The United States’ Growing Appetite for International Television: A Look at Recent Imports
The United States’ relationships with the rest of the world’s nations are fluid right now, but one thing is for sure: We keep importing their television shows. Here are some recent additions to what appears to be an increasingly large trade imbalance, at least when it comes to scripted series.
1. Dog Days Out
With Bluey on a hiatus, this cheerfully mesmerizing South Korean cartoon can fill the animated-puppies vacuum. It’s like a crackerjack action blockbuster for toddlers. The lack of hyper-articulate dialogue is a unique advantage, offering a restful soundtrack filled with smashes, crashes, and a variety of canine shrieks and laughter. Set on an idyllic suburban cul-de-sac rendered in candy-colored 3-D animation, the puppies come out to play when their barely seen masters are away and destroy everything they can get their paws on. Their toys, like a rainbow-hued chew doll, instigate much of the trouble, while curmudgeonly birds and crafty rodents oppose them. The show’s fluid style and infectious spirit, executed by the South Korean studio Million Volt, make it a standout. Dog Days Out can hook even the most unwary adult. (Available on Netflix.)
2. Douglas Is Cancelled
Steven Moffat of Sherlock and Doctor Who wrote this dark four-episode comedy, which consciously or not, pulls a bait and switch. Starring Hugh Bonneville as Douglas, a popular broadcaster anonymously accused of having told a sexist joke, the show begins as a brittle farce about the comfortably entitled running afoul of cancel culture and social media mobs. However, it shifts into a sometimes didactic and unconvincing, yet occasionally powerful and unsettling, examination of men’s corrosive treatment of women. Moffat cleverly turns the male repertory of gaslighting, stonewalling, and veiled aggression against the men in his story. While the show satirizes young women, the best roles are written for middle-aged men. Karen Gillan and Alex Kingston deliver fine performances, but the spotlight shines on Bonneville, Simon Russell Beale, and Ben Miles. (Available on BritBox.)
3. The Eastern Gate
This low-fi Polish espionage drama, set in 2021, is very different in mood from the spy thrillers American audiences are used to. The show’s protagonists, Polish agents, are harried and weary, resigned to being underdogs as they confront the raw power of Russia and the ruthlessness of Belarus. An American general may show up to deliver a speech about cooperation, but the Poles are clearly aware that they are on their own, a fictional dilemma made poignant by recent real-world events. Lena Gora is excellent as Ewa, a smart and resourceful agent whose determination feels principled rather than grim. The first season centers on the Suwalki Gap, a strip of Polish territory bordering Belarus that would be vital in a confrontation between Russia and NATO. The disappearances, torture sessions, last-second rescues, and threats to family members are familiar elements, but they feel fresh and authentic, set to a different rhythm. (Available on Max.)
4. The Leopard
This six-part series, a British and Italian production, cannot help but be seen in the shadow of Luchino Visconti’s 1963 film of the same title, one of the greatest historical dramas ever filmed. Visconti’s Leopard, with its indelible performance by Burt Lancaster and its staggering, hourlong closing scene set at a ball, forces its way into your consciousness. If you have seen and loved the film or read the novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa on which both are based, you might want to pass on this monotonous but unobjectionable Italian-language series. However, if you are a fan of conventional, handsomely appointed costume dramas with picture-postcard cinematography, this is a worthwhile watch. Shot on Sicilian locations, the series is very pretty to look at, though it lacks the poetry that has graced this story in the past. (Available on Netflix.)
5. Newtopia
The South Korean entertainment industry’s enthusiasm for zombies might be tied to larger societal issues like martial-law declarations and ultralow fertility rates, but Newtopia uses this framework to deliver a romantic comedy. Written by Han Jin-won (co-writer of Parasite) and Ji Ho-jin, the show follows Jae-yoon (Park Jeong-min) and his girlfriend, Young-ju (Jisoo of Blackpink), as they struggle to reach each other through a zombie apocalypse in Seoul. The humor is driven by Jae-yoon’s situation as part of an antiaircraft unit located on the roof of a high-rise hotel, where the soldiers normally spend their time messing up missile drills and sneaking down to the hotel kitchen for snacks. The burning question here isn’t when the zombies will be defeated, but when the instant noodles will run out. (Available on Amazon Prime Video.)
6. Zenshu
This anime follows a young animator, Natsuko, who is miserably blocked on her next project, eats a bad clam, and apparently dies. She wakes up in the world of an anime that obsessed her as a child, now equipped with magic drawing powers to help her childhood heroes defeat their giant buglike enemies. Each time she uses her powers, she pushes the story further off track. Directed by Mitsue Yamazaki and written by Kimiko Ueno, Zenshu is a jokey, good-looking example of the isekai subgenre with a little something extra. The stakes are more real, and the dynamics are less childlike than usual. Through nine of 12 episodes, Natsuko believably progresses from a malevolent grouch to an inquisitive explorer and love interest. The show also serves as an allegory for anime’s process and power, emphasizing the importance of teamwork both on the battlefield and in the animation studio. (Available on Crunchyroll.)