It is now simpler than ever for viewers to check out shows from all around the world thanks to streaming platforms and their enormous archives. Although you might already be familiar with Korean dramas available on Netflix or European reality shows like Love Island, there are simply too many more worldly treasures to potentially watch them all. Check out our selection of nine international TV shows you need to be watching right now if you’re feeling overrun by options or just want to expand your viewing horizons.
Blood & Water
Beginning as a mystery, this South African programme follows a teen (Ama Qamata) who questions whether or not a well-liked swimmer (Khosi Ngema) is actually her long-lost sister after they cross paths at a high school party. The unravelling of a complex web of family secrets, loves, and other things happens next. Blood & Water “looks to be a very conventional teen drama on the surface, but contains components to it that are certainly more applicable to where its made than you first believe,” Decider noted in his review. There are currently three seasons available, and they’re all on Netflix.
Derry Girls
Based on the author Lisa McGee’s teenage years during political upheaval in Northern Ireland in the 1990s, Derry Girls is a witty and boisterous comedy. A mismatched group of friends (Jamie-Lee O’Donnell, Louisa Harland, Nicola Coughlan, Dylan Llewellyn, and Saoirse-Monica Jackson) cause trouble at their Catholic school, manage their parents’ expectations, and generally attempt to be normal teenagers in the most unusual of circumstances while “the Troubles” continue to take place around them.
With its third season last year, the comedy, which acquired a global audience on Netflix, came to a satisfying conclusion. “Its popularity is no accident; the programme is a masterpiece in finding the ideal balance between venerable sitcom tradition and contemporary freshness. Its nostalgia is cheery and cosy like a jazzy ’90s sweater, and it portrays young women as ethically conflicted and inherently funny people, which is a cathartic and satisfying release “says The Guardian. In addition, the soundtrack features numerous songs by Take That and The Cranberries, which is a selling factor.
Family Business
In this 2019 Netflix original French comedy, a family transforms its struggling kosher deli into a marijuana coffee shop as the nation starts to decriminalise the drug. As they seek to modernise their family business, humour unavoidably results. Family Business, directed by Jonathan Cohen, who is also one of the writers, has three seasons with only six episodes each. This might be the one for you if you’re seeking a quick, enjoyable binge.
Hard Cell
The British are generally known for their superb comedies, but we’ve also praised them for their excellent mysteries. In the comedy Hard Cell, Catherine Tate plays a woman who quits her work as an event planner to take over the running of a jail. In the mockumentary-style show, Tate portrays a cast of amusing and naive characters.
Hard Cell fits in with the humour of the actor’s former sketch show, The Catherine Tate Show, which she previously hosted. Consequently, depending on what makes you laugh, your results may differ. The Guardian noted in its assessment that “some of the content in Hard Cell will be a question of taste—and with the gag rate as high as it is, a fair proportion does inevitably land.”
High Seas
This Spanish period drama on Netflix offers three seasons with almost 20 episodes each if you need a long, meandering drama to get into. In High Seas, two sisters (Ivana Baquero and Alejandra Onieva) are shown sailing aboard an opulent ship in the 1940s from Spain to Brazil. They discover a Pandora’s box of family secrets as other passengers start to show up dead. The 2019 series’ over-the-top plots and characters can lead it into telenovela territory, but that’s also a big part of its appeal.
The location, era, and production design all add to its attractiveness. But the plot is what will keep you interested. According to Decider, “the tale unfolds like one of those potboiler mysteries that Agatha Christie would have written in that era; many colourful characters, all with an agenda and a reason, occupy the ship, and riddles abound.”
Little Things
Popular Indian dramedy Little Things was first released as 10-minute YouTube episodes. A cute 20-something couple (Mithila Palkar and Dhruv Sehgal), who are now the stars of a Netflix series, are followed as they navigate their romance and maturity. It has received appreciation for being realistic and for not presenting love or being in a relationship as a straightforward, one-sided experience. “This ‘small’ show limited itself to the great task of sensitively, truthfully depicting the everyday tiny things that make love so lovely,” The Hindustan Times noted in its review of Season 4. Despite being its final season, you can start the series knowing that everything will be resolved before the end.
Lupin
The burglar and master of disguise Arsène Lupin, a fictional character from early 20th-century literature, served as the inspiration for George Kay’s critically acclaimed French television shows Criminal and Killing Eve. Omar Sy, a rising actor, portrays another gentleman thief named Assane Diop in the novel Lupin. Fortunately, you may follow this modern rendition without having read the books and short stories.
RogerEbert.com hailed the Netflix crime drama’s 2021 debut as the year’s “first terrific show.” “The plot of Lupin twists with the patience and intelligence of melted train lines. However, the narrative train always emerges from the tunnel on the other side thanks to some shrewd editing. However, we’re left to ponder how it managed to stay on its crooked rails “the outlet exclaimed. There will apparently be new episodes soon.
Summertime
One of the most entertaining Italian TV series available on Netflix is Summertime, which is based on the hugely successful young adult book series by Federico Moccia. Decider said this: “Summer is like a cold glass of lemonade on a sweltering day. It is simple to digest and light on the body.”
On vacation on the Adriatic Coast, a teenage girl named Summer (Coco Rebecca Edogamhe) encounters a “bad lad” in the series, which made its streaming service debut in April 2020. She falls in love with him right away, and not just because she wants to escape her small village and travel the world by jumping on the back of his motorcycle.
There are beautiful people doing beautiful things in Summertime, which is essentially The O.C. set in Southern Italy. In addition, there is lovely scenery. The third and final season of the show has been ordered, although its debut date hasn’t been made public yet.
The Capture
The Capture, a BBC One thriller you can view on Peacock, is one of the more current and intriguing examples of British crime drama. No one does it better than the Brits. The 2019 television show centres on a British soldier (Callum Turner) who was wrongly convicted of a crime and a detective (Holliday Grainger) who is devoted to uncovering the truth.
This thriller has a lot going on—possibly too much, as The Hollywood Reporter notes in their review of the first season. The newspaper describes the story as “a twisting trip that starts as a grounded investigation of the Panopticon-esque fear of the British monitoring state.” It is disappointing that it eventually turns into something complicated and flimsily funny, but the six-hour runtime at least kept me interested.
The series is still convoluted and unbelievable even after two seasons, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t also feature plenty of illicit romance and thrilling conspiracies.
