Globally Speaking: International Programming Aka Non-US Shows

[dalek]

On 1/8/2021 at 1:00 AM, giovannif7 said:

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.

 

Is this an english language remake of the Austrian show Inspector Rex?  Because Inspector Rex was awesome.

[giovannif7]

1 minute ago, dalek said:

Is this an english language remake of the Austrian show Inspector Rex?  Because Inspector Rex was awesome.

Yes, it's a remake, and from what I've read, the German Shepard co-star that plays Rex in the Canadian version (real name is Diesel vom Burgimwald) is a direct descendant of the one that starred in the 1990s original Austrian version. He's a gorgeous dog, and is very expressive in his scenes.

[dubbel zout]

On 1/13/2021 at 2:17 PM, proserpina65 said:

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

I shared an elevator with him once, and wow, is he one fine-looking man.

[andromeda331]

6 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

I shared an elevator with him once, and wow, is he one fine-looking man.

Yes he is.

[BlackberryJam]

13 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

I shared an elevator with him once, and wow, is he one fine-looking man.

Good lord I'm jealous. Did he smell good too?

[giovannif7]

BBC has released the 6 episodes of Series 2 of The Mallorca Files this week. All of the regulars return except (unfortunately, IMO) for Nacho Aldeguer, who played Federico, the forensic pathologist, in the 10 episodes of Series 1. For those unfamiliar, it's a police procedural fronted by by-the-book female English detective Miranda Blake (Elen Rhys), a new transplant to the Spanish island of Mallorca, teamed with male German detective Max Winter (Julian Looman) who has embraced the laid-back lifestyle of the island after several years of residence. The leads have a fun, friendly rapport, and the lack of constant "will they or won't they" anvils between them is very refreshing. The cases follow the standard procedural model but with a decidedly European-based tone, which lends a nice departure from the manufactured gravitas of many American cop shows. I'm about halfway through Series 2, and the scenery is as enjoyable as in the first Series, as all of the episodes were filmed on Mallorca. While the dialogue is mostly in English, the variety of European accents can be a bit challenging without closed captioning. I recommend giving the show a try if you haven't already - Series 1 can currently be streamed on BritBox, or downloaded through Google Play or Amazon Video.

 

[Irlandesa]

The first season is also currently airing on many PBS stations around the country. 

[giovannif7]

1 hour ago, Irlandesa said:

The first season is also currently airing on many PBS stations around the country. 

Is it? Cool! I guess I'm just one of the unlucky ones whose PBS stations haven't picked it up - all of my DVR Local Guide searches have turned up nothing. I'm glad some folks will be able to access The Mallorca Files on PBS!

[Irlandesa]

Amazon has been promoting a show I thought I'd like called The Vineyard (La Templaza) which is based on a book about two people who try to revive a struggling vineyard in Spain.  It's a period romantic drama so I thought it'd be up my alley. 

I'm not quite sure how far I'm going to go with it because I'm not really into the characters after an episode and a half. 

But the reason I'm writing is that I think it might be doing something strange.  This is the first Amazon show I can recall with multiple dubbed versions and subtitle options the way Netflix has it.  Three of the choices are Spanish.  Spain Spanish, Spain Spanish with an audio description and Latin American Spanish. 

This is a show that takes place in Mexico, Cuba, London and Spain with Spanish and Mexican characters.  The weird thing is---I think they might dub the Mexican characters with Spain Spanish when you select that audio version.  There are difference in the dialects but they're not that huge. 

This would be like choosing the American version of English when watching a show in English with British and American characters and having the British characters be dubbed while the American characters are not.

Or maybe I'm mistaken.  I just thought the lips did not seem to really connect with the sound.

 

[cleo]

Man I thought Hudson and Rex was terrible. So bland.

[SVNBob]

Today, April 3, 2021 marks the 50th anniversary of a legendary franchise of Japanese entertainment.

For April 3rd, 1971 was the date that the first episode aired of the original Kamen Rider.

50 years later, and the heroes still live and fight on.

[xaxat]

This is a bizarre story.

A Russian spent weeks stuck on a Chinese reality TV show, begging viewers to vote him off. They finally did.

Quote

Ivanov, a fashion marketer and part-time model, said he had only come to the set, on a man-made island off China’s tropical province of Hainan, to serve as an interpreter for two Japanese friends who were competing. But when he was confused for a contestant, the show’s director persuaded him to join.

“The director saw that I am fluent in Mandarin and they thought I’m good-looking, so they asked if I’d like to have a try and experience a new lifestyle,” he said in one backstage interview. “Dancing and singing every day, I’m really exhausted and now starting to regret my decision.”

 

[Llywela]

20 hours ago, xaxat said:

This is a bizarre story.

A Russian spent weeks stuck on a Chinese reality TV show, begging viewers to vote him off. They finally did.

 

See now, this is the kind of thing that no one would believe if it was a plotline on a scripted show! Talk about real life being stranger than fiction...

[TaraS1]

So, I'm only about twenty years behind, but...Kath & Kim anyone??  It's on Netflix here in the US and a friend forced me to watch it despite my protests.  I'm now on my 4th time watching it all the way through.  Gina Riley and Jane Turner are geniuses!

[wanderingstar]

On 2/5/2021 at 8:29 PM, giovannif7 said:

BBC has released the 6 episodes of Series 2 of The Mallorca Files this week. All of the regulars return except (unfortunately, IMO) for Nacho Aldeguer, who played Federico, the forensic pathologist, in the 10 episodes of Series 1. For those unfamiliar, it's a police procedural fronted by by-the-book female English detective Miranda Blake (Elen Rhys), a new transplant to the Spanish island of Mallorca, teamed with male German detective Max Winter (Julian Looman) who has embraced the laid-back lifestyle of the island after several years of residence. The leads have a fun, friendly rapport, and the lack of constant "will they or won't they" anvils between them is very refreshing. The cases follow the standard procedural model but with a decidedly European-based tone, which lends a nice departure from the manufactured gravitas of many American cop shows. I'm about halfway through Series 2, and the scenery is as enjoyable as in the first Series, as all of the episodes were filmed on Mallorca. While the dialogue is mostly in English, the variety of European accents can be a bit challenging without closed captioning. I recommend giving the show a try if you haven't already - Series 1 can currently be streamed on BritBox, or downloaded through Google Play or Amazon Video.

 

Just started watching this to tide me over till Death in Paradise comes back for series 11. So far, the chief character, Ines, is my favorite.

[giovannif7]

Just finished the new 6-episode English/Italian drama/mystery series Hotel Portofino:

A period piece set at a newly-opened hotel run by an English woman and her family and staff on the Italian Riviera during the mid 1920s rise of Mussolini's facism. Most of the dialogue is in English, with subtitles for the Italian language portions. It has an Agatha Christie-lite feel to it, with gorgeous scenery, many terrific performances, and interesting intersecting storylines and plots that don't get bogged down in confusing red herrings or time jumps. I found it a very fun and entertaining binge watch, and highly recommend it.

Edited January 30, 2022 by giovannif7

[ABay]

I looked for that on Britbox because I thought I'd read that it would run there but didn't see it. Maybe it was Netflix?

YouTube has been fantastic for watching British quiz shows over the last few months when I really needed a break from U.S. news and general idiocy. Only Connect is my favorite but I've also enjoyed Pointless and a few of the celebrity panels like Richard Osman's House of Games and Would I Lie to You (although that's not actually a quiz show). I haven't been able to get into Taskmaster...he's probably a nice guy but I've come to loathe Alex Horne after a handful of episodes.

[Irlandesa]

6 minutes ago, ABay said:

I looked for that on Britbox because I thought I'd read that it would run there but didn't see it. Maybe it was Netflix?

I looked it up.  It looks like it's on Britbox UK but not Britbox US.  PBS bought it for the US so we wait.

[Leeds]

On 1/31/2022 at 7:34 AM, ABay said:

YouTube has been fantastic for watching British quiz shows over the last few months when I really needed a break from U.S. news and general idiocy. Only Connect is my favorite but I've also enjoyed Pointless and a few of the celebrity panels like Richard Osman's House of Games and Would I Lie to You (although that's not actually a quiz show). I haven't been able to get into Taskmaster...he's probably a nice guy but I've come to loathe Alex Horne after a handful of episodes.

Bob Mortimer is brilliant on WILTY.  If I need cheering up, that's what I turn to.  And I too love Only Connect.  David Mitchell is a very lucky man, and he admits it!

I can only watch Pointless sporadically because I get irritated by Richard Osman and Alexander Armstrong's excessive (to me) interchanges.

 

[SusieQ]

I've watched parts of WILTY, mainly for the Greg Davies stories. I LOVE him!!! Check out ANY story he tells on Graham Norton. 

My kid has gone through almost all of Only Connect. Wow, is that a hard quiz show! The contestants are amazing. I can mostly get American type questions and Broadway musical stuff. 

And the two of us have done the first eight series of Taskmaster. Greg was the original draw for me, but now I love the show for how crazy they all are.

[Llywela]

12 hours ago, Leeds said:

I can only watch Pointless sporadically because I get irritated by Richard Osman and Alexander Armstrong's excessive (to me) interchanges.

I used to love Pointless, but yeah, the chatting has got a bit much. And they keep cutting away from the board, which makes it harder to play along at home! I prefer Richard Osman's House of Games these days - less chitchat, easier to play along.

[giovannif7]

Looks like Hotel Portofino will finally be available for US viewers next month - PBS is launching the 6-episode period piece on all platforms starting June 19th. As noted above back in January, I found the series a gorgeous, entertaining and fun binge watch.

https://www.pbs.org/about/about-pbs/blogs/news/glamorous-period-drama-hotel-portofino-launching-exclusively-on-all-pbs-platforms-june-19/

 

Edited May 21, 2022 by giovannif7

[giovannif7]

Another new Italian-based recommendation - I just finished the three-episode first season of Signora Volpe, starring Emilia Fox. She plays a British MI-6 agent who, disillusioned with her work and life, escapes to Italy - where attending her niece's wedding opens a door to a new future for her. The series is set in Italy's Umbria region but filmed in the picturesque Lazio region, and is filled with amazingly beautiful scenery and vistas, incredible cinematography, and provides a truly immersive European/Italian experience. No word yet on whether there will be a second season, but there are plenty of potential plotlines and relationships waiting to be explored - I would love the chance to revisit the characters and setting created for this charming detective series.