For decades, American and British productions have dominated the global television landscape, leaving audiences in many countries with limited access to stories from other cultures. The rise of streaming, however, has completely shattered this paradigm. Netflix, in particular, has invested heavily in acquiring and producing international content, making a vast library of foreign language shows available to a worldwide audience with the click of a button. This shift has not only introduced viewers to new languages and cultures but has also proven that a compelling story, well-told, can transcend any geographic or linguistic barrier.
This newfound accessibility has allowed Netflix subscribers to gain access to some of the most innovative, thrilling, and emotionally resonant television being created far outside of Hollywood. Some of these series are so good that they stand as a powerful testament to the universal nature of storytelling, having permanently raised the bar for what audiences expect from television, regardless of its country of origin. Here’s our pick for the best foreign language TV shows on Netflix.
7) Elite
The Spanish-language teen thriller Elite takes the familiar tropes of high school drama and injects them with a dose of murder mystery and sharp social commentary. The series begins when three working-class students are given scholarships to Las Encinas, the most exclusive private school in Spain, after their own school collapses. Their arrival immediately creates a culture clash with their privileged classmates, and the season’s central mystery unfolds through a series of flash-forwards that reveal one of the students has been murdered.
Elite became a massive global hit for Netflix by blending its high-stakes teen drama with a genuinely compelling noir narrative. While the show features plenty of romance and betrayal, it is also a surprisingly pointed look at class warfare, wealth inequality, and prejudice. The series successfully reinvents itself each season with a new central crime, using the thriller framework to explore the consequences of its characters’ frequently terrible decisions. Its addictive plotting and charismatic cast have made it a standout in the crowded teen drama landscape.
6) Sacred Games
Based on Vikram Chandra’s acclaimed novel, the Indian crime epic Sacred Games was Netflix’s first original series from the country and remains one of its best. The show follows Sartaj Singh (Saif Ali Khan), a troubled and disillusioned Mumbai police inspector who receives an anonymous tip about the location of Ganesh Gaitonde (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), an infamous and long-missing crime lord. This phone call sets off a chain of events that plunges Sartaj deep into the city’s corrupt underworld of crime, politics, and espionage.
Sacred Games earned widespread critical acclaim for its gritty realism, complex narrative structure, and powerful performances. The story is told across two timelines, brilliantly juxtaposing Sartaj’s present-day investigation with the story of Gaitonde’s violent rise to power. This structure allows the show to function as both a tense police procedural and a sprawling gangster saga, painting a rich and detailed portrait of modern India.
5) Lupin
Drawing inspiration from the classic French stories of the gentleman thief Arsène Lupin, the stylish series Lupin became a global sensation. The show stars the impossibly charismatic Omar Sy as Assane Diop, a man whose life was turned upside down as a teenager when his father was framed for the theft of a priceless diamond necklace by his wealthy and powerful employer, Hubert Pellegrini (Hervé Pierre). Twenty-five years later, Assane, now a master of disguise and deception, uses the tricks of his childhood hero to expose Pellegrini’s crimes and clear his father’s name.
Lupin is a clever and fast-paced modern take on the classic heist story. Sy’s performance is the undeniable heart of the show, as he perfectly embodies the charm, wit, and intelligence of a master thief with a righteous cause. The series is celebrated for its intricate plotting, slick production values, and its thoughtful exploration of race and class in contemporary Paris. It functions as both a thrilling revenge story and a compelling character study, using the framework of the gentleman thief to tell a story about a man fighting to reclaim his family’s honor from a corrupt system.
4) Kingdom
Kingdom, a South Korean series, provides a unique viewing experience by blending two seemingly disparate genres: the historical political drama and the zombie apocalypse horror film. Set in Korea’s medieval Joseon period, the story follows the Crown Prince Lee Chang (Ju Ji-hoon) as he is forced to flee the capital amidst a brewing political conspiracy. While investigating a mysterious plague that is ravaging the southern provinces, he discovers that the disease is turning the dead into flesh-eating monsters. That means he must fight to save his people from both the undead and the corrupt political rivals who want him dead.
Kingdom is a triumph of genre fusion, offering both sophisticated courtly intrigue and visceral horror. The series is lauded for its stunning cinematography, elaborate period-accurate costume design, and brilliantly choreographed action sequences. Beyond the spectacle, the show uses the zombie outbreak as a powerful metaphor for political corruption and class struggle, exploring how a decadent and self-serving ruling class fails its people in a time of crisis.
3) Money Heist
Few international shows have become a global phenomenon on the scale of Money Heist, the Spanish thriller originally titled La Casa de Papel. The series centers on a mysterious man known as “The Professor” (Álvaro Morte), who recruits a group of eight skilled criminals to carry out an audacious and elaborate heist on the Royal Mint of Spain. The team, who all use city-based code names like Tokyo (Úrsula Corberó) and Berlin (Pedro Alonso), plans to lock themselves in the building, print billions of euros, and escape.
The massive international success of Money Heist is a testament to its adrenaline-fueled storytelling. The series is a relentless cat-and-mouse game, defined by its intricate plotting, shocking twists, and a constant sense of escalating tension. What elevates the show beyond a simple heist thriller is its focus on the robbers themselves, a found family of outcasts whose personal relationships become just as important as the mechanics of the heist. This blend of high-stakes action and compelling character drama created a global phenomenon that kept viewers on the edge of their seats for five seasons, eventually leading to a South Korean adaptation and even a spinoff, Berlin.
2) Squid Game
No foreign language show on Netflix has had a bigger global cultural impact than the South Korean survival drama Squid Game. The series follows Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), a down-on-his-luck gambling addict who is deeply in debt. He is given a mysterious invitation to participate in a series of children’s games for a chance to win a life-changing cash prize. He accepts, only to find himself trapped with 455 other desperate individuals in a deadly competition where losing a game results in immediate death.
Squid Game became a worldwide sensation for its brilliant high-concept premise, stunning visual design, and its unflinching social commentary. The show uses the deadly games as a powerful and disturbing allegory for the savage nature of modern capitalism, exploring themes of economic inequality and desperation with razor-sharp precision. The series also excels at building tension, balancing its horrific violence with moments of heartbreaking humanity. Its combination of a universally relatable theme with a unique and unforgettable aesthetic earned it widespread critical acclaim, numerous awards, and a permanent place in television history.
1) Dark
The German science fiction thriller Dark is defined by its narrative ambition and meticulous plotting, earning it a reputation among critics as one of the most flawlessly executed series of the streaming era. The story begins in the small town of Winden, where the disappearance of a young boy sets off a chain of events that exposes the fractured relationships and dark secrets of four interconnected families. The investigation soon uncovers a sinister time travel conspiracy that spans multiple generations, revealing a mind-bending puzzle where the past, present, and future are inextricably linked.
Over three perfectly plotted seasons, Netflix’s Dark weaves an incredibly complex narrative filled with paradoxes, family secrets, and philosophical questions about fate and free will. Unlike many shows with a central mystery, Dark provides satisfying and coherent answers to all of its questions, rewarding attentive viewers with a story that is meticulously constructed from beginning to end. Its moody, atmospheric tone, compelling character work, and sheer narrative ambition make it a landmark series that stands as the pinnacle of foreign language programming available on Netflix.
Which other foreign language TV show on Netflix do you think is one of the best? Share your picks in the comments!
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