Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
WeirdThe 17 Best Foreign Language Series On Netflix
By Claire Spellberg
@c_spellberg
Published
Aug. 20, 2018, 9:00 p.m. ET
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Ranked by their Rotten Tomatoes Critic Scores!
Photos: Everett Collection, NETFLIX ; Illustration: Dillen Phelps
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Babylon Berlin (Germany)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%
This Netflix Original takes viewers back to pre-WWII Germany, where poverty was rampant and tensions were high. The crime drama focuses on police inspector Gereon Rath and aspiring inspector Charlotte Ritter -- a flapper and occasional prostitute -- as they uncover a major political conspiracy with deadly implications.
[Stream Babylon Berlin on Netflix]
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%
This Netflix Original takes viewers back to pre-WWII Germany, where poverty was rampant and tensions were high. The crime drama focuses on police inspector Gereon Rath and aspiring inspector Charlotte Ritter -- a flapper and occasional prostitute -- as they uncover a major political conspiracy with deadly implications.
[Stream Babylon Berlin on Netflix]
Photo: Netflix
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Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories (Japan)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%
At a diner only open from midnight to 7 am, the chef, known only as "The Master" befriends patrons who share a love for one of his dishes. Each episode, The Master meets a new customer and learns about their life, and he often breaks the fourth wall to speak to viewers about the show's action.
[Stream Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories on Netflix]
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%
At a diner only open from midnight to 7 am, the chef, known only as "The Master" befriends patrons who share a love for one of his dishes. Each episode, The Master meets a new customer and learns about their life, and he often breaks the fourth wall to speak to viewers about the show's action.
[Stream Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories on Netflix]
Photo: Netflix
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Suburra: Blood on Rome (Italy)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%
This Italian crime drama focuses on Rome's criminal underbelly, a world in which politicians, drug lords, mafia men, and even members of the Catholic Church rub elbows in an attempt to gain power. With all its drama, drugs, and sex, Suburra has all the ingredients for a great binge-watch.
[Stream Suburra: Blood on Rome on Netflix]
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%
This Italian crime drama focuses on Rome's criminal underbelly, a world in which politicians, drug lords, mafia men, and even members of the Catholic Church rub elbows in an attempt to gain power. With all its drama, drugs, and sex, Suburra has all the ingredients for a great binge-watch.
[Stream Suburra: Blood on Rome on Netflix]
©Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection / Everett Collection
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Call My Agent! (France)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%
Looking for an international Entourage? This French series follows the employees of talent agency ASK as they deal with tricky clients and sensitive industry problems. When the agency's founder suddenly dies, the four main characters are forced to step in to save the company, and they relish the opportunity to show off their talents.
[Stream Call My Agent! on Netflix]
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%
Looking for an international Entourage? This French series follows the employees of talent agency ASK as they deal with tricky clients and sensitive industry problems. When the agency's founder suddenly dies, the four main characters are forced to step in to save the company, and they relish the opportunity to show off their talents.
[Stream Call My Agent! on Netflix]
Christophe Brachet/Netflix
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Final Fantasy XIV: Dad of Light (Japan)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%
Yes, this Japanese series focuses on a video game, but it's full of heart. When Akio was a young boy, he bonded with his father Hakutaro over their love for Final Fantasy, but years later, in the present, they find themselves unable to relate to each other. When Hakutaro quits his job, he and Akio pick up where they left off, and as they travel deeper into the wild world of online RPGs, their relationship becomes stronger than ever before.
[Stream Final Fantasy XIV: Dad of Light on Netflix]
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%
Yes, this Japanese series focuses on a video game, but it's full of heart. When Akio was a young boy, he bonded with his father Hakutaro over their love for Final Fantasy, but years later, in the present, they find themselves unable to relate to each other. When Hakutaro quits his job, he and Akio pick up where they left off, and as they travel deeper into the wild world of online RPGs, their relationship becomes stronger than ever before.
[Stream Final Fantasy XIV: Dad of Light on Netflix]
Photo: Netflix
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The Returned (France)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%
This Emmy-winning series follows a small French town where dead people keep coming back to life, completely unaware that they've died. As the citizens of the town try to figure out what's happening, they unravel a seemingly never-ending string of mysteries, including one particularly gruesome murder.
[Stream The Returned on Netflix]
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%
This Emmy-winning series follows a small French town where dead people keep coming back to life, completely unaware that they've died. As the citizens of the town try to figure out what's happening, they unravel a seemingly never-ending string of mysteries, including one particularly gruesome murder.
[Stream The Returned on Netflix]
Photo: Netflix
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Kantaro: The Sweet Tooth Salaryman (Japan)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%
Curious about Japanese dessert culture? Get clued in with Kantaro: The Sweet Tooth Salaryman, a dramedy about a businessman who slacks off at work to eat sweets. Kantaro's story is pretty ridiculous, but the show's strength comes from its commitment to the dessert scene in Tokyo. The show films at real foodie hotspots around the city and introduces American viewers to the Asian versions of popular treats, including parfaits, eclairs, pancakes, and more.
[Stream Kantaro: The Sweet Tooth Salaryman on Netflix]
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%
Curious about Japanese dessert culture? Get clued in with Kantaro: The Sweet Tooth Salaryman, a dramedy about a businessman who slacks off at work to eat sweets. Kantaro's story is pretty ridiculous, but the show's strength comes from its commitment to the dessert scene in Tokyo. The show films at real foodie hotspots around the city and introduces American viewers to the Asian versions of popular treats, including parfaits, eclairs, pancakes, and more.
[Stream Kantaro: The Sweet Tooth Salaryman on Netflix]
Photo: Netflix
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Gomorrah (Italy)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 94%
Gomorrah tells the story of Ciro di Marzio, a member of the Savastano drug clan. Ciro is desperate to become the leader, but he faces stiff competition from other kingpins, as well as the group's rival drug gang.
[Stream Gomorrah on Netflix]
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 94%
Gomorrah tells the story of Ciro di Marzio, a member of the Savastano drug clan. Ciro is desperate to become the leader, but he faces stiff competition from other kingpins, as well as the group's rival drug gang.
[Stream Gomorrah on Netflix]
Photo: Netflix
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Sacred Games (India)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 89%
Netflix's Indian crime drama starts as a cat-and-mouse game between a tired cop and a big-time crime lord. As the cop learns more about his target, he starts to question whether the killer is just a regular bad guy or something much more sinister: an immortal god.
[Stream Sacred Games on Netflix]
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 89%
Netflix's Indian crime drama starts as a cat-and-mouse game between a tired cop and a big-time crime lord. As the cop learns more about his target, he starts to question whether the killer is just a regular bad guy or something much more sinister: an immortal god.
[Stream Sacred Games on Netflix]
Photo: Netflix
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The Mechanism (Brazil)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 89%
The Mechanism, from Narcos producer José Padilha, takes fans you deep into Brazil's seedy underbelly and exposes some of the country's most high-profile scandals. The series follows the action surrounding Operation Car Wash, an ongoing police taskforce that discovered a massive government corruption scheme. Fans loved the Brazilian crime drama so much that Netflix has already renewed it for a second season, but the premiere date is still TBA.
[Stream The Mechanism on Netflix]
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 89%
The Mechanism, from Narcos producer José Padilha, takes fans you deep into Brazil's seedy underbelly and exposes some of the country's most high-profile scandals. The series follows the action surrounding Operation Car Wash, an ongoing police taskforce that discovered a massive government corruption scheme. Fans loved the Brazilian crime drama so much that Netflix has already renewed it for a second season, but the premiere date is still TBA.
[Stream The Mechanism on Netflix]
Photo: Netflix
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Dark (Germany)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 87%
Foreign Netflix Originals generally aren't Netflix's bread and butter, but Dark captured fans' attention in a way few international series have managed to do. This German supernatural thriller follows the mysterious disappearances of two young children and their grieving families. As the families' secrets slowly come to light, it becomes clear that there's something much more sinister going in the seemingly-quaint German town.
[Stream Dark on Netflix]
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 87%
Foreign Netflix Originals generally aren't Netflix's bread and butter, but Dark captured fans' attention in a way few international series have managed to do. This German supernatural thriller follows the mysterious disappearances of two young children and their grieving families. As the families' secrets slowly come to light, it becomes clear that there's something much more sinister going in the seemingly-quaint German town.
[Stream Dark on Netflix]
NETFLIX
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3% (Brazil)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 83%
In the Brazilian Netflix Original, the world has been divided into two sides, one of progress and one of destruction. Only 3% of people are able to make it over to the "better" side of things, and over the course of the show's two seasons, the young protagonists do everything they can to make it into that small population of success stories. 3% is a thrilling tale of survival, loyalty, and heartache, and it's a welcome addition to the dystopian drama genre.
[Stream 3% on Netflix]
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 83%
In the Brazilian Netflix Original, the world has been divided into two sides, one of progress and one of destruction. Only 3% of people are able to make it over to the "better" side of things, and over the course of the show's two seasons, the young protagonists do everything they can to make it into that small population of success stories. 3% is a thrilling tale of survival, loyalty, and heartache, and it's a welcome addition to the dystopian drama genre.
[Stream 3% on Netflix]
Pedro Saad/Netflix
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Versailles (France)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 82%
Versailles is a seriously sexy foreign drama. The historical epic follows King Louis the XIV as he commissions a lavish palace from which to conduct business -- and a few other things. Shortly after the Parisian nobility arrives, they realize that Versailles is nothing but a "gilded prison," and they soon learn that their behavior in the palace can make or break their political careers.
[Stream Versailles on Netflix]
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 82%
Versailles is a seriously sexy foreign drama. The historical epic follows King Louis the XIV as he commissions a lavish palace from which to conduct business -- and a few other things. Shortly after the Parisian nobility arrives, they realize that Versailles is nothing but a "gilded prison," and they soon learn that their behavior in the palace can make or break their political careers.
[Stream Versailles on Netflix]
Netflix
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The Rain (Denmark)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 80%
The Rain is a great foreign addition to the teen dystopia subgenre. This series follows two siblings who embark on a journey across post-apocalyptic Scandinavia in search of safety. As the two travel, they soon discover that nothing is as it seems.
[Stream The Rain on Netflix]
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 80%
The Rain is a great foreign addition to the teen dystopia subgenre. This series follows two siblings who embark on a journey across post-apocalyptic Scandinavia in search of safety. As the two travel, they soon discover that nothing is as it seems.
[Stream The Rain on Netflix]
Photo: Netflix
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Club de Cuervos (Mexico)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 80%
Club de Cuervos (Club of Crows in English) follows two siblings who inherit their father's soccer team after his death. As the siblings battle for the soccer throne, they learn that their decisions no longer just affect themselves: they now have a whole team of people (quite literally) to support.
[Stream Club de Cuervos on Netflix]
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 80%
Club de Cuervos (Club of Crows in English) follows two siblings who inherit their father's soccer team after his death. As the siblings battle for the soccer throne, they learn that their decisions no longer just affect themselves: they now have a whole team of people (quite literally) to support.
[Stream Club de Cuervos on Netflix]
Federico Garcia/Netflix
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Devilman Crybaby (Japan)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 80%
This Japanese anime series follows two friends who unite with a demon in order to help save humanity. Almost immediately, Akira transforms into a Devilman with demon powers but a human soul, and it's up to him to prevent the dark forces from taking over the world.
[Stream Devilman Crybaby on Netflix]
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 80%
This Japanese anime series follows two friends who unite with a demon in order to help save humanity. Almost immediately, Akira transforms into a Devilman with demon powers but a human soul, and it's up to him to prevent the dark forces from taking over the world.
[Stream Devilman Crybaby on Netflix]
Photo: Netflix
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Marseille (France)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 33%
France's take on House of Cards certainly doesn't deserve a 33% Fresh rating. The crime drama stars Gerard Depardieu as the mayor of Marseille, a complicated man who enters into a power struggle with his former protégé turned rival. Marseille was Netflix's first French original, so now that you've seen quite a few, why not see for yourself how the OG stands up?
[Stream Marseilles on Netflix]
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 33%
France's take on House of Cards certainly doesn't deserve a 33% Fresh rating. The crime drama stars Gerard Depardieu as the mayor of Marseille, a complicated man who enters into a power struggle with his former protégé turned rival. Marseille was Netflix's first French original, so now that you've seen quite a few, why not see for yourself how the OG stands up?
[Stream Marseilles on Netflix]
Photo: Netflix
