Forget murder mysteries, epic fantasies, and drugs; crime thrillers just got a new update coded to the creepiest perfection. Netflix has added Nigerian cybercrime series To Kill a Monkey to its delicious collection of dark global thrillers, in its pursuit of presenting viewers with a rainbow of blood-curdling tales. With its crisp, modern story that investigates ambition, betrayal, and moral disintegration in the age of the internet, the drama has caught attention with its subtle tipping of the hat to Harper Lee's magnum opus, To Kill a Mockingbird.

Injecting the essence of the classic novel into its title, the jarring tale sinks its teeth much deeper than literary tribute.

A series of betrayals, turf wars, and vengeance leads to a climactic test of loyalty when law enforcement, other bosses, and his own family band together against Efemini, a financially struggling programmer in Lagos. He gets drawn into cyber-fraud by his charismatic childhood friend Oboz, who is the kingpin of a formidable scam syndicate known as The Monkey, and as his technical expertise mixes with ambition, he soon becomes a rising star in the operation to carry out international scams. What is initially a plan to survive out of desperation turns into a moral downfall.

Netflix unleashed its latest cybercrime thriller, To Kill a Monkey, on July 18, 2025, with all eight episodes now available for streaming. Directed and produced by Kemi Adetiba, the series stars William Benson as the lead, Efemini, Bucci Franklin as Oboz, Stella Damasus as Nosa, and Bimbo Akintola as Inspector Mo Ogunlesi. Meanwhile, Michael O. Ejoor, Chidi Mokeme, Teniola Aladese, Lilian Afegbai, and Sunshine Rosman round out the supporting cast. Each episode of about 55 minutes promises a rollercoaster of emotional upheavals, a classic in the making, in its own right.

What Is 'Delirium' on Netflix? Is the Twisted Colombian Series Based on a True Story

Innocence gets veiled and smothered in the streets of Lagos, and the title is not just a metaphor.

To Kill a Monkey, through its title, unmistakably refers to Harper Lee's book To Kill a Mockingbird, yet it is not a book adaptation. It has no characters, plot, or legal‑drama subject matter similar to Lee's classic novel. While Lee's book explores injustice, prejudice, and loss of childhood innocence, Kemi Adetiba's Netflix series uses a racial slur and flips it. The cybercrime kingpin in the series, who is portrayed as smart and powerful, calls himself "monkey" to break the racist stereotype of Nigerians being monkeys, a degrading trope from Western prejudice, and makes that an emblem of cleverness and strength. 

However, a slight thematic similarity of slaughtered innocence could be found, as Efemini's morals are compromised in the end. This reversal of terms is a nod To Kill a Mockingbird, but while Lee's book constructs the mockingbird as innocent and deserving of protection, The Monkey here is insincere and threatening. To Kill a Monkey is a twisted, emotionally charged thriller that highlights both Nigeria's and Netflix's rapidly expanding and frequently sinister crime dramas.

Best 6 Disturbing Crime Dramas Like 'Adolescence:' Here's Where and When to Stream

Have you watched To Kill a Monkey on Netflix yet? Did you find any thematic similarities with Harper Lee's Southern Gothic novel? Comment below.