30 Best Foreign Shows on Hulu Right Now

This high-production-value German series is about a junior investment banker who finds herself at the center of events that will cause a big financial crash. The show starts with the crash then goes back a year to tell the story of how the young Jana Liekam got caught in the middle of it. 

Bad Banks functions sometimes as a cautionary tale on the dangers of investment banking but it’s mostly just a simple, good, and enjoyable corporate thriller. It’s also a great introduction to quality German TV, if you’re ever looking for one.

With years of films depicting Italian crime syndicates, most focus on their leaders – the Dons, the Capos, and the Consiglieres. Most of them focus on the mafia’s men. However, in this series, it’s the women who are the stars of the show. Based on the novel of the same name, The Good Mothers is a compelling crime drama, focused on the women, not the men, of the ‘Ndrangheta clan. It’s from their perspective we see the mafia. The masterful way the series unfolds makes it clear that their lives are constrained, that this dated way of life still prioritizes the family over their individual women. It makes it all the more satisfying when they’re given the opportunity to retaliate, and when they choose to take that opportunity. And it’s so much better knowing that this was real.

During adolescence, teenagers get to learn and discover themselves and the world, but for most people, this means going through puberty, maybe taking up a sport or hobby, and not the occult vs alien shenanigans of DAN DA DAN. The science fiction-fantasy mix is unhinged and chaotic, throwing Momo and Ken directly into the worlds they didn’t believe in, and with each crazy encounter, they gain insane powers that are rendered into (literally) out-of-this-world, kaleidoscopic animation. But it’s their comedic dynamic that makes the show work, as each absurd situation pushes them to share what makes them vulnerable and challenge each other on their beliefs. DAN DA DAN is spectacularly unpredictable, and is a standout from 2024’s anime fall lineup.

After his team loses in the prefectural tournament finals, Yoichi Isagi is invited to join an isolated training program designed to create the best striker in the world in hopes of Japan winning the World Cup. The program’s designer believes that great strikers are selfish and egoistic players. As a more intense sports anime, the stakes of becoming the best striker in Japan (and the world) or never playing football again keeps the suspense high. The series does a great job of balancing the action and taking the time to develop the characters and their motivations. Blue Lock is a solid, high-concept anime for the world’s most beloved sport. 

Yasemin Derin is one of Turkey’s most famous actresses. But when she’s not onscreen or walking the red carpet, she’s murdering evil influential people, which garners her the nickname “Hunter.” Her double life is put in jeopardy, however, when a stalker sends her a series of cryptic texts.

Actress plays into the “unlikeable main character”; a sarcastic anti-hero on the verge of having more weaknesses as she takes in a young actress and falls in love with a mysterious man. The series has a nice cinematic finish, and Pinar Deniz as Yasemin delivers a nonchalant charisma that’s easy to follow.

After much anticipation, The Worst of Evil has finally been released, starting off the season with a rumble between gangs underneath Gangnam. Through neon-lit streets, grimy green-tinged windows, and dimly-lit corridors, the series brings its viewers back to the 90s criminal underworld, though with modernized choreography and fairly realistic CGI blood. This set is the arena where undercover cop Park Joon-mo has to fight, in order to gain the trust of crime boss Jung Gi-cheul. As each fight gains some goodwill from each other, and as Park’s wife enters the fray, the series promises dangerous stakes, dramatic betrayals, and thrilling fight scenes. It’s a fresh take on the undercover cop, infiltrating the gritty underworld through sheer persistence, with an added emotional twist.

Undead Unluck is such a strange anime with such a strange duo. Named after their respective powers, the undead Andy seems familiar with his Deadpool-like regeneration, albeit with such a fast rate that he can shoot out body parts with such gruesome animation. However it’s the unlucky Fuuko that brings them to the most absurd comedic scenarios, including, but not limited to, surviving a giant truck crash, a lightning strike, and a whole meteor. In order to achieve their goal of dying, they have to build up a bond to maximize her unluck. As they learn more about Fuuko’s abilities, as well as the organization hunting them down, it’s likely that they’ll go through wackier situations that will escalate as the show progresses. It’s definitely something uniquely watchable, if you can handle the off-putting gore that’s part and parcel of Andy’s powers.

Butter Man: The Slickest Mexican Thief has gone under the radar the same way the titular criminal has evaded capture for years. Which is quite a shame, because Él Mantequilla has the charming, slick style of heist films from decades past. Through eight parts, Emiliano Escamilla takes on multiple fake identities, five of which happen to be the main identity Escamilla takes on in each episode. It’s funny to see how Escamilla gets away with some of these disguises, especially when he gets away with pulling millions from oblivious rich people just by dumb luck. However, what makes these scams compelling is how closer these get him to his real goal: reconnecting with his father and finding out the truth. Butter Man turns the caper series into a drama centered on family, mixing fun nostalgia with some heart.

Romantic melodramas are expected in plenty of Korean shows, but Call It Love still feels surprisingly unexpected. The premise feels like a modern day Cinderella story, except the leading lady here, Shim Woo-joo (Lee Sung-kyung), takes nothing from nobody, not without planning corporate revenge. That being said, the show doesn’t unfold into a corporate sitcom, a crime thriller, or romcom. Instead, the series takes on a more melancholy slice-of-life approach, as it turns out the intended target Han Dong-jin (Kim Young-hwang) is just as hurt and lonely as she is. And as they get to know each other despite the cold, empty frames they inhabit, and despite the pain they’ve both been through, it’s amazing how surprising their healing feels, if you can handle the show’s slow pace to get there.

After titles like Tár (2022) and the Dutch film The Conductor (2018), Western female conductors continue to intrigue audiences as they strive to succeed in the last glass ceiling in music. But classical music isn’t restrained to the West, and South Korea’s orchestral world is now showcased in Maestra: Strings of Truth. A remake of the French television series Philharmonia, the series goes through the trials and tribulations Cha Se-eum goes through to establish her leadership in the conductor role back home, as well as the multiple mysteries that might have caused her to leave in the first place. While the show’s first two episodes slowly portray her backstory, Lee Young-ae holds the show on her shoulders, and grounds the drama with her stoic and charismatic presence. It’s a compelling drama, with such a compelling personality, and it’s scored with some of the best classical pieces in the world.

Romantic relationships can come and go, but sometimes, one partner comes along and irrevocably changes your life forever. Tell Me That You Love Me depicts one such relationship. The Korean adaptation of the trailblazing Japanese deaf romance drama has plenty of the same charms, though this rendition makes certain changes that better reflects this current time period without sacrificing the cathartic portrayal about Mo-eun’s and Jin-woo’s flaws, and the genuine difficulties a relationship like this could have. While the show’s second half falters in certain moments, Tell Me That You Love Me mostly sticks the landing in creating a healing depiction of a deaf romance.

In fantasy worlds, races with different lifespans are a given, but rarely does a work actually contemplate how these variations would affect relationships between them. Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End starts after a great war, at the moment of peace, and to the titular elf, her shared journey with the human Himmel and their party feels like a blip in her life, their ten years of friendship blurred amongst her thousand years… until Himmel dies, which shifts her perspective on mortality. Frieren won’t have that much extravaganza we’re used to in other fantasy shows, but the way Frieren tries to reconnect with her former comrades, and the way she remembers their memory through flashbacks, all become a gentle and moving meditation on purpose, meaning, and connection, all paired with outstanding art and some of the best worldbuilding we’ve seen in anime.

With plenty of familiar elements, Flex X Cop should feel unoriginal. After all, a rich heir that plays at being a cop to capture bad guys in response to his mother’s death? That’s practically Batman. But the show is more fun and breezy, with Ahn Bo-hyun as the charismatic Jin Yi-soo pulling out chaotic mischief that somehow doesn’t get him in trouble, paired with Park Ji-hyun in her first action role as a more stern, by-the-book detective Lee Kang-hyun. It’s an interesting buddy cop dynamic that leans more on lighthearted comedy than serious thriller, but the opening sequence hints at a more serious side, still full of action sequences expected from the genre. Flex X Cop may have plenty of familiar tropes, but the way it’s remixed feels novel and entertaining enough to watch.

There’s a pretty clever twist that happens early in the pilot that shows how much promise In Limbo has, but it never really builds on that or matches its level of suspense. But the fact that the remaining episodes are still entertaining and enlightening in their own right speaks to the series’ quality. It ambitiously (though not always delicately) handles thorny topics like suicide, depression, interracial relationships, and childhood trauma, all while making you laugh at its dry sense of humor. And moving things along is a genuinely intriguing mystery that leaves you wanting more after each episode. It could be smoother, but In Limbo is another entry into the ever-growing stack of worthwhile dark Aussie comedies.

Becoming Karl Lagerfeld gets many things right—the fashion is spectacular, the drama is gripping, and the details feel true to the time. It’s never over-the-top and cartoonish, which seems to be a problem in most other biopics. But for all it has going for it, Brühl is the real star of the show. He seems to operate on a level beyond his peers where he’s no longer acting but simply inhibiting. Lagerfeld is a distant and wealthy designer, unavailable even to those closest to him, but Brühl manages to ground him with deeply relatable traits, like bitter jealousy, crushing loneliness, and unapologetic ambition. He doesn’t need a big scene or wordy dialogue to get these across, either, just a flicker of the eyes will do the trick. The only downside to the show is the occasional uneven tone. It’s as if the directors were unsure how to maximize the wealth of material they have on hand, so they crammed and juggled as much as they could into six episodes. Still, if you’re a fan of period pieces, powerfully subtle performances, and luxury fashion, then you’re in for a treat.

After more than a decade apart on-screen, Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna finally reunite in La Máquina. While they maintained their friendship off-screen, it’s just so fun to see them take on a more comedic dynamic as they snipe at each other, get into trouble, and scramble to get things right. It’s the best part of this series, and with Gabriel Ripstein’s direction, the series is never boring, continuing to move in unexpected directions with swiveling camera movements and such a slick score. While there are some issues with the pacing, La Máquina is fun to watch, especially when focused on their leads.

Making a bucket list at the height of a zombie outbreak seems ridiculous, yet totally reasonable when you’ve spent the last three years overworked and undervalued. In real life, our workforce already feels zombified as higher-ups enslave the working class to high production and insufficient pay, so it’s nice to see Zom 100 exemplify that notion. Zom 100 also immediately captures that essential reminder to “live now,” which has become especially relevant as the Covid-19 pandemic found most people rekindling old hobbies and discovering new ones as death and sickness felt ever near.

Though there isn’t a lot of character-building in episode one, the titular 100-item bucket list promises an eye-opening, personal journey with our protagonist Akira. Thankfully, the opening didn’t shy away from the gore and electrifying tension of the zombie attacks, making this an interesting horror/slice-of-life/coming-of-age/drama to keep an eye on. 

Based on a webtoon, Moving is for the fans of the ’06 series, Heroes. Initially, we follow a teen, Kim Bong-Seok, who has to be constantly tied down or weighed down to keep from spontaneously levitating. But the mystery and thrills immediately kick off when an assassin starts killing “retired” supers, and it becomes obvious that agencies, parents, and even teachers are aware of this. So far, the pacing allows for introductions, backstories, and action to breathe whilst quickly establishing connections between storylines to feed the intrigue. Hopefully, this carries through the entire 20-episode run and delivers a cohesive, high-action fantasy series. 

Adapting an old socio-political novel, especially after the great Akira Kurosawa, can be a challenging endeavor, but the team behind A Town Without Seasons does it wonderfully. The show takes the ensemble cast of the original novel’s characters and places them in the present time with modern-day technology and digital payment systems– yet many of the struggles remain the same. While this series takes a sweet, slice-of-life perspective on the inhabitants, it’s grounded by an underlying awareness that most of us are a disaster away from the town’s situation. A Town Without Seasons empathizes with its unlucky characters, by taking its time to introduce them.

A house isn’t just a building– it’s a space where one can be one’s self, where one can have control over one’s space. Of course, houses can differ between social classes, as the rich often hire househelp, while those less fortunate manage their own, or might not even have one. Their Stories draws its drama from this disparity, as the rich Isabel and Rosa lose control of their assets and have to move to the house where working class Marta and Jasmim live. It’s an interesting dynamic, a twisted mix of gratitude and resentment forged between former employer and employee, and all four leads portray this with the nuance and complexity that it requires. A Historía Delas might literally be hard to search on Hulu, but it’s an interesting story, one that feels unique and real enough to follow.

From Me to You: Kimi ni Todoke is a high school romance drama. It’s sweet, it’s wholesome, and it’s comfortingly familiar. It leans more on its romance than its comedy. It doesn’t have high stakes fantasy or action-packed battles, but it captures the high school experience in such a lovely way. Of course, the show would likely reach its romantic happy ending, but what makes the show compelling isn’t just the thrill of connecting with a crush– it’s the inspiration for Sawako to open up, and enable her to connect and have friends. The live action adaptation may not fully capture everything from the original and it speeds through the plot, but it retains the parts that make it work, even for viewers totally unfamiliar with the story.

Part court drama, part medical procedural, and part detective mystery, The Apothecary Diaries is the sort of anime that easily handles multiple genres and does it so well. With the insatiably curious Maomao investigating certain court ailments as a poison tester, it naturally creates a new mystery of the week, all deduced from her apothecary beginnings and her life in the red light district. It’s also integrated well into the main plot, as Maomao’s whole promotion starts from her sense of justice, with each mystery carefully revealing the court dynamics, various motivations each player has, and how the overall world of this Imperial China-inspired court operates. The Apothecary Diaries ties it all together with excellent writing.

This cold Finnish series is about a successful detective who moves to a small town seeking calm. But once he settles in a town on the border with Russia, a series of murders ensue.

Because Finnish TV is alien to most of us, the way this detective story is told is so unique. It’s bleak – very bleak – and even when the most intriguing murders take place, the biggest plotlines are the ones that are driven by character development.

Mesmerizing as its idol, Oshi No Ko is a spellbinding adaptation of the original manga hit. Centered around an idol’s secret twin children, this binge-worthy anime brilliantly takes the reincarnation trope to tackle the Japanese entertainment industry. The premise alone is brilliant, but stunning animation and catchy tracks elevate the source material. The show isn’t afraid to go in-depth– as the twins progress through their careers, certain scenes effectively explain quirks in the industry that regular viewers wouldn’t know. However, the show remains mindful of its young characters, ensuring a careful discussion without going too far. Oshi No Ko uncovers what makes stars so captivating, without sacrificing the glitz and glamor in its explanation.

It’s chilly this summer with vengeful spirits, cursed hands and double pupils in the horror-comedy Dark Gathering. Keitarō Gentōga has always attracted ghosts, and despite his fear, he is ready to socialize again after two years. Unlucky for him, his first student as a tutor is Yayoi Hôzuki, his best friend’s cousin obsessed with finding the ghost that stole her mother. Although Yayoi’s obsession with using a reluctant Keitarō is played up for laughs, her moe appearance preserves a level of disturbing (thanks to her double pupils). By episode two, the story still feels shallow, but there’s enough spook to carry you through the heat. 

Most cop shows are set on land, but Han River Police is the rare police procedural set by the river. The K-drama takes a more action-comedy approach, with the comedy depending on the standard banter between cops. The unique setting presents new action sequences aside from regular brawls, with its ship accidents, evacuations, and underwater training scenes. However, while the action is fresh, and the team dynamics keep the show from being too serious, its stereotypical villains, as well as certain cops’ machismo, keeps the show from being totally unique. Han River Police still proves to be an entertaining watch, even if its stakes are familiar.

The love parents have for their child is powerful, but most parents normally don’t resort to murder for them. Of course, most families don’t actually need to, but like Tetsuo Tosu, they might if their daughter’s yakuza boyfriend plans to murder her first. My Home Hero depicts this scenario, slowly going into the potential sequence of events that could happen, realistically portrayed by Kuranosuke Sasaki, Tae Kimura, and Asuka Saito as the loving family. The family might be a bit cookie-cutter – we’ve seen similar characters in other series before – but they’re relatable enough to make My Home Hero a fairly decent, though generic, crime drama.

For better or for worse, we don’t know who our guardians really are, whether that be our parents or other older relatives. However, that usually means that we don’t get to know their dreams, not that they are involved with assassins, like the way Ji-an’s uncle is in A Shop for Killers. The action strikes hard and fast, starting the series off with a sniper attempt on Ji-an’s life, but luckily, the surprised girl can fight back, with the eccentric training that she didn’t anticipate she’ll need. While the time jumps can be a bit confusing, A Shop for Killers has a surprising mix of action and mystery that keeps things entertaining, even if it’s unclear for now how it’s a spin-off to The Killer’s Shopping List.

With morally grey characters, an excellent cast, and family inheritance intrigue, The Impossible Heir seemed like a unique Korean drama that isn’t afraid to get cutthroat, especially with those suspicious shots of blood splatters in the trailer. There’s some of that here– Lee Jae-wook plays Han Tae-oh with a cold, straightforward determination, even outright declaring he would use Kang In-ha, with Lee Jun-young matching Jae-wook’s intensity. However, part of the drama feels undercut by a love triangle that, as a concept, isn’t a terrible idea, but was just hastily introduced in the first two episodes. The Impossible Heir has excellent tension with its reluctant allyship, family mystery, and the likely betrayal already, but it just feels like it could be better without the romance.

Genderbending isn’t a completely foreign trope for Western audiences, but it’s rare to see the shenanigans that happen in Ranma ½, which takes a genderbending water curse to form a complicated web of relationships, that starts out as a casual romance comedy (albeit with plenty of kicks) and eventually evolves into a ridiculous fighting fantasy adventure. It’s rather revolutionary for its time, in part due to Ranma’s queer gender, but also due to its precursor of the harem trope, as well as its then-new take on the tsundere in Ranma’s intended fiancée Akane Tendo. Ranma ½ is eccentric, but the chaotic comedy is also so entertaining to watch.