International TV Series to Binge Over the Holidays
If the prospect of several days alone with your loving family over the holidays fills you with a sense of dread, or if you just need some me time to fill those lazy winter days, The Hollywood Reporter‘s annual pick of the best binge-worthy international TV series has you covered. Take a break with an intoxicating Japanese-French family drama about wine and power, deconstruct the life and work of Franz Kafka with in a new Austrian mini-series or dive deep into the cutthroat world of international fishing with a new Norwegian comedy that’s Succession… with salmon.
All This I Will Give to You
Where to Watch: MHz Choice
A deliciously twisty French murder mystery that’s like a sophisticated, sexier version of a British country-house drama. Follow Manuel, the widowed husband of a secretly wealthy man, as he unravels a complex family mystery with a retired cop. Expect cold aristocrats, family secrets and a protagonist who’s refreshingly prickly and complex.
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Becoming Karl Lagerfeld
Where to Watch: Hulu
A fascinating biographical series exploring the life of the iconic fashion designer, focusing on his rivalry and complex relationship with Yves Saint Laurent. Dive into the world of high fashion through the lens of one of its most transformative figures, who resisted being called an artist while fundamentally reshaping the fashion industry. Daniel Brühl is transformative as the haughty, brilliant and self-loathing Lagerfeld.
The Believers
Where to Watch: Netflix
A provocative Thai series about three young entrepreneurs who attempt to spin a struggling Buddhist temple into a money-making business. Darkly comedic and delightfully cynical, the series is a wild ride through moral ambiguity and entrepreneurial scheming.
Billionaire Island
Where to Watch: Netflix
A dry, wickedly funny Norwegian dramedy that’s essentially Succession if Logan Roy had invested in salmon fishing instead of the media business. We follow two rival families as they battle for supremacy in the cutthroat fish farming industry. There’s the tense boardroom battles, industrial espionage, and family drama — all seasoned with a distinctly Nordic sense of humor. Perfect for fans of slow-burn satire.
La Cage
Where to Watch: Netflix
A pulse-pounding French MMA drama that serves up the tried-and-true sports success storyline — following Taylor Keita, an amateur fighter who gets an unexpected shot at UFC stardom after a viral fight with a professional wrestler — but tops it up with an earned emotional through line and plenty of authentic fighting action with cameos from actual UFC stars.
Dan Da Dan
Where to Watch: Hulu, Crunchyroll
A hilariously wild anime that follows two high school paranormal obsessives — a psychic girl and an alien-loving nerd — on increasingly bizarre supernatural adventures. Think X-Files meets teenage weirdness, with a rocket-paced plot that gleefully pushes genre boundaries. Perfect for fans of offbeat, genre-blending animation that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Drops of God
Where to Watch: AppleTV+
A deliciously intoxicating Franco-Japanese drama (and recent International Emmy winner) that’s part wine competition, part family intrigue. The storyline, based on a hit Japanese manga, follows the battle for a massive wine estate inheritance involving a series of complex tasting challenges. Vietnamese-French writer Quoc Dang Tran, whose credits include Call My Agent! and The Bureau, manages to imbue the wine-tasting sequences with the tension of a thriller. Even if you know nothing about wine, this show will make you feel like a sommelier-in-training.
Kafka
Where to Watch: Chai Flicks
A wildly meta and playfully experimental German miniseries that deconstructs the life of writer Franz Kafka. Using Wes Anderson-esque visual stylings, each episode focuses on a different character in Kafka’s orbit, breaking the fourth wall and offering a dryly humorous peek into the writer’s world. Featuring stellar performances from central European actors, it’s an entertaining and unconventional biographical exploration that finds the fun in Franz.
Kaiju No. 8
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
A refreshingly silly anime that offers a clever twist on the monster genre. Hibino is a lowly maintenance worker, assigned to clean up after the kaiju (giant monsters) tear through the city, who mysteriously gains the ability to transform into a monster himself. Part coming-of-age story, part action adventure, this series blends humor, heart and monster-battling excitement. It’s lighter and smarter than your typical monster show, offering a witty take on superhero transformation tropes.
Maxton Hall: The World Between Us
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime
A delightful soapy and sexy German young-adult romance that perfectly executes the enemies-to-lovers trope. Ruby, a scholarship student, and James, a wealthy heir, navigate school politics, family dynamics, and unexpected (well, not so unexpected) love. You know where all this is going, but predictability is part of the appeal of these swoony romance shows. And the production values are top-notch.
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