8 international sci-fi movies you should watch on Netflix

Ragnarok: This Norwegian show uses Norse mythology to craft a coming-of age fantasy show combining teen struggles with environmental themes, with lots of shocking twists and turns along the way.

Abyss: This body-switching South Korean drama features sci-fi, romance, murder mystery, and crime drama. Plus there’s a lot of discussion of how our appearance shapes our life.

Shadow: This South African series inches into the superhero genre, though it’s mainly a crime drama. It follows an ex-cop after he gets struck by lightning and loses the ability to feel pain. He uses this to become a Batman-like vigilante.

Better Than Us: A family drama with a killer robot thrown in just for fun. It’s your typical “random people stumble upon future tech” story, but with a lot more heart and soul.

Cleverman: The show uses Australian Aboriginal myth to explore difficult topics like racism, segregation, and immigration, showing the relation between a feral species called the Hairypeople and the Cleverman, an inherited role with superheroic powers.

Reality Z: A Brazilian zombie show that combines the goriness of The Walking Dead with the reality show vapidness of Big Brother, with a fun Greek mythology pastiche on top of that.

Always a Witch: This Colombian series about a 17th century witch sent to the present day gets off to a rocky start, but by Season 2 it’s full of adventures, wizards, and pirates, without ignoring the period-specific racism.

Dark: The whirlwind series use time loops, paradoxes, and parallel worlds to craft a time hopping family tree you’ll need a paper and pen to work out, but it’s so worth it for the rich storytelling.