The majority of shows recommended in this forum tend to be shows produced and aired in the United States. I saw a thread asking people to post movies from their home country and I figured it would be nice to have one for TV shows. I am currently watching Les Revenants from France because I've heard great things about it (It's on Netflix now). I'm curious about the quality of TV shows outside of Hollywood (preferably not sitcoms). I know all about shows like Doctor Who and Sherlock, but maybe there are lesser known but still really good shows that don't make it to the states?

 

I think one of Quebec's show was remade in the US (as the USA tends to do a lot with a bunch of movie/show). But here are a couple of French Canadian show that were really well received. I don't know if there are any actual english translation for most of them, but I'm pretty sure there are.

• Omertà: La loi du silence (A special unit fighting the mafia in montreal, really really good)
• 19-2 (Two policemen and their difficulty in montreal)
• Les Parents (Family comedy)
• Unité 9 (Women in prison)
• Les Invincibles
• Les bougons
• Dans une galaxie près de chez vous (Family comedy - There's 2 movies of it also)
• Lance et Compte (TV show about a hockey team)

 

I enjoyed the show The Almighty Johnsons from New Zealand, which is also on Netflix. Axl Johnson just turned 21, and his brothers and cousin take him to the forest and tell him that they are actually reincarnations of Norse gods, which becomes apparent when they get that age and gain their god powers. Axl turns out to be Odin, which is huge: when Odin and Frigg meet, the Norse gods are supposed to become full gods, as opposed to mortals with limited powers. They try to find Frigg, but opposing them are the Norse goddesses, who like being mortals just fine (as opposed to subservient to Odin and Frigg) and will do anything to stop them from finding Frigg.

 

Not a Canadian myself, but Slings & Arrows is one of my top 5 shows of all time.

I don't think you have to be a theater and/or Shakespeare geek to enjoy this fully, but it probably helps. It's quite funny on its own, and some of the characters are just... gold.

My brother and I quote this shit all the time, and I still sometimes answer the phone with "I am Darren Nichols. Deal with that."

It's funny and moving and the send-ups of theater culture, pretentiousness in art, and corporate absurdity are just fucking brilliant.

There are three seasons, I think 8ish episodes each? You can blast through it in a weekend. I repeat: top 5 show of all time, and I don't say that lightly.

 

Top Gear is the answer to all things. Only way to really get it on TV in the US is through BBC America (though the internet is the obvious answer).

 

Deutschland 83 is a great German show that I can wholeheartedly recommend!

War & Peace is a show that I've been meaning to start watching but the girlfriend wants to watch it with me so waiting for her, but it seems to be pretty good!

 

Ekipa (would translate as The Crew, I guess?)

I have no idea if there's a subtitled version somewhere - it was rather niche in Poland, so that should tell you something.

Most Polish shows are half-hour comedy/family/drama soaps that run for hundreds of episodes over dozens of seasons. This one is a true gem of Polish television and to this day I regret there was only one season (14 episodes), because it's not just good Polish tv, it bloody well made tv period.

Since there isn't a synopsis on imdb, here's one: it's a political drama centered around Konstanty Turski, an economics professor who is nominated for the position of Prime Minister after the current PM's Security Service file surfaces.

 

I was a pretty big fan of Little Mosque on the Prairie a Canadian show that was airing a few years back. It was fun and had some ridiculously compact writing (with well formed A-B-C-D and sometimes E plots in a half-hour comedy). It wasn't perfect but it was a well made show with a different point of view you don't see on TV all that often. I think it is or was streaming on Hulu.

I was also a fan of the first couple seasons of the BBC's Being Human though I sort of dropped off in the third season. Never watched the American version, though.

 

I found myself gripped by the first series of Broadchurch a couple of years ago. Young boy is found dead on a beach, and two detectives (David Tennant and Olivia Coleman) investigate, uncovering a whole web of skeletons in closets, and other such genre tropes. Not the most original premise, I'll grant you, but very well done. Series two was a bit of a disappointment, but had its moments; happily, the first series wraps up neatly enough that you could easily finish there.

I also got hooked on Indian Summers, a series about the relationships between the white ruling classes and Indian natives in the Raj summer retreat at Simla. Takes in political and social differences, corruption, murder, with a healthy sprinkling of lusty angst. Perhaps of most interest to DLP due to the chance to see Julie Walters (AKA Molly Weasley) being a world class manipulative, racist bitch. Series 2 just started.

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell is the best thing the BBC have done in ages. The tale of two wizards in Regency England, battling first Napoleon, then fairies, then their own egos.

Finally, I absolutely love Raised by Wolves, which is the story of a single mother bringing up her six kids on a council estate* in Wolverhampton. It's terrifically funny, although you might feel it sometimes falls into the trap of a great number of HP fanfics by having kids not sounding much like kids (probably justified in that they've grown up largely in their own company due to being home-schooled by a fairly free-thinking mother).

Obligatory mentions for Doctor Who and Sherlock, although Sherlock does appear to be disappearing up its own arse on recent evidence.

 

Black Books is probably one the funniest tv shows ever. Dylan Moran is the non apologetic chain-smoking alcoholic owner of a small book shop and hires Bill Bailey as his shop boy. Tamsin Greig plays the ditzy next door shopowner with her head in the clouds.

The jokes are simply phenomenal.

This.

 

Black Books is up there with Blackadder for my favourite comedy show. I'd be hard pressed to pick between the two if forced. If you ever get the chance to watch Dylan Moran live anywhere, take it, because he's a fantastic stand up comedian as well as actor.

 

I've enjoyed a couple shows made in Denmark these past few years. One is The Killing (I know a US version was made in 2014), which is a murder mystery with police procedural elements. Unlike shitty procedurals like CSI or the new Law and Order stuff, it's visceral, gripping, addictive, with a great bleak atmosphere and excelllent plot & acting.

The second is Borgen. It's a show about politics - the central plot revolves around how a female leader of a small-medium party in Denmark manages to create a coalition and becomes the first fm prime minister. Good work acting wise, interesting plot - though, you have to like political stuff, like backroom deals, backstabbing, press manipulation & so on. There's plenty of cynicism to go around, but also some idealism. The only negative for me was that the show sometimes bludgeons you with its feminist agenda, thankfully not that frequently.

 

The Last Kingdom in the UK is pretty good. It's based on a book series by Bernard Cornwell and is about a Saxon Nobleman that was raised by Vikings and his life as he fights for one or the other. Set approximately 800-900 AD England. It's following the books fairly well from what I can remember; it's been a couple of years since I've read them.

 

I agree with these 100%, some of my favorite shows.
Other shows:

Humans
Joint Channel 4/AMC production, technically counts, it is set in the UK. Sci-fi show about synthetic humans.

Utopia
Utterly gorgeous, spectacular conspiracy thriller, two seasons. I don't want to say much more about it, it's really fucking amazing.

The Inbetweeners, Some Girls, and Skins
British teen shows are so much better than American ones, and these are my favorites of the ones I've watched.

You, Me, and the Apocalypse
Another joint British/American production, the name is pretty self-explanatory. It has a great cast, with Pam from The Office US, Tammy 2 from Parks and Recreation, Chris Traegar from Parks and Recreation, Olenna from Game of Thrones, and even Ron Swanson in a small role.

Borgia
A "French-German-Czech-Italian production" about, you guessed it, the Borgia.

I keep meaning to watch Tripped, The Thick of It, Wolf Hall, and Fresh Meat, but haven't gotten around to it yet. Definitely others I'm forgetting, but my top recs would be Black Mirror, Utopia, and Misfits, which are three of my favorite shows.

 

If you're into game shows and are fine with reading a lot of subtitles I'm suggesting Korea's Running Man. The first few episodes aren't all that great. But it gets better as it finds it's footing. Overall it's OK if you want to burn some time.

 

Similarly to this, I really enjoyed all 4 seasons of the Korean Show The Genius. The games themselves range from Avalon lite to Set and is definitely a draw if you are interested in game theory but the best part is definitely the cast.

 

Graham Linehan who was the co-creator of Black Books is also responsible for Father Ted and The IT Crowd. Father Ted in my opinion is the single best tv show ever created.

 

Did you hear the actor who played Father Jack died about a fortnight back? Sad tidings. Was brilliant in that show.


As for non-US television - Luther! Always and forever Luther! Stars Idris Elba as a badass DI taking on London's nastiest.