10 best foreign-language shows on Netflix of 2021

10 best foreign-language shows on Netflix of 2021
1. Lupin
Country of Origin: France

Split into two half-seasons that released across January and June this year, this French thriller-mystery is centred around Assane Diop, who’s father hangs himself after being framed for theft when Diop is an adolescent. A quarter century later, inspired by a book about thief Arsène Lupin, Diop sets out to exact his revenge upon the family responsible for his father’s death. A gripping ten episode watch.

2. Sexify
Country of Origin: Poland

What happens when a possibly asexual girl finds herself creating an app about sex for a good grade? Hilarity ensues, of course. Natalia is a type-A tech student developing an app for great sleep–until her professor declares it not sexy enough to win. Natalia figues–hey, what’s sexier than sex–and decides to create an app to optimise the female orgasm. Since she knows nothing about it, she enlists her deeply Catholic roommate Paulina and sexually hyperactive dorm neighbour Monika for the practical research. The eight episodes will fly by.

3. Jiva!
Country of Origin: South Africa

A vibrant drama about a struggling young dancer in Durban, Jiva! Is a five-parter you can binge in one night if you feel like something Step Up-y; but with an actual story. As Ntombi tries to find her way out of her mundane day job and into the spotlight, you as a viewer get to explore both a nuanced plotline and South African dance culture. A great weekend binge.

4. Katla

Country of Origin: Iceland

An Icelandic drama that was released last month, the eerie show follows the last remaining people of the small town Vik a year after the eruption of the Katla volcano started and begun to wipe out the population with floods and hazardous ash. A lost woman covered in ash appears mysteriously, setting off a concatenation of strange occurrences that a volcanologist tries to decipher. Choose this if you like dark and intriguing sci-fi.

5. Snabba Cash

Country of Origin: Sweden

Based on lawyer-author Jens Jacob Lapidus’ Stockholm Noir novel trilogy, this brand new crime drama follows Leya, a young tech entrepreneur trying to find an investor. When complexities arise, she has to take a loan from her brother-in-law, who runs a drug cartel. The inevitable sucking-in into the world of crime begins and the rest is, well, a captivating seven part TV show (renewed for season two!).

6. Sky Rojo
Country of Origin: Spain

A delicious, pulp thriller from the creators of the unfadingly popular Money Heist, Sky Rojo (spanish for Red Leatherette) follows three prostitutes on the run, escaping from their terrifying pimp. The show is gritty and fast-paced, more thrill-a-minute than slow burn. They’ve also confirmed a season two, so feel free to get invested.

7. Vincenzo

Country of Origin: South Korea
Adopted and raised by an Italian family and raised in Italy, Park Joo-hyung eventually joins the mafia taking on the name of Vincenzo Cassano. A family death leads him to flee to Seoul, where a quest to recover tonnes of gold stashed in the basement of Geumga Plaza leads him right into the seedy underbelly of real estate crime. It’s a 20-episode season, so there’s enough to really sink your teeth into.

8. So Not Worth It
Country of Origin: South Korea

Obsessed with Blackpink and BTS? Then this is the Korean drama for you. A compound of all the fun and apologetically pop aspects of Korean teen culture, this sitcom is centred around a college dorm in Korea. More specifically, one that is plays host to students from around the world; and the intermingling of their cultural backgrounds ensues. Great for an easy, non-taxing after-work watch.

9. Zero
Country of Origin: Italian

Zero is the story of Omar, a second-gen Italian of Senegalese descent that often feels invisible with his peers, until he discovers he actually has the power to be–literally. His journey sees him tapping into the newfound superpower (which he can harness through feeling intense emotion) and finding his place in the world with the help of the new friends he makes who are kids that live in his public housing neighborhood–and are fighting to preserve it. A fun–and accessible–take on a superhero story.

10. Paranormal
Country of Origin: Egypt

A fabulous Arabic-language supernatural-horror drama from Egypt, this is the exemplar for why you should look outside english language shows for great genre television. Based on the prolific Egyptian physician-author Ahmed Khaled Tawfik’s best-selling series Ma Waraa Al Tabiaa, this six-episode series (2020, with a ’21 India release) follows hematologist (slash skeptic) Refaat Ismail who begins questioning everything as he is pushed headfirst into a series of supernormal events. Eerie without being overtly genre-pandering.