With the exciting slate of global series and films at one's fingertips on Netflix, the world is waiting for you.
A thrilling batch of passionate biopics, gripping crime dramas, luscious regal tales, and clever adaptations are coming soon to Netflix, and they share one common thread — none of them are in the English language. “Last year, about 13 percent of hours viewed in the U.S. were non-English titles, with Korean, Spanish, and Japanese stories attracting the biggest audiences,” said Netflix Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria at the international showcase event in Los Angeles. “That’s nearly three times what it was when we launched our first local original ever, Club de Cuervos, in 2015.”
With titles on the horizon like Colombia’s One Hundred Years of Solitude, Italy’s The Leopard, the return of the Korean drama that ignited the world, Squid Game, and the rest of the films and series shared here, there are plenty of reasons to turn on English subtitles in the near future.
Emilia Pérez (Karla Sofía Gascón) and Rita (Zoe Saldaña)
EMILIA PÉREZ, FRANCE
Guillermo del Toro has said that Jacques Audiard is “one of the most amazing filmmakers alive today,” and with Emilia Pérez, France’s country selection for the Academy Awards, the renowned French auteur further proves del Toro’s belief. The musical crime drama upends expectations at every turn, resulting in a poignant epic about women’s ability to transform, forgive, and connect.
Each delivering stand-out performances, Karla Sofia Gascón, Zoe Saldaña, and Selena Gomez helm the story of a cartel boss (Gascón) looking to live her authentic life. The trio shine as a group changing each other’s lives. “We took each other as we came, and we held space for each other,” says Saldaña. “I praise art that is able to depict women just being marvelous and supporting one another.”
Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae)
SQUID GAME SEASON 2, KOREA
The show that captivated every corner of the world returns with a highly anticipated second season. Squid Game broke records, won awards, and caused plenty of conversation when it came to the screen in 2021. With Season 2, Lee Jung-jae returns as Gi-hun, Player 456, as he sets out to put a stop to the Squid Game by reentering the game once again.
In his 2022 Queue cover story, Lee described embodying his character Gi-hun: “The core, underlying emotion I focused on was desperation — that feeling of having nothing can drive you to the edge of a cliff, like you have no choice.” Now with a new motivation at hand, will Gi-hun be able to bring down the organization that prayed upon his desperation in Season 1?
Ayrton Senna (Gabriel Leone)
SENNA, BRAZIL
Racing onto the screen as one of the most exhilarating series of 2024 is the Brazilian drama Senna, a chronicle of the life of Formula 1 all-time great, Ayrton Senna. Vicente Amorim’s imagining of Senna’s life is weighted with equal parts heart-racing on-track action and examination of the personal motivations and passion that makes the sport and its heroes so thrilling.
Amorim found so many of the magical qualities of the late racing driver in his star, Gabriel Leone. “He is like this empathy bomb,” says the director of his lead actor. “He is just so real. He’s so dedicated.” Leone steps into the racing suit of Senna and gives audiences the chance to come along for the ride through the life of one of Brazil’s most celebrated countrymen.
Aureliano (Claudio Cataño)
ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLITUDE, COLOMBIA
A beloved piece of classic literature is adapted into a breathtaking 16-part series with One Hundred Years of Solitude. The timeless novel by Nobel laureate Gabriel García Márquez tells the generational story of the Buendía family and their town of Macondo, which the production painstakingly built from the ground up in the mountains of Colombia, bringing to life the book that has inspired generations of writers and artists around the world.
“True art is the kind that moves you, raises new questions, and reveals new layers every time you come back to it,” says Laura Mora, who co-directed the series with Alex García López. “That makes a novel like One Hundred Years of Solitude and García Márquez’s work so complex and powerful.”
Elisabeth (Devrim Lingnau) and Franz (Philip Froissant)
THE EMPRESS, GERMANY
The first season of the International Emmy-winning series The Empress was greeted with critical acclaim and devoted fans the world over who reveled in the story of Empress Elisabeth “Sisi” (Devrim Lingnau) and Emperor Franz Joseph (Philip Froissant) of Austria. “It was unimaginable for us to have such success,” says showrunner and screenwriter Katharina Eyssen. “It left me totally surprised and humbled.”
With Season 2, The Empress continues to explore the complex lives of the royal court and picks up on the news delivered at the end of Season 1 — that Elizabeth is expecting a child. “I’m looking forward to showing the viewers how Elisabeth and Franz work together in their new roles as parents,” says Lingnau.
Vartika Chaturvedi (Shefali Shah)
DELHI CRIME, INDIA
2025 brings a third season of Delhi Crime, returning Shefali Shah to the role of Deputy Commissioner of Police Vartika Chaturvedi, which earned her an International Emmy Best Actress nomination for Season 2 and helped the series to a Best Drama win for Season 1. In Season 3, Chaturvedi and her team are back in action, diving into a new case that leads to the unmasking of a widespread crime operation.
The thrilling storytelling and the stellar performances kept audiences coming back to rewatch the beloved first two seasons. “We created it because we wanted to create it, not because we expected the show to hit through the roof, not because we expected Vartika to become something larger than life,” says Shah. “We just went out and did what we really love, and it was accepted as much as we loved it.”
THE LEOPARD, ITALY
The Leopard, Sicilian Prince Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa’s novel of 1958, has been translated in over 40 languages in the nearly 70 years since its release. In 2025, it will be delivered to global audiences as a sensuous new series starring Kim Rossi Stuart, Benedetta Porcaroli, Deva Cassel, and Saul Nanni.
The series explores themes of power, love, and the cost of progress through the story of nineteenth-century Prince of Salina Don Fabrizio Cobera whose ideals about aristocratic power are challenged by his beloved nephew Tancredi. The story at the heart of the masterfully crafted period drama is sure to resonate with audiences today; “Like so many young people, he has a feeling the world he is born into is broken and stultifying,” says director Tom Shankland of Tancredi. “He wants to break free and fix things.”
