What is your favorite non-American TV show?
I feel like most people on reddit (and probably here, too) only really watch American shows, but there IS a lot of good content in Europe and other countries as well. Sometimes those shows come to the US in a butchered, Americanized remake, but those are rarely as good as the original show.
Bonus points if it's not orginally in English (so British & Australian shows don't count either!).
One of my favorite tv shows (at least the first season) is the French 2012 supernatural drama series Les Revenants. It's got a captivating story with some great acting and a killer soundtrack (by the Scottish post-rock band Mogwai, if you're into that kind of music). It fell apart a bit in season 2 and never got picked up for a third season, but it's still very much worth watching for that first, brilliant season.
The IT Crowd. Best sitcom of all time. Everyone in the tech industry should watch this.
The show was the perfect length, it didn’t go on for 500 seasons like a lot of other shows, so the jokes were consistently hilarious.
I try not to oversell things when I recommend them to people, and I'm highly critical of most media, so I feel like it is meaningful when I recommend IT Crowd to people and tell them that "Work Outing" is probably in my top 500 television episodes of all time.
And even though there’s a laugh track, it’s easy to look past after a few minutes of watching.
It's not a track! The commentary tracks for the IT crowd are awesome.
The writer / director talks about how people are coming into the show blind, with no prior knowledge of the characters, and are caught between the hype of a live production and the nervousness of not laughing at the right time.
He noted that they often have to take the live studio audience audio and tone it down, and even cut parts, so it's appropriate to the intention of the scene.
Sorry, you're right, it's not a laugh track. In fact, there's a special behind the scenes on Netflix which is pretty awesome to watch if you have the time.
One thing I really appreciate about Graham Linehan is his total transparency and candid self-awareness with his work, especially the IT Crowd. He went into it knowing that he was making a goofy.
His DVD commentaries (he did one for each episode) are extremely educational and would benefit anybody interested in writing a sitcom for a live studio audience.
Does Black Mirror count? It was non-American until it was bought by Netflix.
I love panel shows. QI, 8 out of 10 Cats (and 8 out of 10 Cats does Countdown), Mock the Week, Would I Lie to You? .. that sort of thing. I think it was Mr. Bean, Father Ted and Old School Doctor Who that really got me into British television. I also loved The IT Crowd, Black Books and the alike.
I am obsessed with Panel, Quiz, Discussion and Variety shows too (both UK and Japanese). Obsessing over Monty Python as a kid (and living in the UK for several years) is what started it all for me.
Some of my favorites: https://trakt.tv/users/nubs/lists/panel-talk-quiz-shows
QI being my all-time favorite and although Sandy is great, I miss Stephen Fry so damn much. :(
He is my favorite person in the world!
The one stand-out to me that I personally can't stand is Celebrity Juice. Like, I don't mind dirty jokes or risque situations (in-fact I encourage them!), but something about that show makes me feel extremely uncomfortable.
I haven’t seen that one yet but I suspect, given your description of it, I would not be a fan of it either. Celebrities talking to each other is one thing (potentially interesting) but gossiping about each other is another (not interesting), IMO.
No, it's panelists talking about celebs. Jimmy Carr is on it a lot, and I love him to death but not even he can make the show better. They get very graphic regarding sex lives and other things. It's gross.
Ah, so it’s just a risqué version of a talk/panel show. I retract my statement, that does sound interesting. LOL
Feel free to check it out if ya want, it's not for everyone but I respect those who do enjoy it.
Thanks for the link. And hah nope... not for me. That host is bloody obnoxious and the guests pretty vacuous. :P
OK, we're best friends now.
Oh hey if you like QI definitely check out No Such Thing As A Fish, a podcast made by the fact monkeys behind the former. Equal parts fascinating and laugh out loud hilarious.
Thanks, I have heard of No Such Thing... but never took the plunge listening to it for some unknown reason. Any recommendations for particularly outstanding episodes to get me started?
As far as outstanding episodes go they're pretty much all fantastic, but recently I definitely enjoyed No Such Thing As A Lobster War quite a bit!
Thanks, and I will be sure to give it a listen tomorrow. Podcasts are a great way to keep me from going insane while I deal with the massive backlog of invite requests. :P
Cheers, let me know is how it goes. :)
I love panel shows as well! They're so much better than American talk shows/gameshows. Especially Would I Lie to You.
Utopia. If it's meant for you, then the opening scene will suck you in quickly.
You where right about, damn that was good.
Man that color grading in the first few shots was really sweet. Stylistic, but it tied in to the colors in the shop really well.
They are doing an american adaptation, dont know how good it would turn out to be. The original is very british and that adds to the appeal of the show. Its a shame they had to cancel it.
Aha! This doesn't disallow my weebshit.
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann easily takes that spot for me, and I'd consider it my (2nd) favorite piece of art that I've ever encountered. I've been rewatching it recently and it's wonderful to know that it matures really well upon rewatch and I wasn't just in a couple year long honeymoon phase. If you like things that pick a thematic idea and just go all out supporting that idea in every moment and every frame you see, then I think Gurren Lagann is the thing for you. Personally, there's nothing I respect more than being that focused.
Other than animu, Monty Python's Flying Circus probably takes that spot. I don't think I really need to justify why the pythons are incredible.
This is the same lines that my brain went along. My personal favorite would have to be Hunter x Hunter though.
Doctor Who, probably? My boyfriend and I just finished Smith and Capaldi so we're swinging back to Tennant. After that we think we'll go into the 1st part episodes
I grew up watching the old Docs. Tom Baker is still my favorite. I quit watching the new ones a few episodes into Peter Capaldi's run. New writers just lost something.
Aw man, give it a chance. Some of the best episodes of the new series came during Capaldi's run, imo. :(
I know exactly what you mean, Capaldi was just a weird doctor with the glasses and the guitar. He eventually grew on me though
I gave up watching Doctor Who when Capaldi became him. He's just not the doctor, and I can't understand a word he's saying, so that doesn't help.
I really enjoyed watching Dark. The future affects the past, or the other way?
Dark was so damn good. Loved it to bits. Despite the time travel trope it was able to bring something new to the table and made it very interesting. Its also extremely well shot.
The only one that comes to mind right now is "A Touch Of Cloth". It's a comedy written my Charlie Brooker (black mirror) and it's chock full of puns and parodies of the earlier police detective dramas. It's phenomenally well written since when I go back to re-watch it there's usually a joke/context/perspective i missed before and find myself reeling over now that I've noticed.
This is a few random clips from the show (missing a few of my faves unfortunately)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHPNKa0m1OQ
It feels like a 2-5m parody skit, but it's hour long episodes where they somehow manage to keep up the insane amount of jokes and whatnot. I absolutely love it!
I'd forgotten about Touch Of Cloth, drowning in the most awful puns and bang on piss taking of TV tropes.. Even the title of the programme is an awful pun. I remember laughing my way through each episode, then feeling a certain amount of shame for enjoying it so much.
Gonna rewatch it now, when I have some time to indulge my bad jokes addiction.
Barring British and Australian, I think the Danish-Swedish Bron/Broen, on which the based The Bridge (and better I think), and the Danish Forbrydelsen, on which they based The Killing, and its better as well (although the fist season is a bit tough).
If anime counts, I would say Monster. Amazing.
Also I've just watched a few episodes of The plague and Fariña, and they are pretty good.
I came here to recommend Bron/Broen. I haven't watched the whole thing through but the Swedish/Danish style is a really nice change of pace from most English language stuff. It's hard to describe, but really distinctive and something I personally love. It's nice and gritty, mildly depressing but really good.
Yes, I really liked it. The US version fell really short imo, I only watched the first season, I think, and there are like... four now? And maybe it gets better.
You'd probably enjoy Forbrydelsen as well, similar atmosphere, pretty good, if you can stand listening to Danish for so many hours... :P
Probably Coupling. Very funny, very inappropriate British sitcom. Six main characters, three men and three women. All very funny. Aired from 2000-2004.
I watched the first series of Les Revenants when it was broadcast in the UK on Channel 4. I quite enjoyed it.
But asking for a favourite is a tough one. I enjoy Shetland, a BBC crime/procedural programme quite a lot. I also really enjoy The Bridge and am enjoying the 4th series.
My go to for things to watch is picking something on Walter Presents at random and see if I like it.
http://www.channel4.com/collection/walter-presents
I loved the IT Crowd, and Keeping Up Appearances, with Hyacinth Bucket. Or Bouqet. ;-).
Non-American: Doctor Who
Non-Mainstream: Murdoch Mysteries
Murdoch Mysteries, like most Canadian original TV programming, is low budget and kinda cheesy... but pleasantly so. I really like it too.
How is Doctor Who these days? I stopped watching mid- Matt Smith run... not for any particular reason, just got kinda tired of the repeated tropes and needed a break after watching since Eccleston. Is it worth catching up again?
I think it gets better but lots of people disagree. Some don't like Clara as a new companion but I liked her better than the ponds.
The 50th anniversary/the lead up was really good too.
'Doctor Who' got better after Peter Capaldi (Twelfth Doctor) joined and after Jenna Coleman (Clara) left. The Matt Smith era got too self-referential and tied up in the super-specialness of the Doctor and his companions. When Smith left, that tendency eased off, but it didn't totally disappear until The Impossible Girl moved on. The tenth series, with the Twelfth Doctor and his new companion Bill Potts, was fun.
I never got into Murdoch mysteries, but I do love me some cheesy Canadian programming. Road to Avonlea, anyone?
I binged Detectorists when I had the flu. Not necessarily laugh out loud funny but a perfect show to put you in a good mood.
Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister!
Classic British TV; used to watch it with my father when I was younger. Ahhh, the good old days before responsibilities and major bills.
Letterkenny is my current darling but I'm like two seasons behind because I can't easily get the episodes. some of the humour misses the mark but it has a really unique quality to it overall. knowledge of Ontarian culture (especially rural Ontarian culture) isn't necessary but it probably helps a lot.
Have a look at Black Mirror, which is really a bunch of mini-movies, all showing directions that technology could take us as a society. Some of them are very hefty. Definitely make you think.
I think maybe you mean Black Mirror, and it’s one of the most popular shows out right now.
Yes, indeed. Thanks for correcting (and I cannot figure out the strikethrough syntax.)
I don’t know what it is on here, but on Reddit it’s just one tilde (~) on each side. Just delete the word and replace it with the new one, though. No need to strike it through and leave it.
I tried ~single~ and
doubletildes, as well as <s>this one</s>, to no avail...Yeah, strikethrough is not implemented on tildes yet...
Have a look at 'Flight of the Conchords', a good bit of New Zealand comedy.
But that one is actually based on a Swedish TV series. Or are you referring to that one? Äkta Manniskor, I actually liked it more than the English version.
Yep. You might want to check it out and see how it compares.
Totally not in the same grouping as everything others are posting, but I binged both the UK's "Nightmare Tenants, Slum Landlords" and NZ's Renters. WTF people. I thought renters in the US could be bad.
One I would add is Being Erica, which was a Canadian show.
Doctor Who or Sherlock.
On a side note, I really need to go back a re-watch both of those...
My favourite non-American TV show is 'Yes, Minister' (and its sequel 'Yes, Prime Minister'). This is a brilliant comedy about how English government (and, to a degree, any parliamentary government based on the Windsor system) operates - or doesn't operate. I love it. In fact, not only is it my favourite non-American TV show, it's one of the contenders for my favourite TV show... full stop.
My favourite Australia TV show (to be a bit patriotic) is 'The Games'. Not coincidentally, it's another satirical look at how bureaucracy works: it's a mockumentary about what happens in the office of the people running the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. John Clarke is a national treasure (who we acquired from our Kiwi neighbours).
I've watched 'The Hollowmen'. It's good, but not good enough to be a favourite of mine.
My favorite k-drama is You From Another Star. I used to watch a lot of Korean tv, have gotten out of the habit lately.
https://www.dramafever.com/drama/4325/My_Love_From_Another_Star/
The IT Crowd and Detectorists. Both great shows.
I really enjoyed
Peep show and Rundfunk
Peep Show is on my Mount Rushmore of comedy. It's extremely funny.
The Big Fat Quiz Show of the Year is absolutely hilarious.
Misfits season 1-2 unfortunately a key member of the cast departs between season 2 and 3 and the show quickly lost my interest from there.
I'm a huge fan of the CBC show "The Newsroom."
To give you an idea of what the creator is like, if you look up "Canadian Larry David," the first article you'll find is about him.
Here are the first 9-10 minutes of the pilot episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNY_XLh5bAA
A couple of pretty good German shows, both on Netflix and while they're available with an English dub I'd strongly recommend watching them in German w/ subtitles:
DARK
Babylon Berlin
I also really enjoyed these British shows, and still am really bummed that they cancelled Utopia in favor of a US remake. I hope they don't completely butcher it.
Utopia
The End of the Fucking World
Peaky Plinders
The Fall
and TopGear / The Grand Tour if you're a petrolhead.
Father Brown and Doc Martin.
Top Boy. It's a British crime drama that I found on netflix, and relatively unknown (at least amongst anyone I've met. It's definitely my favourite of that genre since the Wire.
It got canceled after only two seasons, but apparently it is Drake's favourite show, so he is bringing it back for a third season on Netflix.
There's an Australian show called Please Like Me (the trailer really doesn't sell it very well, to be honest) which deserves way more exposure. It's funny, it's kind, it's sweet and it deals with all sorts of complicated things in a realistic, caring fashion without ever talking down to it's audience. Not one single person I've recommended it to hasn't loved it. I'd put it in the same kind of league as The Detectorists.
If you haven't seen it do not google anything about it, just watch it. There are serious spoilers kicking around and believe me, you owe it to the show and to yourself to not have the major plot points spoiled.
If you have seen it, that final episode. So good.
I'm Canadian, so I've got a few. Corner Gas comes to mind (it coined the term "staycation". You're welcome, world), the old Anne of Green Gables miniseries (RIP Jon Crombie) and the cheesy spinoff Road to Avonlea. Does Hockey Night in Canada count?
If you haven't seen SCTV I recommend it, you'll recognize John Candy (from being John Candy), Catherine O'Hara (the mom from Beetlejuice and Home Alone), Eugene Levy (dad from American pie), Rick Moranis (who shrunk his honey's kids), Joe Flaherty (the dad from Freaks and Geeks), Andrea Martin (the aunt from my big fat Greek wedding), Dave Thomas (Mr. F), and Martin Short (you've seen him around.)
There are too many fantastic Canadian series to list, just visit the Wikipedia page for Canadian Television Series to check them out, probably a few favourites you didn't realize were Canadian!
The IT Crowd and The Inbetweeners