Please note that for the purposes of this list we've restricted ourselves to content readily - and legally - available in English speaking territories so that our core readership actually has a prayer of going out and finding it. So if your favorite bit of international TV exists only as a fansub on some foreign drama website ... well, it aint here, no matter how awesome it is. But please feel free to tell us what it is and why you like it in the comments section below.
Shows listed in alphabetical order.
The Ambassadors (UK) Selected by Todd Brown
Let me be the first to say that I run very hot and cold on UK comedy duo Mitchell & Webb. Best known for their work on the long running Peep Show, when the duo are on top of their game they're very, very good. But when they're not I find them borderline unwatchable. But they're very much on their game with recent three parter The Ambassadors.
The duo play the British ambassador and his top aide in a fictional Central Asian republic in a scenario that has about as much to do with actual politics as hospital set UK comedy Green Wing had to do with actual doctoring. Which is to say none at all. It's essentially a fish out of water scenario with the fish being very, very much out of the water driven by very clever writing that steers well clear of obvious punchlines. It's not my favorite show on this list but it's very much the best thing the duo have done since Peep Show was in its prime and I'd very much like to see more.
Attack On Titan (Japan) Selected by Todd Brown
Without a question the biggest anime / manga hit both in Japan and abroad in a very, very long time, if you're only going to watch one animated series out of Japan this year then Attack on Titan should be it. My own viewing patterns on the show have very much been subject to the whims of The Boy - we've been watching it together - so I'm only a chunk of the way into the debut season but it's already hugely impressive stuff with its tale of humanity huddled in massive cities protected by even more massive walls to protect themselves from the race of hungry, flesh eating giants roaming the wild.
Believe the hype. It's really good.
Black Mirror (UK) Selected by Todd Brown
Charlie Brooker's Black Mirror returned with a second block of three stand-alone stories of technology and how it intersects and impacts our daily lives in 2013 and, as was the case with the original trio of stories from 2011, while some are better than others the high points are absolutely astounding. And the highest point this year very much belonged to opening episode, the Domnhall Gleeson starring Be Right Back which may very simply be the greatest single hour of television I have ever seen.
While satiric stories about future tech and their toll on the soul may sound like dry and boring stuff they are anything but in Brooker's hands. Series one including a shockingly plausible tale of a minor Royal being kidnapped with the kidnapper's demand being that the Prime Minister have sex with a pig on live television. Every single moment of how that scenario played out was absolutely spot on. That initial trio also included the story revolving around a future tech that allows people to video capture and play back everything they see, leading to the emotional breakdown of a young man who believes his wife is having an affair.
The emotional crusher this time out revolves around a newlywed couple or, rather, the wife of a newlywed couple forced to carry on after her young husband dies in a car crash. Helping her through - she thinks - is a service that compiles a psychological profile of the deceased based on the social media profiles and online activity, thereby allowing the living to carry on a relationship with the dead with the service interacting as the dead person would do to a frightening degree of accuracy. I'm not making this sound nearly as good as it actually is, just trust me here.
Borderline (Hong Kong) Selected by Hugo Ozman
There is a popular Chinese saying: “Where there is competition, there is progress”. It looks like the opposite is also true, at least it is in the case of Hong Kong’s free-to-air television, which has seen total domination by one TV channel over its competitor for the past few decades. The result is that Hong Kong television is no longer very exciting.
It looks like things will get interesting again within the next couple of years, as the HK government has recently approved 2 out of 3 applications for free-to-air television licences. Interestingly, Hong Kong Television Network (HKTV), the one whose bid got rejected, is also the one that HK people are most supportive of.
And if the standard of the first episode of HKTV’s series Borderline is anything to go by, it comes as no surprise that people want this company to get a licence. This single episode (embedded below - in Cantonese with Chinese subtitles) was released on HKTV’s official YouTube Channel in June this year, and has since had over 1.2 million hits.
Borderline is simply the best Hong Kong television I have seen in years. It is fast-paced, exciting and full of twists, and reminds me of my favorite HK films from filmmakers like Johnnie To, Dante Lam and Benny Chan. It has a great cast, which includes actors who have played plenty of supporting roles in HK movies, like Liu Kai Chi (Beast Stalker, Protégé), Keung Hiu Man (Unbeatable, Drug War) and Lam Ka Wah (Invisible Target, Overheard). Performances are generally solid except for singer-actor Lawrence Chou, who at times seems to be having difficulties keeping up with the other actors’ intense performances.
What really sets the show apart from the usual Hong Kong television programs is its high production value. Reportedly costing HK$1 million per episode, the lighting, cinematography and action scenes are all top notch. It is tightly scripted and moves at a pace so fast that it demands a second viewing.
I certainly hope that HKTV’s Chairman Ricky Wong will continue the fight to earn the right to screen his company’s programs on Hong Kong’s free-to-air television.
Borgen (Denmark) Selected by Todd Brown
Yes, the politics are obvious to the point of caricature with the Good Liberals triumphing over the villainous forces on the political extremes - particularly the troll like forces on the right end of the spectrum - through decency and smart policy but, damn, Danish political drama Borgen ranks awfully high on any list of classy, well written dramas from anywhere in the world today.
It's the sort of show that wouldn't seem out of place on Aaron Sorkin's resume, its three seasons - the final of which wrapped up the show's run this year - tracking the rise and fall and rise again of mid-spectrum (by Danish standards) politician Birgitte Nyborg, the toll politics takes on her family, and the interlinked forces of politics and the media. A Hijacking writer-director Tobias Lindholm has been a lead writer on the series from the very beginning and the directing talent associated with it is impressive.
The Bridge (Denmark / Sweden) Selected by Todd Brown
Since remade in both the US and UK, make a point of seeking out the original Danish / Swedish production of The Bridge. Series two aired throughout Scandinavia in 2013, shortly after the first series screened on the BBC in the UK and the UK editions give easy access to the original goods.
While The Killing has gotten most of the love when it comes to Nordic Noir on television - and for good reason, it's great and also on this list - The Bridge may be even better. The plot - which revolves around a body discovered on the exact mid point of the bridge connecting Copenhagen, Denmark to Malmo, Sweden, is complex and twisty without being obnoxious about it, the performances are absolutely stellar, and production values absolutely top notch throughout. I've not bothered with either of the remakes at all because I want more from the original - Series Two hits the BBC in 2014 - and can't imagine anyone improving on it as it is.
Dag (Norway) Selected by Todd Brown
Okay, I'm breaking my own rules here in that I have no idea if this can be had anywhere outside of Norway and I know the DVD releases there do not include subtitles but, hell, Dag is really damn funny. Some background:
At Fantastic Fest 2012 we were proud to premiere a jet black crime comedy from writer director Oystein Karlsen titled Fuck Up which went on to make my year end Best Of List. And at the festival Karlsen asked if I wanted to see the TV series he wrote and directed with the same principal cast and crew. Uh, yeah? They'd already aired two seasons at that point and were just about to shoot Series Three, which would go on to rack up a bunch of TV award nominations both at home and abroad.
The story revolves around the titular Dag - that's him in the image above - a misanthropic marital counselor whose sessions invariably begin with him asking his clients very sincerely if they've considered that maybe people just aren't meant to be together and perhaps they should get a divorce? It's that sort of show. And he's got a fantastic record collection. If you manage to find a way of tracking this one down I promise it's worth the effort.
The Fall (Ireland / UK) Selected by Todd Brown
Best serial killer show ever? Belfast set offering The Fall lays a very serious claim to that title. Gillian Anderson (The X-Files) stars as a London based police inspector shipped out to Belfast for a review of a local case only to come to the conclusion that incidents the local force had previously taken as unconnected were actually the work of a single man and Belfast has a nascent serial killer on their hands.
Playing out from the dual perspective of the cop and the killer - yes, the audience knows who the villain is right from the beginning - the show goes deep into the psychology of both sides for a truly disturbing and compelling experience. The season finale hits with a truly cruel cliffhanger but fret not, there's more coming.
Godforsaken (The Netherlands) Selected by Ard Vijn
In 2003, the Dutch thriller Godforsaken by Pieter Kuijpers was released, basically showing a "behind the scenes" of an infamous crime which truly had happened ten years earlier. The film became a big success, beloved by critics and audiences alike. Of course, the idea of taking a "true crime" an dramatizing it isn't exactly new, but the way it was done was pretty special: flashy, but not without integrity, and taking into accounts most sides of the story, painting what happened in shades of gray rather than black versus white.
As there (alas) is no shortage of "true crimes", in 2011 Godforsaken was turned into a nine-episode television series. Instead of taking the original story and stretching it out, the concept was taken over from the film: each 50-minute episode would focus on a different well-documented crime, as seen from the viewpoint of both criminals and victims. Different actors, different directors and different writers were attached for each episode. Again this was a big success, and follow-up seasons were made using the same formula.
This year we got season three, consisting of six episodes. The format of course leads to a variation in quality between stories, but again the average level of the series as a whole is impressively high. Plenty of veteran actors and directors can be found in the credits - including ScreenAnarchy favorites Steffen Haars (New Kids Turbo, Bro's Before Ho's) and Max Porcelijn (Plan C) in the current season - but at the same time some episodes can be seen as a testing ground for new talent. A bit sensationalist it may often get, but there is always skill and class on display as well. And as an added bonus, each episode is accompanied by a short in which a well-known forensic psychiatrist explains how the crime happened in real life. All in all it's a pretty good approach, and indeed it (still) makes for a pretty good series.
Hellfjord (Norway) Selected by Todd Brown
The creators of Norwegian cult comedy Hellfjord - a group of people who include many best known abroad due to their involvement in the Dead Snow films - describe their very odd creation as Twin Peaks meets Hot Fuzz and it's hard to come up with a better description than that.
The entire first season had its world premiere as part of Fantastic Fest 2012 prior to airing in Norway in early 2013, where it drew huge numbers and was acquired for remake in the US by Showtime. No word yet on whether Series Two will get the greenlight - though showrunner Patrik Syversen assures me they're good to go as soon as the network says yes - but with Series One now available on DVD in Australia and with the Norwegian BluRay release including English subtitles there's no reason not to check this one out now.
The Killing (Denmark) Selected by Todd Brown
Very much the golden child of the current wave of Scandinavian crime series, The Killing achieved its lofty status by simply being very, very good.
For those unfamiliar, the series follows police detective Sarah Lund through the course of a single investigation in each season and this most recent outings wraps up the series - yep, they've said there will be no more Lund after this - with Lund investigating the kidnapping of a wealthy and influential businessman's daughter. Nikolaj Lie Kaas joins the always stellar cast this time out.
If you've seen anything from the original Danish series then you know that this is just classy, character driven, crime drama done very, very right and this final series is a fitting send off. If you've not seen the original and you're a fan of crime stories then you very much owe it to yourself to look it up.
Luther (UK) Selected by Todd Brown
Yeah, Idris Elba made some fans with The Wire, sure, but it's Luther that is going to go down as his signature work on the small screen. The dark crime drama wrapped up its TV run this year - there's a feature and spin off reportedly still to come - and with the series available on Netflix on both sides of the ocean there's no reason at all not to get acquainted.
Elba's title character is absolutely magnetic, a blazingly intelligent cop with a background in psychology whose own life is falling apart due, in no small part, to his inability to disconnect himself emotionally from his cases and a willingness to play fast and loose with the law.
Like the BBC's Sherlock the seasons here are quite short, so plan on just binging the whole damn thing.
Moone Boy (Ireland) Selected by Todd Brown and Ben Umstead. Text by Todd Brown
You may have liked Irish comic Chris O'Dowd in other roles but it's Moone Boy that will convince you that the man is an utter genius.
O'Dowd both wrote and stars in the quasi-autobiographical series, playing the imaginary friend of an 11 year old boy growing up in the late eighties. The Wonder Years is probably the closest touch point but this is funnier by far than that ever was. Steve Coogan's on as a producer as guest stars early in the first season, which tells you something about the sort of space it occupies.
Series One initially ran in Ireland and the UK in late 2012 before turning up elsewhere in 2013 and they've already got two more full seasons in the can waiting to hit the airwaves. Get caught up now.
Peaky Blinders (UK)
Yes, with its period setting following close on the finish of the first world war, Birmingham set gangster drama Peaky Blinders is sure to draw comparisons to HBO's Boardwalk Empire. It lives up to them.
Put the silly sounding title aside - the show is based on the exploits of an actual gang from the time known for sewing razor blades into the peaks of their caps - and let yourself get sucked into the amazing production design, a stellar performance from Cillian Murphy in the lead, and strong writing across the board. Yes, Sam Neill struggles with the accent but that's about the worst thing that can be said of the six parter.
The Returned (Les Revenants) (France) Selected by Shelagh M. Rowan-Legg and Ben Umstead. Text by Shelagh M. Rowan-Legg
In a small mountainside community, the dead are coming back to life. But these are not ordinary Romero-style zombies that want to eat your brains. These are a few people from different families and walks of life, whose return is in some cases welcomed, in others confusing, and in most, feared. This great drama series from France might have some melodrama, but it is a searing and terrifying drama. There is no explanation for the dead’s return, nor any pattern. This is more psychological drama than horror, examining what happened to those left behind, and not everyone who comes back was necessarily someone who deserves to return. The first episodes focus on the different returnees and their families, the consequences of death and the strains of adjustment. The Returned avoids violence and gore, and instead focuses on the small details of intimacy and emotion that can rock both those who have felt deep grief for loved ones gone, and those who have returned and do not understand how or why. It goes deep into the darkest recesses of the human psyche, slowly building a mythology to a truly terrifying season conclusion. I’m counting the months until the new season airs.
Top Of The Lake (UK) Selected as the best TV show of the year, regarless of country of origin by Ryland Aldrich, Brian Clark, Shelagh M. Rowan-Legg and Jaime Grijalba Gomez. Text by Jaime Grijalba Gomez
Impressive. I mean, how can we have something like this in television and not make everyone crazy? It's a miniseries, sure, it's maybe the only reason why I watched it and followed it every week: because I knew it was going to be a narrative that would end after 5 weeks. Top Of The Lake is a mystery that has a clear answer, yet at the same time it gives its mysterious vibe throughout the series and its charm continued even after it ended. This is one of the best experiences of 2013.
Utopia (UK) Selected by Shelagh M. Rowan-Legg
I’ve never been one to subscribe to conspiracy theories; most organizations can’s even keep themselves in order when they have a paper trail, I can’t imagine how big conspiracies can be organized without one. Still, one of the things that makes Utopia so good is how well thought-out it is. There are actually very few people who know what’s going on, most just cover one or two things, and the conspiracy is so possible that you could believe it might happen. Four people (one of them a child) meet to discuss a missing cult graphic novel which may or may not have a link to a government conspiracy. Well, turns out it does, and soon they are running for their lives, in the company of a fifth person who holds the key to the mystery. It’s shot in garish, bright colours, with pictures of industrial and abandoned landscapes that might indicate the human future. The dialogue is cracking and sharp, and performances from actors only really known in the UK such as Fiona O’Shaughnessy, Alexandra Roach and Nathan Stewart-Jarrett are just as good as those from heavyweights such as James Fox and Stephen Rea. Blackmail, global politics, prostitution, pandemics; these are big topics, but they are handled on a human enough scale that your feel the pressure and the possibility. Riveting stuff.