With its impressive stunt scenes, pimped cars and groomed cops, Netflix’s “Lost Bullet” marks a big departure from the typical French thriller with run-down cops on the verge of depression or retirement.

Sara May, a Quebec-born executive who joined Netflix in 2018, has been a driving force behind a new wave of French action thrillers such as the “Lost Bullet” franchise that have been global hits on the streamer.

Released two weeks ago on the platform, the second opus of “Lost Bullet” currently ranks as the most-watched non-English language movie on Netflix, and it’s also in the top 10 across 80 countries. The movie also tops the charts across 80 territories including France, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Kenya, Thailand and Jamaica.

Set in Southern France, in Marseille, “Lost Bullet 2” brings back the French cast including Alban Lenoir, Stéfi Celma and Pascale Arbillot. Lenoir (pictured above), who started his career as a stuntman on movies like “Taken,...