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The issue with Netflix’s algorithmic suggestions is that it creates an leisure echo chamber the place viewers’ tastes are confirmed as a substitute of challenged. Proper now, there’s most likely a TV collection languishing in Netflix’s again catalog that will blow your thoughts, if solely you knew about it. However it’s most likely not in English.
Netflix has an enormous catalog of fantastic foreign-language reveals, so many who discovering a spot to start out could be daunting. As Lifehacker’s knowledgeable on “what’s good on TV,” I’ve put collectively an inventory of the perfect of the perfect “not in English” Netflix collection, listed so as of Rotten Tomatoes overview aggregation rating. For those who can take care of subtitles, I wager you may discover your new favourite present someplace under.
Marianne (France, 2019)
I am beginning this checklist with Marianne, perhaps my favourite TV present of all time. I really like horror, however I’ve seen a lot of it that I am hardly ever truly spooked by something anymore. French collection Marianne, although, legitimately creeped me out. A deeply unsettling collection a couple of horror author whose nightmares come true, Marianne rigorously builds an environment of dread that is virtually suffocating at instances, then releases the stress valve with grotesque, Grand Guignol set items at precisely the fitting time. It is horror for grown-ups, and it is actually good.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 100%
Okay-drama Extraordinary Legal professional Woo is a authorized present like no different. Park Eun-bin performs the title character, Woo Younger-woo, a lady with autism who made herself right into a authorized savant by memorizing seemingly all of Korea’s legal guidelines. Extraordinary Legal professional Woo’s heroine is a totally fleshed out character—she’s a lady who has autism, not “autism personified”—and the present is as a lot concerning the totally different instances she tries every week as it’s about her navigating a world she does not match into.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 100%
Cash Heist (Spain, 2017)
This good, fashionable, crime thriller begins with some heavy Tarantino affect, but it surely’s a bait-and-switch. Cash Heist’s gang of misfits are cool, however they are not badass anti-heroes. They’re sophisticated, conflicted, broken individuals who make unhealthy choices for good causes, and good choices for unhealthy ones. Their audacious plan to rob Spain’s nationwide mint of billions of Euros could appear to be an Oceans’ Eleven lark at first, but it surely’s quickly revealed as a determined legal act that blows up and spins farther uncontrolled than anybody predicted.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 100%
The Chestnut Man (Denmark, 2021)
At its worst, “Nordic noir” transplants drained police procedural tropes to Northern European nations, and you find yourself with NCIS with parkas. At its finest, although, Nordic noir is like The Chestnut Man, a grisly, gloomy collection that mixes serial killing, political corruption, and historic, unspeakable pagan rituals into one thing distinctive, cliche-free, and excellent for binging. For those who just like the vibe of the primary season of True Detective, take a look at The Chestnut Man.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 100%
Cassandra (Germany, 2025)
Simply the premise of this German sci-fi collection must be sufficient for most individuals to observe it. In Cassandra, a typical suburban household strikes into an remoted home that was constructed within the Nineteen Eighties and was meant to be the “house of the longer term.” The huge outdated computer systems within the basement nonetheless work and the dusty family robotic nonetheless clanks round, however one thing may be very improper with this home. For those who’re like me, and you’re feeling such as you’re being haunted by each the previous and computer systems, Cassandra will resonate deeply.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 100%
Scrumptious in Dungeon (Japan, 2024)
Together with conventional international collection, there is a ton of anime on Netflix too; sufficient that the specialised style deserves a separate checklist (keep tuned). I put Scrumptious in Dungeon right here to symbolize all anime, and since I actually prefer it. It is good entry-level cartoon, a fantasy collection influenced by Dungeons and Dragons, video video games, and meals, wherein a gaggle of intrepid adventurers eat their approach via a monster-packed dungeon to save lots of their buddy. It is a bizarre combo, but it surely’s held collectively by well-drawn characters, stunning artwork, and lore that is as wealthy as espagnole.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 100%
Expensive Youngster (Germany, 2023)
I went into Expensive Youngster chilly, with out realizing something about it, and the primary couple of episodes are so mysterious and dread-inducing, I wasn’t certain if it was entering into a darkish science fiction course, or if it was extra of a supernatural horror present. Seems, it is neither. Expensive Youngster is a thriller primarily based on actual life, and its rigorously paced, visually beautiful depiction of captivity, torture, and brainwashing is approach scarier than any made-up monsters. Germans actually have a novel understanding of how authoritarian management degrades the human soul; go determine.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 100%
Squid Sport (Korea, 2021)
You’ll be able to’t make an inventory of Netflix’s finest international reveals and never embody Korean sensation Squid Sport. I defy anybody to observe the primary episode of this present and never hold going. Set in a near-future dystopia the place wealthy folks persuade unusual folks compete in lethal variations of childhood video games for a fortune, Squid Sport offers pointed commentary on capitalism’s corruption of tradition and is by some means is enjoyable to observe on the similar time. It is brutal, addictive, fearless, darkly humorous, and wildly unique. Squid Sport positively earned its almost common approval amongst critics and viewers.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 95%
Kleo (Germany, 2022)
This fashionable, action-packed interval thriller takes place within the days after the autumn of the Berlin Wall. Jella Haase performs the title character, an imprisoned Stasi agent with an uncommon talent set that features making poison from a pufferfish and kicking severe ass. With the Chilly Battle over, Kleo is launched with all the opposite political prisoners and units out for vengeance upon the spooks and authorities functionaries who ruined her life. For those who like slick-as-hell motion that is not silly, take a look at Kleo.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 92%
All of Us are Lifeless (Korea, 2022)
Think about The Breakfast Membership, Parasite, and Practice to Busan had a three-way child and you’ve got some thought of what All of Us are Lifeless is like. This Korean zombie epic is about at Hyosan Excessive Faculty, the place frequently scheduled lessons (and teenage romance, reputation jockeying, bullying, shenanigans, and so on.) are briefly interrupted by an invasion of quick, lethal zombies. All of Us are Lifeless hits all of the undead invasion notes completely—it is brutal, violent, and action-packed—but it surely stands out from the pack by that includes characters you care about and considerate social commentary on youth and society, with out ever devolving into “Coronary heart-to-Coronary heart Speak of the Lifeless” territory, just like the later seasons of The Strolling Lifeless.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 89%
The right way to Promote Medication On-line (Quick) (Germany, 2019)
Primarily based loosely on a real story, The right way to Promote Medication On-line (Quick) tells the story of Moritz Zimmerman, a highschool nerd who desires of changing into a tech mogul and sticking it to the favored youngsters sooner or later. So, just like the title says, Moritz begins promoting medicine on-line (quick) which expands his social circle, however creates exponentially increasing risks within the type of cops, drug-dealers, and different crime-show issues. Quick, humorous, and addictive, The right way to Promote Medication On-line (Quick) is ideal binge-TV. There is no rating from Rotten Tomatoes, however belief me.
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: None
Tabula Rasa (Belgium, 2017)
Intense Belgian mind-fuck Tabula Rasa is criminally beneath seen—It does not have sufficient on-line opinions to actually have a Rotten Tomatoes ranking—but it surely’s wonderful. Primary character Kai misplaced her reminiscence after a automotive accident. She lives in a perpetual, complicated current wherein her thoughts appears to “fill within the blanks” of her life with horrifying hallucinations. Or perhaps her home is haunted. Or perhaps she’s a killer who murdered a younger man just like the police assume. Possibly another person is setting her up for one thing. Possibly none of that is actual. Tabula Rasa’s “what’s even taking place?” plot holds up via the ultimate twist, and its grotesque imagery is fascinating. It is a true hidden gem.
Rotten Tomato Rating: None