Travel may have stalled, but you can see the world through these foreign shows!
Crash Landing on You (2019): Sure, the premise of this South Korean drama — about a wealthy South Korean business executive who ends up on the North Korean side of the region’s demilitarised zone after a paragliding outing goes awry — necessitates some suspension of disbelief. But the popular K drama (one of the highest-rated shows to ever air on South Korean cable before its arrival on Netflix) is so charming it’s easy to forget reality’s constraints and binge your way through.
Terrace House (2012): This beloved Japanese franchise is the low-and-slow version of reality’s go-to formula (X number of strangers together in an obnoxiously nice house), putting emphasis on vulnerability rather than drama. The result — available, in various iterations, on Netflix — is a singularly intimate window into the lives of the show’s cast members.
La Casa de Papel (Money Heist) (2017): Suspense oozes through this Netflix caper series about a carefully curated team of robbers — guided by an enigmatic mastermind — who attempt a stunning heist at Spain’s Royal Mint. The third season has been among the platform’s top offerings since its premiere this month.
Elite (2018): File this Netflix drama about the competitive and impossibly beautiful students at a Spanish prep school under teen TV that’s not exactly for teens. Each season gets more ridiculous (in the best way) as the pupils of Las Encinas scramble to conceal murder, blackmail and other crimes from a local police interrogator, and each other.
Dark (2017): This German thriller is best described as an adult verison of ‘Stranger Things’, complete with a time travel theme, angsty teenagers and a mystery spanning 99 years. The Netflix show is two seasons in and a third one is expected to drop this summer. It may take a few episodes to get with the programme, once you start, you’re hooked.