The series blends martial arts influenced by practical combat and Senegalese wrestling traditions with a political backdrop rooted in post-colonial tensions, questions of sovereignty and the ongoing impact of international economic power in West Africa.