Globally Speaking: International Programming Aka Non-US Shows

[proserpina65]

20 hours ago, Anela said:

Haha! I don't remember much, I just loathe her husbabd. Gaslighting SOB that he is. 

I didn't get far enough to see any gaslighting.  I just saw her treating patients unprofessionally, stalking people and being an all-around stupid bitch.

[DearEvette]

I recently discovered and binged Détectives It is a French show (shown with french subtitles).  I found it because I fan girl for Sara Martins and was really bummed when she left Death in Paradise.  it just wasm't the same after her departure.

I was pleasantly surprised watching it.  I was expecting it to be a run of the mill crime-detective series, but it is quirky and light.  And sexy.

On the downside, there are two seasons but only one season so far is available for streaming in the US.  And even that isn't easy.  If you have HOOPLA, you can watch four episodes a month.  But I actually used a 7-day trial on Amazon for MHz ( an international streaming channel) to binge the whole first season.  Now I have to wait for whenever the second season ever drops here and who knows when that will be since the first season made it across the pond in 2014.

[Enero]

On 3/18/2016 at 6:47 PM, joelene said:

Trapped was an excellent Icelandic crime-mystery-whodunnit. It just finished its 10-episode run in the UK.

This was an excellent series. Though I don’t know where they could have taken the story if they decided to do a second season, I would’ve liked to have seen them continue on. I was disappointed to find that they only did one season.

I’ve recently discovered a few Korean dramas on Netflix. Stranger was an excellent crime-drama series. I also enjoyed the romance dramas - Something In the Rain and I Need A Romance 3. The Korean dramas looks to be released like a U.S. mini series, only running for 16 episodes where the story hits all the beats and wraps things up nicely in the end. Out of the ones I’ve watched thus far, only Stranger seemed to have the potential to continue on for another season, but it’s been 4 years I think since it was released. So if they haven’t done another season by now they probably won’t.

I look forward to watching some of the other Korean dramas out there. Thus far I’ve found them quite enjoyable. 

[Irlandesa]

3 hours ago, Enero said:

would’ve liked to have seen them continue on. I was disappointed to find that they only did one season.

There will be a second season.  It'll air in Iceland this fall.  No word yet  when it will come out internationally. The Weinstein Company in the US has the rights so hopefully someone else will pick it up. 

Edited July 13, 2018 by Irlandesa

[Llywela]

If anyone is looking for non-US show recs, maybe check out Keeping Faith, currently airing on the BBC after  successful runs on S4C, BBC Wales and iPlayer - a very noir-ish mystery centred around a woman (the eponymous Faith) whose life appears to be perfect right up to the day her husband sets out for work one morning and never arrives, then as the show goes along, she slowly realises how little she really knew him after all. It gets a bit far-fetched, perhaps, but it's a strong show, intensely female-led, with a great down-to-earth performance by Eve Myles.

From the same stable, but possibly harder to access overseas, Hidden is currently airing on BBC Wales after a run on S4C - when the body of a young woman is found in a river and she turns out to have been missing for 7 years, with evidence that she has been held captive somewhere all that time, a major investigation is launched, but the show itself is broader than just the police investigation, following the story of the very creepy perp in parallel. Not so much whodunnit as what actually happened? Why did it happen? And can the next one be saved? 

Also Bulletproof, which recently aired on Sky One - highly entertaining buddy cop drama with two black leads, great fun to watch.

[Irlandesa]

Both Keeping Faith and Hidden are are/will be available in the US via Acorn.  I had a really hard time getting into Keeping Faith and haven't seen past the 5th ep but I look forward to Hidden. 

[2727]

The Good Karma Hospital is a pleasant way to pass some time.  The setting is a small hospital in rural India and features a nice cast, beautiful scenery, and interesting storylines. It's a medical drama but nothing too traumatizing. Each episode has a self contained story about a patient or two, along with ongoing arcs for the main cast. Two seasons are available in the U.S. on Acorn and a third has been ordered.

[MakeMeLaugh]

On 7/12/2018 at 12:55 PM, proserpina65 said:

I didn't get far enough to see any gaslighting.  I just saw her treating patients unprofessionally, stalking people and being an all-around stupid bitch.

Yes. I watched this because if Scott & Bailey and Mr MML fell in live with Suranne. The premise was too stupid that a smart professional woman’s life would revolve around a man. For two seasons!!!  He cheats and lies, blah blah blah. Who cares. Ugh. Major fail on the Bechdel test. But Mr MML still has the hots for her ?

[proserpina65]

1 hour ago, MakeMeLaugh said:

Yes. I watched this because if Scott & Bailey and Mr MML fell in live with Suranne. The premise was too stupid that a smart professional woman’s life would revolve around a man. For two seasons!!!  He cheats and lies, blah blah blah. Who cares. Ugh. Major fail on the Bechdel test. But Mr MML still has the hots for her ?

See, for me the problem was that her character didn't seem that smart and her behavior was far from professional.  I don't give a shit about the Bechdel test.  I just hated the character.

[unicorn23]

Has anyone watched Miss Sherlock, a Japanese adaptation of Sherlock Holmes with both Sherlock and Watson being genderbent? It’s now available in the US on HBO GO and I think all eight episodes are on YouTube as well.

For the past two weeks, I have already watched the series twice and the second time was even better than the first time because you notice and catch little things that weren’t obvious the first time but are obvious now.

Also, the two female leads are remarkable and the Sherlock/Wato relationship is one of the best parts of the show. And yes, they are quite shippable together and I have fallen in love with them. The journey of their relationship is such a joy to watch and the payoff at the end is one of the best things I’ve seen on any show.

Lastly, I’m on the verge of consuming everything that the actor playing Sherlock, Yuko Takeuchi, is in because she was so good in this (and I have a huge crush on her now because hello, how can you not?).

Can’t recommend this show enough and wish more people watched it because I need someone to fangirl with.

[QueerGirrl]

I’m going to check that out!

[SVNBob]

I'm planning to as well.  In no small part due to the clever pun they did with their renaming of the doctor. 

But the rest looks good as well, and it will be interesting to see not only a modernized and gender-swapped Sherlock and Watson, but also one based in a different culture.  Most adaptations of Holmes still base the character in Western or specifically British culture, so seeing the same kind of character through a Japanese cultural lens is intriguing.

[Enero]

It took a while (the show has 70 episodes), but Rise of the Phoenixes was absolutely superb.  The show kind of went left the last few episodes and the ending was so tragic. Therefore,  it could ruin the series for many. I will admit it broke my heart. Sigh. 

That said, the journey, not the ending, is what made this show so outstanding IMHO. If you can deal with the subtitles. It's a Chinese drama. So if you don't understand Mandarin you'll have to read the dialogue. And have the patience to see the story play out for 70 episodes I don't think you'll be disappointed. I watched it in 20-22 episode blocks, breaking it up like it was an American series. It still took a couple of months to get through but again wasn't nearly as exhausting as trying to binge watch in a couple of weekends.

Again, great series. The acting was excellent. Loved Prince of Chu/Ning Yi, such a compelling character, and Chen Kun who played him has found a new fan in me. 

Edited October 21, 2018 by Enero

[GaT]

I'm watching "The Repair Shop" & enjoying it. 

[Ophanim]

I started Hackeville, and wow, I loved it! 

[Irlandesa]

I was on Amazon Prime the other day and saw Made In Heaven show up in a recommended list.  The thumbnail looked pretty so I decided to give it a chance (after reading what it was about).  I absolutely loved it! I'd post the trailer but the trailer doesn't do it justice--except show how visually gorgeous it is.

I've seen it described as the darker side of Monsoon Wedding as it's about two wedding planners who own a business in New Delhi.  It's a little bit procedural as there's a new Indian wedding in every episode.  Every wedding has interesting circumstances surrounding it (sometimes love and sometimes not) and I specify Indian wedding because the costumes are gorgeous and the music is phenomenal. 

But it's also a bit soap opera as we follow the lives of the owners and people who work there.  The woman is from a very poor background who married rich.  And the man is a gay man living in India where being gay was still illegal until 2018.  There were some twists and turns but I always could predict them. Normally, that'd be a drawback except the characters felt so smartly drawn or the performances so good that the reason I could predict the twists is because of how well I felt I knew the characters. 

It was such an easy binge.  I only wish I had more to watch.

Edited March 29, 2019 by Irlandesa

[festivus]

That sounds really good. I've never heard of it. I love Indian weddings. I'm going to check it out.

[festivus]

I've already started watching. I can't find the forum, the search function didn't work for me. I have a question. How are the two people running the business connected? I didn't get that.

[Irlandesa]

16 minutes ago, festivus said:

I've already started watching. I can't find the forum, the search function didn't work for me. I have a question. How are the two people running the business connected? I didn't get that.

There is no thread yet but I can start one. 

I'll respond there. 

[Irlandesa]

Amazon is going to stream the second season of Trapped in July.  I'm very happy.  The first season was terrific.

[piccadilly83]

Has anyone here seen Call My Agent? It airs on Netflix. The original French title was Dix Pour Cent. I'm in the middle of season 3.  I really liked the first two seasons, and it's cool because they have real members of French cinema playing themselves in guest starring roles.

Another foreign show I like on Netflix is Medici. Honestly, I don't even know if the show is good. I just watch it for the pretty clothes, pretty men, and lovely accents. 

[Athena]

6 minutes ago, piccadilly83 said:

Has anyone here seen Call My Agent? It airs on Netflix. The original French title was Dix Pour Cent. I'm in the middle of season 3.  I really liked the first two seasons, and it's cool because they have real members of French cinema playing themselves in guest starring roles.

I really like Call my Agent. I use it and other Netflix francophone shows and movies to sharpen my ever declining French ability. Call my Agent is one of the best offerings since the plot, characters, and guest stars make it enjoyable. 

[Enero]

The Korean Odyssey has been on Netflix for a couple of years, but I just discovered it over the holidays. Another excellent Korean series. The acting and chemistry between the cast was superb. The story was interesting and had a nice mix of drama, comedy and romance with sci-fi thrown in. The ending was open ended. So they could do a season two, but from what I’ve read they won’t, which is a bummer. 

This one is definitely worth a watch. 

 

[Irlandesa]

44 minutes ago, Enero said:

The Korean Odyssey has been on Netflix for a couple of years, but I just discovered it over the holidays. Another excellent Korean series.

I hadn't ever gotten into K-Dramas before but Netflix is currently releasing episodes of a Korean comedy/drama called Crash Landing On You.  It's such a silly title but I was sucked in by the plot about an heiress who accidentally gets blown into North Korea during a storm while she was skydiving.  She is caught by a North Korean officer who tries to help her get back to the South.  Meanwhile, her jealous brothers are trying to take advantage of the fact that she's missing to get their dad to change their mind about having her lead the company.

It has a lot of comedy but it's getting a bit more dramatic.  I'm nervous it'll end open-ended like the show you mentioned did so maybe I should wait until they've all dropped.

[giovannif7]

A couple of recommendations of international shows I've been bingeing while at home.

First up - The Mallorca Files

It's a British police procedural, light in tone, set on the Spanish Island of Mallorca. The setup focuses on a by-the-book British detective (Elen Rhys as Miranda Blake) who has to work with a German detective (Julian Looman as Max Winter) after a botched extradition forces a murder investigation. Nice scenery (filmed on Mallorca), passable to good acting (I'm especially fond of the adorable Nacho Aldeguer, who plays CSI Federico Ramis), decent plots and storylines, and an overall breezy feel to the series that's a very welcome diversion from our current reality. Tone is similar to shows like the UK's Hooten & The Lady and Canada's Private Eyes. A 10-episode first season aired in the UK in 2019, and a second season is completed, and is supposed to air sometime in 2020.

Second - Hudson & Rex

Another police procedural, this one is from Canada (based on a 1990s/2000s Italian/Austrian series.) The setup - St. Johns Newfoundland police detective Charlie Hudson (John Reardon) adopts former K9 unit member Rex after Rex's human partner is killed, preventing the dog from being euthanized (according to the show, that's the procedure when the human partner of a K9 team is killed - which makes me very sad.) The two pair up to solve murders for the Major Crimes unit. Very Turner and Hooch meets Rin Tin Tin, with an attractive human and non-human cast, and a lack of the dark angst or grit that most American police procedurals have these days. The 13 episodes of Season 1 aired in mid-2019, and Season 2 just finished airing in March of 2020.

Like I said, both are light in tone and fun to watch, and can be watched at your own pace - perfect for this era.

Edited May 24, 2020 by giovannif7
formatting

[roamyn]

I know this has been off air for a long time,  but I just discovered Miranda Hart.  I turned in to her show on Hulu for Tom Ellis, but she is an absolute delight!  I ended  up looking for more stuff she’s been in, but haven’t caught Call the Midwife yet. 

[Constant Viewer]

4 hours ago, roamyn said:

I know this has been off air for a long time,  but I just discovered Miranda Hart.  I turned in to her show on Hulu for Tom Ellis, but she is an absolute delight!  I ended  up looking for more stuff she’s been in, but haven’t caught Call the Midwife yet. 

I've only seen her in Midwife, but have been wanting to see her other work. I'm glad to know it's on Hulu.

[Irlandesa]

8 hours ago, roamyn said:

I know this has been off air for a long time,  but I just discovered Miranda Hart.  I turned in to her show on Hulu for Tom Ellis, but she is an absolute delight!  I ended  up looking for more stuff she’s been in, but haven’t caught Call the Midwife yet. 

I love Miranda.  It's cheesy.  It's delightful.  And it's one of the few shows about a woman who doesn't fit the "ideal" look where they're not taking an ideal looking actress and "uglifying" her.  She's just normal looking in the way that normal can sometimes look unattractive and can also sometimes be quite attractive.

She's also in Spy with Melissa McCarthy.  It was a fun movie.

Edited May 27, 2020 by Irlandesa

[dargosmydaddy]

The first three seasons of Miranda are also free to view on IMDB TV. Unfortunately season three ends on quite the cliffhanger, and the last two episodes ("season" four) are only on Hulu.

[proserpina65]

I haven't seen Miranda, but I loved her in Spy, and her stints on the couch on The Graham Norton Show were all hysterical.

[Enero]

I just finished The King: Eternal Monarch on Netflix. This is another excellent Korean series. The look of this drama is beautiful, from the sets to the cinematography. The acting is great and the story is very different from other K-dramas I’ve watched. It delves into time travel, loops, fate/destiny etc., You definitely won’t catch all the clues during the first watch. 
 

Another good K-drama is Vagabond, also on Netflix. This one also has gorgeous cinematography, is action packed with great acting. The last episode went down a path I didn’t expect, which was not necessarily a good thing. The way the producers left it, it seems as if they were setting the series up for a S2. But that is so rare for K-dramas, so...I guess we’ll see if this show is the exception. I’d definitely watch a season 2 though if one is released. 

Edited June 19, 2020 by Enero

[Athena]

On 6/18/2020 at 8:20 PM, Enero said:

I just finished The King: Eternal Monarch on Netflix. This is another excellent Korean series. The look of this drama is beautiful, from the sets to the cinematography. The acting is great and the story is very different from other K-dramas I’ve watched. It delves into time travel, loops, fate/destiny etc., You definitely won’t catch all the clues during the first watch. 
 

Another good K-drama is Vagabond, also on Netflix. This one also has gorgeous cinematography, is action packed with great acting. The last episode went down a path I didn’t expect, which was not necessarily a good thing. The way the producers left it, it seems as if they were setting the series up for a S2. But that is so rare for K-dramas, so...I guess we’ll see if this show is the exception. I’d definitely watch a season 2 though if one is released. 

We watched both of these shows recently as well. I enjoyed them both, but they both did very poorly in South Korea. The King: Eternal Monarch was visually well done and I like time travel and sci-fi concepts but the ending was a typically rushed like most kdramas.

Vagabond had issues getting to TV and it was extremely expensive to make. Since it received low ratings and mixed critical response, it's unlikely it will ever get a second season. 

Currently, making our way through Crash Landing On You which is also on Netflix but unlike the other two, was extremely popular in South Korea when it aired.

[Enero]

13 hours ago, Athena said:

We watched both of these shows recently as well. I enjoyed them both, but they both did very poorly in South Korea. The King: Eternal Monarch was visually well done and I like time travel and sci-fi concepts but the ending was a typically rushed like most kdramas.

Vagabond had issues getting to TV and it was extremely expensive to make. Since it received low ratings and mixed critical response, it's unlikely it will ever get a second season. 

Currently, making our way through Crash Landing On You which is also on Netflix but unlike the other two, was extremely popular in South Korea when it aired.

I heard that The King: Eternal Monarch did not do well in South Korea, specifically on TV, but as I understand it did very well on Netflix there and internationally in other Asian and even in African countries. The latter of which was interesting to hear. It also seemed to drew a lot of online discussions and interest etc.

It’s too bad about Vagabond. The story ended unfinished. So they really could continue for another season. But I understand budget and viewership is key. 
 
Though if the show was commissioned by Netflix and popular on Netflix would that give it a better opportunity to be renewed even if it didn’t to well on TV? Don’t know how Vagabond did on Netflix though. Anyway just thinking aloud. So feel free to ignore. 😂 

Edited June 21, 2020 by Enero

[Athena]

8 hours ago, Enero said:

I heard that The King: Eternal Monarch did not do well in South Korea, specifically on TV, but as I understand it did very well on Netflix there and internationally in other Asian and even in African countries. The latter of which was interesting to hear. It also seemed to drew a lot of online discussions and interest etc.

It’s too bad about Vagabond. The story ended unfinished. So they really could continue for another season. But I understand budget and viewership is key. 
 
Though if the show was commissioned by Netflix and popular on Netflix would that give it a better opportunity to be renewed even if it didn’t to well on TV? Don’t know how Vagabond did on Netflix though. Anyway just thinking aloud. So feel free to ignore. 😂 

Yes, The King: Eternal Monarch did extremely well on Netflix especially in Asia. It's rare for shows to get a second series in South Korea so it's unlikely to happen but the show writer Kim Eun-sook is very popular in Korea and two of her other shows (The Inheritors and Mr Sunshine) are already on Netflix international. 

Netflix does not commission most of these South Korean shows; they only distribute them. With TK:EM, they had an exclusive international distribution deal. Netflix has been doing more of these deals as it is cheaper than them actually commissioning shows. Kdramas have become very popular on the service. Vagabond was partially produced by Sony so they had distribution as well as Netflix. 

[Irlandesa]

HBO (On Demand) and HBO Max have a show called Foodie Love which originally aired on HBO Europe in December of last year. 

It primarily takes place in Barcelona, Spain between two people who meet on a dating app for foodies.  We start with their first date and go along with them as their relationship progresses.  I wasn't sure what to make of it at first because it felt really small.  It was basically just the two of them talking over coffee in a cafe.  The next episode was them getting together in a small bar over drinks.  All we ever see of their apartment is their beds. 

But then they start going out to dinner and the food focus expands.  There's an episode filmed in Rome.  One in France and one in Japan. 

So if you miss crazy restaurant/bar going experiences and traveling, this might fill that hole.  Plus, the more it went on, the more I cared about the characters and their chemistry. 

Edited July 20, 2020 by Irlandesa

[supposebly]

Has anyone seen Vikingane aka Norsemen? It's hilarious and a little disturbing  but I've been laughing my socks off. I found it on Netflix Canada and since I don't see any discussion around here, I'm assuming it's not everywhere. I think it's Norwegian.

The beginning of the trailer sums up the tone quite nicely.

Norsemen season 1 trailer

[Irlandesa]

7 hours ago, supposebly said:

I found it on Netflix Canada and since I don't see any discussion around here, I'm assuming it's not everywhere. I think it's Norwegian.

I just looked and it's on US Netflix as well.  I'll have to check it out. 

[dubbel zout]

On 9/18/2019 at 11:36 AM, Athena said:

On 9/18/2019 at 11:25 AM, piccadilly83 said:

Has anyone here seen Call My Agent? It airs on Netflix. The original French title was Dix Pour Cent. I'm in the middle of season 3.  I really liked the first two seasons, and it's cool because they have real members of French cinema playing themselves in guest starring roles.

I really like Call my Agent. I use it and other Netflix francophone shows and movies to sharpen my ever declining French ability. Call my Agent is one of the best offerings since the plot, characters, and guest stars make it enjoyable. 

Late to this party, but after watching La Mante and other foreign crime/police procedurals, I needed something lighter, and this perfectly fits the bill. I watch the French shows to keep my French somewhat sharp, as well, @Athena, though I'm fighting a losing battle there, heh.

[xaxat]

Wow, this is quite the thing.

Denmark launches children's TV show about man with giant penis

Quote

The Danish equivalent of the BBC, DR, has a new animated series aimed at four- to eight-year-olds about John Dillermand, the man with the world’s longest penis who overcomes hardships and challenges with his record-breaking genitals.

 

[Annber03]

Uhhhhhhh...

O-kay.

[xaxat]

Yeah, I had to double check to make sure I wasn't reading a headline from The Onion.

[proserpina65]

19 hours ago, xaxat said:

Wow, this is quite the thing.

Denmark launches children's TV show about man with giant penis

 

The Danes are a bit different, aren't they?   :-D

[AimingforYoko]

4 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

The Danes are a bit different, aren't they?   😄

Well, they are responsible for Mads Mikkelsen.

[giovannif7]

Just caught the Season 3 premiere of the Canadian human/canine police partner drama Hudson & Rex. It does a great job of fleshing out the partnership's origin story, which was briefly mentioned at the start of the Season 1. If you can find it, I definitely recommend it as a comforting, feel-good, retro show. I'm amazed that no US outlet has picked it up yet.

 

[SVNBob]

On 1/6/2021 at 8:16 PM, xaxat said:

Wow, this is quite the thing.

Denmark launches children's TV show about man with giant penis

Well if no one else is going to say (a variant of) the obvious joke, then I might as well...

 

Funny, they never got permission to tell my life story.

[proserpina65]

On ‎01‎/‎07‎/‎2021 at 8:34 PM, AimingforYoko said:

Well, they are responsible for Mads Mikkelsen.

And Nicolaj Coster-Waldau, so . . . Go, Denmark!

[Etta Place]

Anyone out there watching any of the Turkish tv series available on Netflix? Ethos, The Protector, ... there are a few more whose titles are slipping my mind.

I watched the first episode of The Protector last night - set in Istanbul, it's about a kind of loser-y guy who finds out he is the heir of a family who has some kind of superpower and is supposed to protect Istanbul (?) from evil in some form, I assume. (The pilot didn't give a ton of information so far.)

[Lugal]

Watched the first season of The Protector, and I thought it was pretty good (Istanbul scenery porn!) but kind of lost it after that.  I really enjoyed The Gift, I watched the first season but haven't had a chance to watch season 2 yet.  And Mt. Nemrut is on the list of places I have to see before I die.

[Etta Place]

I just saw an ad on a bus stop for a new show starting next week I think on Netflix - 50 m2. I'm assuming that will have the same title in the US. 🙂 (Unless they convert it to square feet, haha.)

I will try The Gift after we're done with The Protector. 

[giovannif7]

I was just tipped off that the Roku Channel is currently streaming the New Zealand shows Outrageous Fortune (2005-2010) and the subsequent prequel series Westside (2015-2020). Outrageous Fortune features Antony Starr (Homelander on The Boys, Lucas on Banshee) playing twins Jethro and Van West, while Westside showcases Antonia Prebble playing the grandmother of her Outrageous Fortune character. Both shows are a lot of fun and highly recommended. I'm feeling an imminent rewatch of both!