Nov 23

Nov 23 Fall Is for Foreign TV

For most of us, TV has become a welcome escape from the realities of pandemic life. Netflix subscriptions soared in the last 6 months. At the height of lockdown, the average American household was watching over 66 hours of content per week.

But what happens when TV itself becomes another pandemic casualty?

As cases continue to surge across the country, fall lineups lag beneath the weight of months without on-set production. Cable networks and streaming giants are united in their struggles to churn out new content. But the demands of our peak TV world stop for nothing and no one, not even a pandemic.

The solution to Covid’s production wipeout? A surge in TV imports. American broadcasters and streaming platforms have picked up an arsenal of foreign TV shows to fill the void left by our time in lockdown. Here are a few of the most noteworthy foreign arrivals to hit our screens this fall.

Sidse Knudsen (left) stars as Birgitte Nyborg. Image via

Borgen

Think The West Wing meets House of Cards. Except it’s all in Danish. This Scandinavian drama follows Birgitte Nyborg (Sidse Knudsen) and her foray into the Danish political arena, chronicling her rise from relative obscurity to her position as Denmark’s first female prime minister.

Borgen offers unique insight into the strengths and shortcomings of centrism. Nyborg, an outspoken moderate, embodies her party’s centrist ideals. While navigating shadowy political underworlds and an increasingly tumultuous home life, she attempts to rein in a country caught between warring extremes. Armed with speechwriter, media consultant, and general “spin doctor” Kasper Juul (Game of Thrones star Pilou Asbæk), Nyborg clings fervently to her authority and her idealism, while political enemies on all sides attempt to strip her of both.

From an American perspective, Borgen affords all the gritty pleasures of a D.C. knife fight, and none of the heartburn from watching our own political systems implode. What’s not to enjoy?

Borgen first debuted in 2010 to critical acclaim abroad. On September 1st, it was released for streaming on Netflix, where a fourth season revival is expected in 2022.

Hamza Haq stars as Bashir Hamed. Image via

Transplant

In the forgotten world of cable programming, no fall series has made more of a stir than Transplant. The understated hit first premiered on Canadian networks in March, and is now raking in views during its primetime rerun on NBC.

Creating a medical drama that avoids the pitfalls and cliches of its expansive genre is no easy feat. Transplant shines because it tells a story its predecessors have shied away from- one that centers the experiences of an immigrant and person of color.

Actor Hamza Haq stars as Bashir “Bash” Hamed, a trauma doctor and Syrian refugee who stumbles upon the chance to rebuild his medical career in Toronto. In something of a Cinderella story, Bash finds himself with a prestigious new residency after saving the life of a local hospital’s Chief of Medicine. The familiar struggles of residency take on a new dimension when layered with Bash’s struggles to provide for his younger sister, his ongoing battle with PTSD, and the weighty questions of legal status that haunt his community. Beneath a barrage of innovative medical procedures lies a gripping story of resilience. Transplant sets a gold standard for hospital dramas in the years to come.

Catch new episodes of NBC’s Transplant at 10 pm EST on Tuesday nights.

Gomorrah

Roberto Saviano’s Gomorrah is a Narcos or Sopranos stripped bare of all but the violent framework. This crime drama pulls no punches. The series initially premiered in Italy in 2014, where a cult following developed around its bleak depictions of mobster violence. Within the first five minutes of episode one, we’ve already seen combatants Ciro (Marco D’Amore) and Attilio (Antonio Milo) nearly burn a rival mobster and his aging grandmother alive.

There is, of course, a plot churning beneath all the bloodshed. Based on Saviano’s book of the same name, the show submerges viewers in the shadowy dealings of the Savastano clan, a fictional Neapolitan crime family. Like its genre predecessors, Gomorrah champions the age-old story of the anti-hero. As the show progresses, it becomes nearly impossible to identify a character with a moral compass that’s still intact.

As viewers, we can’t help but appreciate the deft displays of criminal genius holding together the Savastano enterprise. Scattered amidst the grime of city streets are stills of red and gold finery that would make anyone jealous. But in this world, riches are fleeting. Glamour is temporary. There’s a sharp honesty to the way the show presents mob violence. And Saviano never fails to remind us of the consequences of such arbitrary brutality. For a tense 45 minutes, we must imagine what it’s like to live with eyes in the back of our heads.

Gomorrah was released for streaming on HBO this October. Seasons 1 & 2 are currently available, with seasons 3 & 4 forthcoming.

Feature image via