The Best 2023 Foreign Language Content to Stream

2022 was a great year for foreign language content. The Hollywood Reporter writes that Americans are watching more international TV than ever, with viewing hours doubled since 2018 (Source). Some of the most talked about shows were in languages other than English, like Apple TV’s Pachinko and season 2 of Netflix’s Alice in Borderland.

But 2023 may be even better for streaming content. Let’s look at a few shows and movies that are sure to impress this year.

Netflix’s Gyeongseong Creature hasn’t even premiered yet and it’s already been confirmed for season two – a rarity for South Korean shows. Perhaps it’s the originality of the premise that has everyone so intrigued.

The show is set in 1945, during the Japanese occupation of South Korea. Park Seo-joon and Han So-hee star as two people trying to survive in a city full of monsters created by human greed. If that’s not star-studded enough for you, Kim Su Hyun and Squid Game’s Wi Ha Joon are also a part of the cast.

Gyeongseong Creature will likely premiere in the second half of 2023 on Netflix.

Argentina’s submission for Best International Feature Film at this year’s Oscars is Argentina, 1985. The film is based on the true story of a group of lawyers tasked with prosecuting the perpetrators of the bloodiest dictatorship in Argentina’s history. Says Anthony Lane of the New Yorker, “Though the dramatic atmosphere could hardly be denser, it’s also pierced by surprising shafts of comedy.”

The film’s primary language is Spanish, and it is currently 98% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.

Argentina, 1985 is streaming now on Amazon Prime.

Fans of Shōgun, you’re getting another adaptation of James Clavell’s 1975 best-selling book. The novel follows Englishman John Blackthorne, a sailor who washes ashore in 17th century Japan and is thrown into navigating the country’s feudal system.

The 1980 miniseries was hugely popular, and FX CEO John Landgraf promises this new version will focus heavily on the Japanese characters. As such, the series will include many scenes spoken in Japanese with English subtitles (Source).

Shōgun is expected to air later in 2023 on FX. UPDATE: Shōgun has been moved to a 2024 air date.

Nicolas Winding Refn has made a splash in Hollywood with films such as Drive and Only God Forgives, but he is returning to his Danish-language roots with the Netflix series Copenhagen Cowboy.

The show follows a young woman on a journey of revenge in the unsavory underworld of Copenhagen crime. While reviews say the series is divisive, it is currently 83% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.

Copenhagen Cowboy is currently streaming on Netflix.

Perhaps trying to match Netflix’s success with Korean-language shows, Disney+ is ramping up their content in 2023. The Worst of Evil (again, with Wi Ha-joon) is set “in 1980s South Korea, and follows undercover police investigators who infiltrate a massive criminal organization responsible for the illegal drug trade between Korea, China and Japan” (Source).

Other South Korean shows premiering this year on Disney+ are Vigilante, starring popular actor Nam Joo-hyuk, and the star-studded, 20-episode drama Moving.

The Worst of Evil will premiere sometime in 2023 on Disney+.