What’s the Next ‘Squid Game’? These New Overseas Originals Might Be It – Variety

Netflix is keen to find its next non-English original that will have mass-global appeal like Squid Game. Non-English-language titles are critical for the streamer to be able to grow outside the U.S./Canada region, which only drove about 7% of Netflixs net paid subscriber growth during all of 2021.

But other streamers are also increasingly trying to find that TV hit which will catch fire globally to help them grow outside of the saturated domestic SVOD market.

To help make sense of what may ascend to Squid Game heights next, Variety Intelligence Platform put together a list of its most anticipated non-English-language original titles set to drop across various streaming platforms in 2022. Certain streaming platforms, like the U.S.-only Peacock, werent considered for this article because theyre simply not in enough markets to set off a Squid Game-like phenomenon.

Below is a list of the top 15 non-English-language streaming TV series in no particular order beyond platform of release that could be the biggest attractions for their platforms in 2022.

This series, which follows a group of high school students trying to survive a zombie virus outbreak, will benefit from the increased interest across global territories placed on Korean-language content that recent series like Hellbound and Squid Game helped drive. Additionally, Lee You-mi, who plays Ji-yeong in Squid Game, stars in All of Us Are Dead and has already promoted the new zombie series to her 6.7 million Instagram followers in a post that received over 800,000 likes. Its likely that Lee You-mi has gained many followers outside Korea since Squid Game, and that suggests that All of Us Are Dead could eventually rank in Netflixs Top 10 rankings in non-Asian countries.

This horror TV series follows two sisters who must deal with the reality of their parents being involved in a cult ritual that ended in death. While the darker subject matter of this series may not be for some of the global viewers whore open to viewing some of the other series on this list, horror TV is still capable of putting big numbers on Netflix especially in the U.S. The Haunting of Bly Manor was viewed for roughly 1.2 billion minutes and ranked as Nielsens second-most-viewed series during the week of October 5 in 2020, for example. Feria doesnt star any actors with big mainstream U.S. appeal, though awareness of previous Spanish-language Netflix hits like Who Killed Sara could spur some Americans to sample the new horror TV series.

1899 follows the story of an immigrant ships voyage from Europe to New York and is likely to be one of Netflixs most-viewed non-English language series during the week following its debut. The German-language series comes from Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar, who created the German-language Netflix original Dark, which debuted its first season in December 2017. Over 90% of viewers of Dark S1 werent from Germany, Netflix disclosed in March 2018, and thats just one sign that the 1899 creators have a robust fan base in many markets globally. As of Jan. 5, Netflixs 1899 was the most anticipated foreign-language streaming series debuting in 2022, by measure of the number of global users of TV Time (an app that lets user users track content they watch) following a certain title.

There is likely a group of Korea-based Netflix viewers awaiting the release of The Sound of Magic, given it is based on the webtoon (a type of digital comic originating in South Korea) Annarasumanara that had hundreds of thousands of likes as of this writing. The Sound of Magic follows the story of a high school girl who wishes to grow up as fast as possible and meets a magician. The Netflix series stars up-and-comer Choi Sung-eun and the more-established Korean star Ji Chang-wook, who serves as a valuable promotion asset to viewers globally due to his 18.6 million Instagram followers. As of Jan. 5, The Sound of Magic was the fourth-most anticipated foreign-language streaming series debuting in 2022, by measure of global TV Time users following a title.

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is a standalone series set in the same universe as the Cyberpunk 2077, a once-intensely-anticipated game that was ultimately marred by technical issues following its December 2020 release. Despite the troubled rollout of Cyberpunk 2077, which is estimated to have sold 17.3 million copies in the year following its release, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is likely to still attract meaningful viewership due to the high-profile of the gaming IP that its based on. Just consider how exceptionally well certain Netflix originals based on established game IP have previously done: The Witcher S1 and S2 rank among Netflixs 10 most-watched English-language series of all-time, while Arcane was one of the streamers top 10 most-watched English language series for six weeks straight following its debut.

What little information is currently available already suggests that this Korean Money Heist remake could very well end-up being one of the top three most-viewed non-English Netflix originals of 2022. S3, S4 and S5 of the original Money Heist currently rank among the top 5 most-watched non-English Netflix series of all-time, which suggests to us there is a large global viewer base at least more willing to sample the Korean Money Heist over a show based on entirely new IP. What should also help the Korean Money Heist get out the gate quickly is that Park Hae-Soo (who acted as one of the Squid Game protagonists) is starring in the series.

Little (such as plot details and exact release date) is currently known about Our Blues, but the series has cast notable actors that could help it find success in territories beyond Korea. Our Blues will feature Lee Byung Hun, who acted a minor role in Squid Game as the Front Man, and Shin Min Ah, who some viewers in the U.S. might have become familiar with over the past few months because he has starred in another Korean Netflix original, Chief of Staff. Its possible that some U.S.-based Netflix viewers have checked out Chief of Staff recently because it also stars Lee Jung Jae, who played the protagonist in Squid Game.

This story follows individuals whore hoping to upgrade their position in society by using an exclusive matchmaking agency to marry or remarry into the top tier of society. The series, which looks to satirize Korean society, seems like it will hit on certain themes (i.e., the difficulty in significantly changing ones social and financial status) that contributed to making two prior Korean megahits Squid Game and Parasite successful. So that satire angle may help Remarriage and Desires resonate with audiences. But the new series could also benefit from the existing fan bases of its stars like Kim Hee-Seon and Jeong Eu-Gene, which had nearly 630,000 and 390,000 Instagram followers as of this writing.

Glitch follows the story of a girl who tries to track down her missing boyfriend with the help of a UFO club. This series plot feels a little creepy and like something that might even get a little dark. But that could help Glitch because being uniquely creepy and dark could help set it apart from the many other Netflix originals, in a way similar to how Squid Game was set apart from other TV series. Glitch will also benefit from the megastars in its cast including actress Jeon Yeo-been (1.4 million Instagram followers as of this writing) and K-pop signer/model NANA (3.1 million Instagram followers).

This series may have a relatively nondescript name, but it could take off in 2022 because it revolves around a developer and her friends who become involved in a murder case thats linked to a dating app. The dating app element seems like something that could make the show feel particularly topical, given the increasing number of romantic relationships that begin online. For example, a February 2021 Morning Consult survey found that 13% of U.S. adult respondents said that they met their partner online, slightly up from 10% in 2020. But keep in mind that Kim-Young-kwang, the lead actor of Somebody, has over 1 million Instagram followers and will also help market the series to get its viewership tally initially going.

Germany mystery thriller The Therapy is an adaption of Sebastian Fitzeks debut novel Die Therapie, which follows the story of a therapist who must reevaluate his daughters disappearance after being paid a visit by a schizophrenic stranger. The Therapy could perform well on Prime Video because Fitzek is one of Germanys biggest psychological thriller authors and has sold over 11 million copies of his various books, which have been translated into over 24 languages. In other words, there may be a decent amount of consumers in different countries whore interested in seeing how the onscreen adaption Fitzeks debut novel turned out, and positive initial reviews from these fans could spark further viewership growth of the show. The Therapy will build on momentum created by previous Prime Video German-scripted originals like We Children from Bahnhof Zoo, which premiered in the U.S. last April.

This title marks Apple TV+s first Russian-language series and will follows a surrogate mother who must navigate the house dynamics of a rich government family that she is carrying a baby for. It could draw some U.S. eyeballs off the bat because it stars Oksana Akinshina, who was in 2004s The Bourne Supremacy, which grossed nearly $300 million globally. Additionally, Container may appeal to Apple TV+ viewers who were impressed by the streamers critically acclaimed series Tehran and are looking for another foreign-language thriller. Container was selected to be showcased at MIPDrama in 2021, an annual event spotlighting upcoming high-end dramas to international buyers, and that implies that some other media execs already view the Russian series as having potential global appeal.

Already featured in our non-foreign language-focused top 20 anticipated streaming titles of 2022 list, Apple TV+s Pachinko could not be passed up in our 2022 list of anticipated foreign language titles. The development of Pachinko might not be known to many TV viewers who dont follow Apple TV+ closely, but its reportedly big budget is something that shouldnt be ignored THR in August 2018 reported that the series would have a budget comparable to that of Netflixs The Crown. And VIP+ in September 2021 argued why Apple TV+ needs to start regularly pumping out more big-budgeted TV series. Apple TV+s Pachinko, is reportedly slated for 2022 and is an adaption of Min Jin Lees novel of the same name that follows the story of a Korean family in Japan. The NYT named Pachinko as one of its 10 best books of 2017.

This title, based on a graphic novel of the same name, follows the story of a reporter who works with a cryogenically frozen spy from the 60s to prevent Spain from falling back into a dictatorship. The story seems like its out-there enough to catch the attention of viewers who might not typically watch Spanish TV series otherwise, but the visual effects of Garca! could help it gain steam as well. Madrid-based Zeta Studios (which produced Netflixs Spanish-language phenomenon Elite) is producing Garca! and called the to-come Spanish-language series a very ambitious project and one of its biggest bets, which implies impressive visuals.

HBO Maxs forthcoming Bnker follows the story of a father who retreats to a fallout shelter in his basement, where he encounters and teams up with seemingly disparate groups (like Korean and Russian scientists) for a common cause. The protagonist of the series is played by Bruno Bichir, who was in 2018s Sicario: Day of the Soldado, which grossed over $75 million globally. And that may act as a hook that gets some U.S. HBO Max viewers started on Bnker. What could keep many viewers watching the series is its seemingly chaotic-but-entertaining storyline thats being served in a 30-minute-comedy format something that might appear as more digestible than the hourlong dramas that many have likely come to expect from HBO.

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What's the Next 'Squid Game'? These New Overseas Originals Might Be It - Variety