Check out MHz Choice. All dramas from Europe and Nordic countries (Denmark, Sweden, Norway) Outstanding films & series – all character driven with people whose struggles you can relate to. This is “entertainment” for intelligent film-loving adults as opposed to the US fare which seems geared to teenage boys who like Marvel comics. There’s lots of obnoxious teenagers driving their parents nuts, cute small kids, top notch cinematography, sound, editing, acting, and story telling that grapples with some of the most difficult issues of our times. And I don’t see much A.I. Everything looks real.

But you have to be able to do subtitles. The dubbing in my opinion doesn’t work. Voice doesn’t match movement of mouth etc. It’s only $8 a month. The ones from Denmark, Sweden & Norway are fantastic and they deal with some of the most controversial topics out there like “Honor Killings,” and an illness I can’t remember the name of where new mothers purposely starve their infants so they can be heroic and bring them back to life. The villains in most of the series are corrupt politicians, corporate guys who are ripping off their workers, lying about everything, and testing dangerous drugs on kids in Africa. The heroes are often the investigative journalists who are uncovering all the bad stuff. The police are frequently as corrupt as the politicians which is probably pretty realistic.

But lots of cops are the heroes of the show – like Martin and Saga in “The Bridge.” I think Americans bought MHz last year so they’ll probably wreck it. Already they are already trying to push “dubbed” versions. Not sure why. Their subtitles are great. Very clear and easy to read. One of the best ones is “A French Village” – all about the blowback that happens when the Allied troops go through France and liberate all these towns from the Nazi’s and now have to confront the rage that boils over about who collaborated. Here’s a link to a trailer for “A French Village. “

The only country I found tough were the ones from Italy because they talk really fast (subtitles go by too fast) and they talk a lot so it’s hard to understand. But one of the most popular MHz series is Montalbano from Italy.

PS: I have no personal connection to MHz. I wanted to try and promote their programming because it’s literally kept me sane for at least 6 years while I took care of my husband who was suffering with Parkinson’s Disease and Lewy Body Dementia. We used to joke watching “A French Village” that we didn’t have it so bad after all.
It’s only $8 a month. Several months ago I tried to do the math to see how much I was spending per hour on MHz. I think it was under 10 cents an hour!