64. Foreign-language TV series

I stumbled on a delightful comedy from Spain the other week, Old Dog, New Tricks—or in Spanish, simply Animal. I'm enjoying being in a different place—Galicia—and listening to the Spanish, much of which I (tell myself I) understand, though of course without the subtitles I'd be pretty lost. "Much" not necessarily being "enough." 

It got me thinking about other foreign series I've enjoyed, such as the irresistible Crash Landing on You from Korea:

And Lilyhammer, which is in English and Norwegian:

And the Danish/Swedish The Bridge (Broen/Bron):

I know I've encountered a couple of mystery/police series recently from Iceland and Finland (good old nordic noir). In any case, it got me wondering what foreign series are on Netflix right now, and wouldn't you know, there are lists!

In fact, Netflix's own website Tudum is a wealth of information for anyone wanting a Top Ten list, not just for now or for foreign series, but going back in time, week by week, to June 2021. You can filter for "Global" and "Non-English," and pow, all sorts of suggestions. Like, right now, the top ten are Last Samurai Standing (Japan), Dynamite Kiss (Korea), The Crystal Cuckoo (Spain), As You Stood By (Korean), Envious (Argentina), Delhi Crime (India), Rulers of Fortune (Brazil), Physical: Asia (Korea), 50 Seconds: The Fernando Báez Sosa Case (Argentina, documentary), and The Asset (Denmark). 

If I google "Netflix series in German" (or French or Italian or...), a Netflix page shows me all the usual categories: Your Next Watch, Bingeworthy, Crime, International Drama, etc. etc. etc. Presumably, I could spend all of 2026 watching only German shows! But David might not like that so much... 

I even found a feature for learning Spanish via the (dubbed) Big Bang Theory:

Anyway, I might try one of the above top ten shows—maybe stay in Spain with The Crystal Cuckoo—once I've finished off a few series and am casting about for what's next.  

All this despite the fact that I really don't like subtitles, because my attention becomes so split between what's going on on the screen and what's being said. Of course, that's sometimes the case even with English-language shows (The Wire, and many British shows: subtitles have come in handy). And if I have some smattering of the language, my attention split actually becomes three-way, since I try to listen as well, but listening to another language requires effort. 

Maybe I'll go for a Finnish series—Deadwind or Bordertown are two possibilities—to do away with that third splitting of attention. Finnish being nothing more than background noise to my ears—unless someone says terve (hi) or sauna. Or, yes, Korean, where I understand not a single word. Maybe I'll rewatch Crash Landing on You. I really did love that show.