10 Best International Netflix Original Shows, Ranked

Netflix has come a long way since it took its first tentative steps into the realm of original content with "House of Cards" and "Orange Is the New Black" in 2013. Thirteen years later, we're well into the thousands of productions under the "Netflix original" banner, with the streaming giant now taking up a significant chunk of the TV landscape and airing a great many of the world's most talked-about shows.

While American audiences are naturally prone to greater familiarity with the U.S. productions on the menu, one of the most significant effects of Netflix's meteoric global rise is that it's now helping to cross-pollinate numerous international TV markets. It's no coincidence that the first non-English Primetime Emmy nominee for Outstanding Drama Series was a Netflix show: It's a core reality of the Netflix-led streaming era that, with streamers getting in on local industries and network schedules and programming discretion no longer dictating what the mainstream public has access to, TV viewers have been turning up in droves to binge shows from all corners of the world.

In celebration of this unprecedented toppling of language barriers, we've put together a ranking of the 10 absolute best international Netflix original series. To help narrow down an impossibly large pool, the ground rule is that only non-English-language productions are eligible — so no British or Australian shows, wonderful as so many of them may be. Otherwise, these shows are ranked by an overall combination of writing and direction quality, ambition, richness, and consistency. Turn on those subtitles and dive into the goods.

• Country: Colombia
• Cast: Diego Vásquez, Marleyda Soto, Claudio Cataño
• Written by: José Rivera, Natalia Santa, Camila Brugés Gómez
• Rating: TV-MA
• Number of episodes: 16

The 1967 Gabriel García Márquez novel "One Hundred Years of Solitude" is a defining masterpiece of 20th-century literature. Yet its gigantic scope, daunting length, and utterly unconventional narrative style made it a classic that filmmakers wouldn't touch for decades, with the exception of Japanese director Shūji Terayama and his loose 1984 reimagining titled "Farewell to the Ark" (incidentally, a foreign fantasy movie you have to see before you die).

In 2024, a proper, full-fledged screen adaptation of "One Hundred Years of Solitude" was finally brought into being. A Colombian production entirely in Spanish, Netflix's "One Hundred Years of Solitude" follows the development of the small riverside community of Macondo, as it becomes the backdrop to the twisty, tragic, whimsical, eventful lives of several generations in the Buendía family and their various friends and acolytes.

Like the novel, the show attentively searches for the beauty, the heartbreak, and the horror alike in Macondo's winding history. The performances are excellent across the board, the use of the episodic format to capture the first half of García Márquez's saga is intelligent and effective, and there's just something unspeakably affecting about watching Macondo come to life in such a vibrant way via first-rate production design and cinematography. It's everything an adaptation should be.

• Country: South Korea
• Cast: Lee Jung-jae, Lee Byung-hun, Wi Ha-joon
• Created by: Hwang Dong-hyuk
• Rating: TV-MA
• Number of episodes: 22

The original series that smashed all-time Netflix records also happens to be one of the best. Written and directed entirely by Hwang Dong-hyuk, "Squid Game" took the world by storm in 2021 with its story of class struggle made literal through bloody games of survival. Although it ultimately became a victim of its own success quality-wise, with two solid but largely superfluous additional seasons produced on top of the flawless Season 1, "Squid Game" remains a high benchmark for how much a Netflix show can transcend language barriers just by virtue of being really, really good.

Lee Jung-jae stars as Gi-hun, a financially challenged gambling addict who accepts an offer to take part in a competition for a 45.6 billion won (about $32 million) prize. Along with 455 other cash-strapped citizens, he is taken to a secluded island facility where he must take part in a series of Korean children's games with deadly twists.

As Gi-hun proceeds to form alliances with other players and steel himself for the various layers of physical and psychological distress embedded in the games, "Squid Game" becomes the kind of morbidly compelling, emotionally draining watch that's impossible to turn away from. Packed into the drama and the violent setpieces is a searing critique of class inequality and the savagery of late capitalism, which becomes even more overt in Seasons 2 and 3 as the very fact of the games' continuation gains an undercurrent of bitter tragedy.

• Country: Brazil
• Cast: Christian Malheiros, Jottapê Carvalho, Bruna Mascarenhas
• Created by: KondZilla, Guilherme Quintella, Felipe Braga
• Rating: TV-MA
• Number of episodes: 32

The Brazilian series "Sintonia" offers a singular mix of showbiz story, crime caper, and coming-of-age drama. Although the show's narrative is sprawling and eventually brings a wide array of characters into the fold, its focus remains consistently trained on the same central trio: Nando (Christian Malheiros), Doni (Jottapê Carvalho), and Rita (Bruna Mascarenhas), three best friends from the fictional São Paulo favela of Vila Áurea taking their first steps into adulthood. Nando is an ambitious up-and-comer in local organized crime; Doni is a Brazilian funk singer on the cusp of superstardom; Rita is a street vendor who gets involved with the neighborhood's Evangelical congregation after nearly being arrested.

"Sintonia" delicately explores the interplay between crime, music, and religion within the context of disenfranchised São Paulo life, getting at cogent points about an oft-misunderstood social milieu without ever stooping to reductionism or sensationalization. Moreover, it's just a plain excellent show through and through, in which complex, patiently developed narrative arcs full of moving pieces exist in harmony with unflagging character authenticity. It manages the rare, wondrous trick of mustering enormous empathy for its protagonists without sugarcoating the moral complexity of their lives and decisions. And, in doing so, it accrues immense emotional power over the course of its run, ultimately making each watch feel like checking in on the growing-up process of a group of people you know too well not to care for.

• Country: Thailand
• Cast: Kitty Chicha Amatayakul, Chanya McClory, Teeradon Supapunpinyo
• Written by: Kongdej Jaturanrasamee, Tinnapat Banyatpiyapoj
• Rating: TV-MA
• Number of episodes: 21

"Girl from Nowhere" began as a production of the Thai television network GMM 25 before moving over to Netflix for its second season, at which point it became a richly-deserved global hit. This anthology-esque dark high school thriller features Kitty Chicha Amatayakul as its protagonist and only consistent throughline, Nanno, a mysterious teenage girl who keeps transferring freely between various Thai private schools and stirring up chaos in each of them.

In reality, Nanno is an immortal cosmic entity who visits different schools with the mission to judge the actions of its students and teachers and mete out appropriate punishment for their misdeeds. Dispassionate and neutral, Nanno is capable of unearthing the lies of humans and embroiling them in her games of manipulation. Yet Nanno is also a moral guide willing to help those who want to better and redeem themselves, and this disposition eventually places her in conflict with Yuri (Chanya McClory), a helped victim turned unexpectedly daunting rival, in Season 2.

"Girl from Nowhere" excels at coming up with fascinating standalone scenarios for each episode, and consistently aces the fundamentals of tight psychological thriller plotting while galvanizing the viewer with masterfully-constructed twists and shocking swerves into darkness. Few, if any, Netflix original productions have ever been so savvy in their exploration of interpersonal intrigue for maximum ghastly impact — yet the show's empathetic import ensures that it never becomes cruel or schlocky.

• Country: India
• Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Radhika Apte
• Created by: Vikramaditya Motwane
• Rating: TV-MA
• Number of episodes: 16

The first Netflix original to hail from India immediately set a formidable benchmark. An adaptation of the 2006 Vikram Chandra novel spearheaded by seasoned Hindu filmmaker Vikramaditya Motwane, "Sacred Games" revitalizes the hard-boiled police procedural format by lacing it with a rare level of density, intelligence, texture, ambition, and artistic exuberance. It's probably the only show in the Netflix catalog that melds together the sensibilities of "The Wire," icy Scandinavian crime thrillers, and lavish Bollywood blockbusters.

Saif Ali Khan stars as Sartaj Singh, a Mumbai police inspector who gets a call from long-missing crime kingpin Ganesh Gaitonde (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), warning him that a major event is set to wipe out the city's entire population in 25 days. As Sartaj plunges into the deepest reaches of Mumbai to untangle a massive conspiracy with the help of Indian intelligence agent Anjali Mathur (Radhika Apte), we follow the story of Gaitonde's origins in flashbacks — and the two parallel tales gradually dovetail in gripping, startling ways.

The first season of "Sacred Games," in particular, far exceeds the scope of a typical cop drama. It instead becomes a multi-layered treatise on the cultural and sociopolitical intricacies of contemporary Mumbai life, as viewed through a labyrinthine plot explored with breathless kineticism, entrancing attention to detail, and enriching nods to spirituality and magic realism. In fact, the show would be even higher-ranked here if not for its somewhat underwhelming second season.

• Country: South Korea
• Cast: Ju Ji-hoon, Bae Doona, Ryu Seung-ryong
• Created by: Kim Eun-hee, Kim Seong-hun, Park Inje
• Rating: TV-MA
• Number of episodes: 12 + 1 special

One of the best zombie shows of all time is a Netflix original South Korean period drama set in the early 17th century. If that seems like an unlikely setting for a series with that particular distinction, that's because it is — and "Kingdom" makes the absolute most of its seeming genre incongruence.

The show, written by Kim Eun-hee and directed by Kim Seong-hun and Park In-je, takes place in the Joseon dynasty shortly after the Imjin War, and centers on Joseon Crown Prince Lee Chang (Ju Ji-hoon). While dealing with the tensions surrounding his claim to the throne, Lee Chang begins to investigate his father's mysterious, closely-guarded illness, and ends up learning about a bizarre plague in which the dead are being transformed into ravenous flesh-eating creatures.

Along with his bodyguard Mu-yeong (Kim Sang-ho) and plague-surviving doctor Seo-bi (Bae Doona), Lee Chang takes on the onslaught of zombies while navigating an increasingly treacherous and dangerous political climate, the volatility of which is exacerbated by the rapidly-spreading crisis. Somehow, the show manages to honor both its zombie horror and historical political thriller halves, braiding them together into one of the most propulsive, well-written, visually impressive, consistently surprising, and viscerally exciting (no pun intended) shows on all of Netflix. Here's hoping that up-in-the-air "Kingdom" Season 3 actually happens.

• Country: France
• Cast: Omar Sy, Ludivine Sagnier, Antoine Gouy
• Created by: George Kay
• Rating: TV-MA
• Number of episodes: 17

There's nothing that crackles quite like a good heist thriller, and, since 2021, Netflix's "Lupin" has been serving up first-rate heist fiction by the episode. It's a serious contender for the title of most pulse-pounding Netflix show ever — and, on top of its command of tension and narrative buildup, it's also a brilliant character study teeming with pertinent social commentary. Although the show borrows its name from Arsène Lupin, the iconic gentleman thief from the works of early-20th-century novelist Maurice Leblanc, the character of Lupin himself is not featured on the show. It is, instead, a source of inspiration for Assane Diop (Omar Sy), a highly intelligent and resourceful modern-day professional thief.

As we follow Assane's risky yet efficient present-day exploits, we learn more about how his Senegalese father was framed for theft by his employer and took his own life in prison while Assane was still a teen. This inspired Assane, over two decades later, to steal the same diamond necklace that caused his father's demise and expose the miscarriage of justice. After "Lupin" Season 1 made Netflix history, subsequent seasons have rotated brilliantly through different high-stakes plots, positioning Assane as a kind of Parisian Robin Hood whose confident, precise, and charismatic methods belie a slew of personal demons. Whether in the heist sequences or in the dramatic downturns, it's irresistibly addictive television.

• Country: Turkey
• Cast: Öykü Karayel, Fatih Artman, Defne Kayalar
• Created by: Berkun Oya, Ali Farkhonde
• Rating: TV-MA
• Number of episodes: 8

Written and directed by Berkun Oya, the 2020 Turkish miniseries "Ethos" is a veritable hidden gem on Netflix. It's a work of literary rigor and cinematic expressiveness that's nonetheless all television, what with its shrewd usage of the episodic format to weave together a web of complicated people, conflicts, and relationships.

We open on Meryem (Öykü Karayel), a deeply religious working-class woman from the outskirts of Istanbul who begins to experience strange fainting spells, leading her to the office of wealthy and jaded psychiatrist Peri (Defne Kayalar). Meryem unspools her complex family life, employment situation, and conflicted state of mind before Peri, who has trouble empathizing with Meryem's struggles due to Meryem's faith. Not long after, we watch Peri herself open up about this failure of medical professionalism with her own therapist (Tülin Özen).

From there, "Ethos" begins to place greater and greater emphasis on the stories of several other people swirling around both Meryem and Peri. An intricate tapestry of contemporary Turkey gradually forms, bringing together several pressing social issues and laying bare the delicate balance of forces that shapes life in a bustling, storied metropolis like Istanbul. In just eight episodes, the show manages to sketch out a portrait of class inequality, religious disagreement, and the human condition that feels all-encompassing in its multiplicity of facets and viewpoints. It's astonishingly great writing, brought to life by strong natural performances and resourceful direction — in short, just wondrously good TV.

• Country: South Korea
• Cast: IU, Park Bo-gum, Moon So-ri
• Created by: Kim Won-seok, Lim Sang-choon
• Rating: TV-14
• Number of episodes: 16

Although several of the biggest South Korean Netflix hits are bombastic, nail-biting, action-packed blockbuster fare, the best South Korean Netflix original could be accurately described as a slice-of-life show. Indeed, as slice-of-life shows go, "When Life Gives You Tangerines" is among the best of its kind to ever hail from South Korea or elsewhere.

Directed by Kim Won-seok across 16 episodes divided into four "chapters," this heartbreaking 2025 K-drama tells the decades-spanning story of the relationship between Oh Ae-sun (IU) and Yang Gwan-sik (Park Bo-gum). Born in Jeju Island in 1951, Ae-sun grows up as an ambitious but economically disadvantaged aspiring poet; the shy and reserved Gwan-sik is the smitten suitor who eventually sweeps her off her feet, and goes on to accompany her through various life struggles.

Although that setup might read as ripe for weightless wish fulfillment, "When Life Gives You Tangerines" is a show that deploys its own warmth and romanticism in service of a wistful, melancholy, and profoundly moving reckoning with the nature of time and the mystery of human connection. As the timeline flits between the lovebirds in their youth and the later generations of the clan they go on to build together, the show masterfully situates its family saga within a highly specific and incisive portrait of postwar Korean history. It's a bona fide epic of tenderness.

• Country: Germany
• Cast: Louis Hofmann, Lisa Vicari, Maja Schöne
• Created by: Baran bo Odar, Jantje Friese
• Rating: TV-MA
• Number of episodes: 26

No reason not to throw down the gauntlet: "Dark" is the best audiovisual work of time travel fiction ever made. Even if one refrains from going that far, it is inarguably, at the very least, the work that goes furthest in its exploration of the dramatic ramifications and terrifying possibilities opened up by the concept.

This mind-bogglingly intelligent and thorough series begins with a simple, pungent idea: In a chilly German small town, the intertwined secrets of four families are brought into the open by a series of youth disappearances. From the start, "Dark" establishes itself as both a knotty domestic drama and an engrossing mystery. The disappearances have something to do with a cave near a local nuclear power plant, and the present-day strange events are related to strange events in 1986, 1953, and several other years.

But what exactly is going on? The show doesn't make it easy to search out an answer; you have to pay attention to its unfathomably dense plotting, think deeply about its sci-fi and relationship drama elements alike, and keep a close eye on its visual details. Yet "Dark" is so human, so incredibly powerful in its meditation on the cruelties of time and fate, that it packs a wallop even — if not especially — in case of utter, overwhelming narrative befuddlement. It's the best Netflix original production not in the English language, and squarely in the running for overall best.