Over a third of Netflix‘s 200 million global subscriber base might reside in the United States, but content created overseas has only grown in popularity recently, proving that language is no barrier when it comes to top-quality entertainment, whether it be movies or TV shows.
Spanish crime thriller Money Heist and German sci-fi series Dark are two of the platform’s most widely acclaimed original episodic projects, while French caper Lupin racked up over 70 million streams in the first four weeks it was available to become the country’s first Netflix production to crack the Top 10 most-watched list in America, which bodes well for this summer’s second season.
In terms of feature films, Spain’s Below Zero recently posted an incredibly strong showing and managed to spend a long time in the number one spot on the rankings, while the current most popular title is another addition to Netflix’s rapidly expanding roster of hugely popular foreign action thrillers.
Co-written and directed by Julien Leclercq, Sentinelle stars Quantum of Solace‘s former Bond girl Olga Kurylenko as an interpreter for the French army in Syria, but after witnessing a tragedy she ends up getting transferred back to home soil. However, when her sister is involved in a serious incident that leaves her in a coma, Kurylenko’s Kiara makes it her mission to find the person responsible, utilizing her combat experience to get the job done.
Reviews haven’t exactly been overwhelmingly positive, with the general consensus being that Senitnelle doesn’t bring anything new to a genre that’s already been done to death a thousand times over, but clearly Netflix subscribers are in the mood for undemanding action given how well it’s performed so far.