Netflix's first-ever Hindi original series, Sacred Games, has finally debuted on the streaming service. But it's not the only foreign-language drama poised to be a hit: plenty of other non-English series have seen success worldwide (anyone who's binged the creepy Dark from Germany or the tense, Spanish Money Heist knows this firsthand).
Sacred Games is set in Mumbai and, per Netflix, "delves into the city’s intricate web of organized crime, corruption, politics and espionage that lie beneath India’s economic renaissance. It is an epic masterwork of exceptional richness and power that interweaves the lives of the privileged, the famous, the wretched and the bloodthirsty."
Once you get hooked on Sacred Games, check out these other foreign-language Netflix hits, from anime to sci-fi and everything in between. (All descriptions are from Netflix.)
10. Marseille (French)
Robert Taro (Gerard Depardieu) has been the mayor of Marseille for 25 years. Now he faces a merciless election against his young, ambitious former protege.
9. B: The Beginning (Japanese Anime)
In this anime series, scientists hope "new humans" will create universal peace, but they're kidnapped by an evil group with very different plans.
8. The Mechanism (Brazilian)
Get ready to join a small group of dogged investigators on the hunt to discover the inner workings of the biggest corruption scheme of all time and the impact their pursuit will have on everyone involved — including themselves.
7. Devilman Crybaby (Japanese Anime)
To mark the 50th year of Go Nagai’s career, his hit series Devilman returns as Devilman Crybaby. Lauded as an “eternal masterpiece” that could never be completely recreated in moving images, the entirety of Devilman will finally be portrayed in Devilman Crybaby. A team of Japan’s top creators gathers to take on the anime adaptation of a legendary manga.
6. Cable Girls (Spanish)
Being a woman in 1928 was no easy task. Four women in search of independence are brought together through their work as telephone operators.
5. The Rain (Danish)
“You never know when your life is going to change.” After a brutal virus wipes out most of the population, two young siblings embark on a perilous search for safety.
4. 3% (Brazilian)
A world divided into progress and devastation. The link between the two sides - Offshore and Inland - is a rigorous and painstaking system called The Process. Everyone in Inland has a chance to go through The Process to live a better life in Offshore. But only 3% make it through.
3. Dark (German)
The disappearance of two kids in the German small town of Winden opens abysses that turn the concept of time on its head. The question is not who has kidnapped the children — but when.
2. Narcos (Spanish)
The Medellin cartel - the most violent, ruthless and wealthy criminal organization in the history of modern crime. And the one man who lorded over them all... Pablo Escobar. Narcos is the true story of the U.S. and Colombian efforts to battle the Medellin cartel during the cocaine-fueled drug wars of the 1980's. Multi-layered and multi-faceted, Narcos depicts a brutal world where lines are blurred and little is black and white.
1. Money Heist (Spanish)
Eight thieves take hostages and lock themselves in the Royal Mint of Spain as a criminal mastermind manipulates the police to carry out his plan.
