Streaming’s ‘Squid Game’ Dilemma: Can Non-English Content Drive Both Subscribers and Revenue?

The entertainment industry currently finds itself in a logical loop knot that’s proving difficult to untangle. Rising production costs have led to an exodus of film and TV production from California, with states like Georgia and countries such as Croatia, Estonia and Belgium eagerly courting Hollywood business via generous tax incentives. That makes them attractive alternatives for cost-cutting studios. But there’s a catch: many of these international production offers require the creation of local language content to qualify for the juicy tax breaks. Sneaky, sneaky. 

At the same time, the streaming landscape is facing a major dilemma. The U.S. and Canada market has become saturated, leaving little room for subscriber growth. As such, future growth is increasingly being driven by international audiences. For instance, around 70 percent of Netflix’s global subscriber base and roughly 80 percent of its quarterly additions come from international markets these days. Disney+ and Max are also seeing greater gains overseas than here at home. 

The problem is that, while international audiences may be growing, they tend to have lower average revenue per user compared to North American audiences. In simpler terms, streaming services tend to make more money from North American subscribers than those in Latin America, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. 

This creates a paradox worthy of a Christopher Nolan movie. To drive growth, streaming platforms must license and/or develop local language content for international markets. But to maximize profitability, they need that content to resonate with their more high-yield English-speaking North American subscribers that don’t consistently care for it. Something’s gotta give. 

According to Nielsen, which tracks the top 10 most watched streaming TV originals in the U.S. each week, only 17 non-English titles have made it into a weekly Top 10 list this year so far (hat tip to Entertainment Strategy Guy). That’s a remarkably low hit rate, highlighting how difficult it is for non-English shows to achieve broad commercial success in the U.S. While American audiences are increasingly interested in foreign language content (more on that below), the path to sustained popularity remains as elusive as a sequel to Man of Steel. 

Spanish shows dominate non-English content in North America

A deeper look at the data shows that Spanish-language content dominates. Of the 17 non-English titles that cracked the weekly top 10, eight were in Spanish. Other languages represented include Japanese (3), Portuguese (2), Korean (2), French (1) and German (1). This distribution underscores the role of established entertainment industries and large language communities in shaping global content. For example, there are upwards of 62 million Spanish speakers in the U.S., and countries like Japan, Brazil, South Korea, France and Germany all boast mature entertainment industries. 

In terms of genre, drama leads the way with 12 of the 17 titles, followed by unscripted (2), kids content (1), horror (1) and sci-fi (1). Drama’s dominance can be attributed to its versatility—crime dramas, historical epics, romantic stories and action thrillers all fit within the broad umbrella of the genre. (Similarly, unscripted can cover news, reality, game shows, etc.).  Shows like Money Heist, Griselda, and Tokyo Vice were standout examples of how high-quality drama series, with universal themes like crime and family dynamics, can resonate with U.S. viewers. Epic historical drama Shogun delivered the top-tier production value that Americans are accustomed to. Many of these shows boast high concepts and unique plot hooks. 

Interestingly, no non-English comedy series made it into Nielsen’s top rankings in 2024. This isn’t a huge surprise, given that humor is often culturally specific and harder to translate across borders.

Even as the majority of non-English titles fail to break through in the U.S., American appetites for foreign language content is growing. Between Q1 2022 and Q3 2024, the demand share for non-English shows in the U.S. increased from 12.8 percent to 17 percent of total TV demand, according to Parrot Analytics, where I work as Senior Entertainment Industry Strategist. This is good news for media companies that want to eventually wean themselves off a complete reliance on costly domestic productions. 

In terms of the specific content that has gained traction, kids animation and Japanese anime stand out. But since Japanese anime is an insular industry that can’t easily be entered or replicated by outsiders and kids animation is similarly broad yet specialized, we are going to exclude these genres moving forward. Having said that, their ability to resonate across borders thanks to improved subbing and dubbing technologies should not be discounted by entertainment companies. 

Excluding these genres, we still see a broader range of languages represented among the 50 most in-demand non-English series in the U.S. thus far in 2024. Spanish-language series lead the charge, with 14 shows making the list, including seven of the top 10. Other languages include Hindi (8), Korean (6), Japanese (4), German (4), Arabic (4), Turkish (2), Bengali (2), Chinese (2), Danish/Swedish (1), Tamil (1), Greek (1), French (1). Interestingly, India’s entertainment output is making notable inroads into the U.S., with both Netflix and Amazon Prime Video featuring a growing library of Indian films and TV shows. 

Among the genres, drama once again dominated with 19 of the 50 titles, followed by unscripted (16), sci-fi (6), dramedy (4), comedy (4) and fantasy (1). In particular, crime dramas, family dramas, historical dramas and romantic dramas seem to be most successful in crossing cultural boundaries. Shows from Spain like Money Heist and La Usurpadora continue to prove that Spanish-language dramas, especially those with high production values and recyclable soap opera elements, have broad international appeal. 

Korean shows are gaining traction in the U.S.

When we break down the top-performing non-English series by genre, several trends emerge. Korean dramas, especially the ever-popular Squid Game and Queen of Tears, are clearly resonating with U.S. audiences. Netflix said more than 60 percent of its subscribers watched at least one Korean title on the platform last year. Drama accounted for nearly two-thirds of total demand for Korean TV shows in the U.S. last quarter, per Parrot. Korean unscripted variety shows, music shows and cooking reality shows are also gaining traction in the U.S., though to a lesser extent.

Similarly, Spanish language content thrives on drama, with the genre accounting for 56 percent of all U.S. Spanish language TV demand last quarter. Spanish soap operas and crime thrillers lead this trend. Money Heist remains the crown jewel of Spanish language programming, but other drama-heavy titles are also drawing in significant audiences. The flexible and all-encompassing nature of drama makes it the most successful genre for international shows, regardless of language. Spanish news and sports commentary is also proving relevant in the U.S. (There’s a reason NBCUniversal is keeping Telemundo amid its cable network spinoff). 

The entertainment industry is attempting to unknot itself by balancing streaming’s push for international growth with leveraging the high revenue-per-user of domestic audiences. The demand for non-English programming in the U.S. and Canada is on the rise, but the road to success remains as narrow as Paul Atreides’ Golden Path in Dune, with only a select few international genres—primarily dramas, crime thrillers, family-oriented stories and unscripted content—driving U.S. engagement. 

While local language shows are essential for worldwide customer acquisition, they must be strategically tailored to resonate with U.S. viewers in order to maximize content budget efficiency. By studying what works—whether it’s a high production value crime drama from Spain or a historical epic from India—studios can make more informed decisions about content investment to ensure that global growth doesn’t come at the cost of domestic success.