5 Netflix shows to sate your appetite for international TV

This clammy crime series is set in Iceland, where it's bone-aching cold and the summer days are so long that people get cranky from too much light. The cop, a blunt woman who's inscrutable or just unlikable, deals with the same thing that marred such shows as "The Killing" — enough red herrings to keep a cannery operating 24/7 for a year. But you get to hear the cops ask for doughnuts in Icelandic. (One season.)

Good for: People who have visited Iceland and want to see something they remember.

Judging by Netflix's offerings, every region in the U.K. has its own serial killer and troubled police officer who must overcome personal difficulties to solve a crime that reveals buried secrets under the community's placid surface. "Happy Valley" — the name is ironic, believe it or not — stands out for its Yorkshire setting, and its cop: old-school Sgt. Catherine Cawood, a solid and unsentimental sort. (Two seasons.)

Good for: Anyone angry at men for being such utter tossers.

French, of course. Starring the Gibraltar-sized Gérard Depardieu, of course. He's the mayor! Women find him irresistible. Full of smoking and corruption, it was called "an industrial accident" by Le Monde. But Francophiles may like it. At least it's not another romance set in Paris. (One season, another in production.)

Good for: Fans of gritty tales of mayoral-succession strife, told in another language.

It's an American production, but the backers are French and it's set in Colombia, so we'll include it. Seasons 1 and 2 concern the DEA's war against coke kingpin Pablo Escobar. The American agents are the good guys. The drug boss is the bad guy. But it's far more complicated than it sounds, and the show spends enough time in the political and cultural wars of Colombia to make you feel as if you're learning something. (Two seasons; two more en route.)

A speculative Norwegian thriller about a soft conquest of Norway by Russia. The drama isn't about tanks in the streets — there aren't any — but about the corruption of a governing class as it manages the occupation, and the pacifist people who find new resolve in resisting. Taut and smart. (One season; another on the way. It was the most expensive Norwegian TV show ever, so making another batch of episodes has been complicated.)

Good for: Anyone who follows the news.

James Lileks