- Netflix has built a library of international content in recent years as it seeks to grow its global presence.
- TV Time provided Business Insider the most popular foreign-language Netflix shows based on its 12 million users.
Netflix has built an impressive library of international TV shows in recent years in an effort to strengthen its global presence.
The streaming giant has particularly capitalized on the British market, nabbing different types of global rights to a number of shows from the UK. They include the Golden Globe-winning "Bodyguard" and "The Last Kingdom." The series benefit both Netflix and British networks, as they can attract potential subscribers and grow a show's audience outside the UK.
But Netflix has also dipped its hands into foreign-language content, and will focus even more on it in the future. Netflix has found early success with Spanish-language programming, including three massive hits: "Narcos,""Money Heist," and "Elite."
As Netflix looks to expand in Asia, it announced 17 new Asian originals in November, including eight new Indian films. There are also several new Japanese anime originals in development, including ones based on Guillermo del Toro's monster movie, "Pacific Rim," and Netflix's own sci-fi series, "Altered Carbon."
Netflix hit some difficulties last year with its first Indian original series, "Sacred Games," after a petition was filed in Delhi High Court for Netflix to remove any references to India's assassinated Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The case is still ongoing. Netflix announced last month that it would self-regulate its content in India, likely to avoid a censorship crackdown.
Television-tracking app TV Time provided Business Insider a list of the most popular foreign-language Netflix original shows. TV Time based the list on the number of episodes its 12 million users marked that they watched since 2011.
Below are the top 20 foreign-language Netflix TV shows:
20. "Always a Witch" (Spanish)
Description:"A young 17th-century witch time travels to the future to save the man she loves, but first must adjust to present-day Cartagena and defeat a dark rival."
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 40%
19. "Sacred Games" (Hindi)
Description:"A link in their pasts leads an honest cop to a fugitive gang boss, whose cryptic warning spurs the officer on a quest to save Mumbai from cataclysm."
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 91%
18. "Ingobernable" (Spanish)
Description:"The first lady of Mexico is a woman of conviction and ideals. But when she loses faith in her husband, she'll need her strength to uncover the truth."
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: N/A
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