This list is in no particular order. I just threw together a list of shows that I have watched that were interesting and featured non-U.S. cultures. It’s great to get outside of the U.S. bubble of media and see what else is out there making the world laugh, cry, think, and feel. Do you notice a trend?
Derry Girls
Hilarious, hands down. A historic comedy about the Troubles in Ireland.
The Office – Indian version
I watched this while I was recovering from COVID. Some people don’t like it because it has almost the same plot points as the U.S. version. But that didn’t bother me because they used a proven format but interchanged cultural norms and humor that made the show its own entity.
Outsourced
This show was underrated and I wish it hadn’t been canceled so quickly. It was a comedy about an American manager who is sent to India to mange the B-team of a customer service group. I love how rich this show was when showing Indian culture and traditions, and how what seems like a boring, run-of-the-mill job in the U.S. can be considered prestigious in other countries. It was too good for its time.
Still Game
If you don’t mind a bit of weird makeup (the actors are middle-aged but play pensioners) and would like to see what your grandparents may be up to in their free time, this one set in Scotland is worth a watch.
Kim’s Convenience
There are some sweet, heartfelt moments with the Korean-Canadian family, especially when learning where the lead character, Janet, got her name from.
We Are Lady Parts
So good! This show spotlights so many unique cultures thrown together: British, Arab, African, Muslim, with some punk rock thrown in for good measure. I’m devastated that there’s only one season, but I wouldn’t change a thing because I love every second of it.
Call the Midwife
So this one is interesting for the people who love medical history–weirdly specific, I know. But it’s very cool because the show features a lot of things that actually happened in England’s history and I love learning: vaccines; the use of thalidomide and its traumatic effects; the fight for the birth control pill to be accessible to every woman, not just married ones.
The Honorable Woman
Honestly, I watched this so long ago that I don’t remember it very well. What I do remember is sad and brutal. But, I know that I watched all eight one-hour long episodes in one day, as if it were an 8-hour movie, so it was clearly fantastic. From what I remember, a Jewish Brit (played by an American) works with a tech company in the Middle East and it goes terribly wrong.
Letterkenny
Silly, pointless, but entertaining. If you want to hear rambling, clever jokes about rural Canada (and see the French-English rivalry on display) check out this comedy.
Ouran High School Host Club
I don’t watch anime usually, but during an Anthropology class on the topic of gender, my professor showed us an episode of this show. I HAD to see what happened. So I found a way to stream all of the episodes about this Japanese boarding school for very wealthy teens and Googled a lot about Japanese culture along the way so I could fully appreciate what was happening. (Moé, anyone?)
Rita
Badass Danish schoolteacher who cares hard for her students but is pretty F-ed on her own time. Watching this will make you feel empowered…or want to burn everything down, but in a mic drop sort of way.
Servant of the People
It’s so cool to see President Zelenskyy in the role that made him famous before he became the badass commander in chief that we know today. Lots of quirky and fun political hijinks centering around his character’s fighting corruption and trying to make Ukraine better for the common people.
I literally remembered the last two as I was proofreading this article getting ready to post. I could go on and on and on–but I will save the stragglers for a follow up post. Which of these shows have you seen? Which ones do you recommend? Let me know if you check any of these out.
Cheers,
Sara
P.S. The trend is that I primarily watch comedy because the world is dramatic enough, haha.