Squid Game – 2 seasons – South Korea
Hundreds of cash-strapped players accept a strange invitation to compete in a deadly high stakes competition.
I enjoyed the show’s first season for its well-executed high concept idea and colorful characters, but had my doubts about their ability to pull off a second season As it turns out, I was wrong. The show manages to deliver a fresh and new take on the familiar formula. Looking forward to season 3.
Guyane – 2 seasons – France
A French geology student travels to South America to work in the dangerous world of the gold mining industry.
I loved the fact that this one was markedly different from all of the other crime shows I’ve watched to date, yet still falls very much within the genre. It’s like an extended, suspense-filled movie that never feels padded like so many others.
Jimenshitachi/Tokyo Swindlers – 1 season – Japan
A team of swindlers gets wind of prime real estate worth 10 billion yen and will stop at nothing to pull off their most ambitious scam yet.
This is one of if not my favorite Japanese series. Tremendous character work in a riveting atypical heist story that delivers its fair share of shocks and surprises.
The Bad Kids/Yin mi de jiao luo – 1 season – China
A story that follows three children who unintentionally film a murder scene. As they become involve with the suspect, it opens up a case that is far more complicated than it looks and entraps several families into an unpredictable outcome.
And this one is probably my favorite Chinese crime show. It does a wonderfully honest job of exploring the difficulties faced by these kids and the slippery slope of their descent into crime. There’s a whole alternate subtextual take on the ending that, while I don’t exactly agree with, I appreciate just the same as it demonstrates how narratively layered this story is.
Patria – 1 season – Spain
The story of two families affected by ETA’s terrorism in the Basque Country.
I really loved this show’s exploration of how regular folks are swept up in the tide of momentous political and social upheavals, offering a message of hope amidst the prevailing darkness.
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