In 2012 I read an article in "Entertainment Weekly" where Steven King said that the Danish political drama "Borgen" was the best show he saw that year. It was unavailable in Netflix, but they did have it in there, so I saved it to my queue. Season 1 finally showed up this week and I watched in about 3 days. It was fantastic.
Where "House of Cards" is cartoonish version of U.S. politics, though a highly entertaining one, "Borgen" gives a deeper look at the actual lives of politicians and the press. The characters have real depth.
Where "The West Wing" is a smarty-pants version of partisan political discussion, "Borgen" shows the internal struggles people have with the issues, and sometimes they change their minds.
The lead actress, Sidse Babett Knudsen in the picture above, is fantastic, as is much of the rest of the cast.
Here's some great background on the success of the show from Wikipedia:
The series has been well received by critics and audiences alike. It became a hit in the UK as well as Denmark, becoming one of several Danish series to do so in recent years. Maggie Brown of The Guardian cited the strong female characters, originality and an ability to "uncannily forecast actual developments in Danish politics" as reasons for its success. Jane Merrick of The Independent published a list of similarities from Series 2 to actual events in present day UK politics following the conclusion of the series in the UK.
The US critics have been similarly positive, with Newsweek dubbing Borgen "the best TV show you have never seen" and bestselling novelist and Entertainment Weekly columnist Stephen King put the series on the top of his top 10 list of the best TV shows of 2012. The New York Times also offered praise, describing Borgen as a "bleaker, Nordic version of The West Wing" and saying it "finds a remarkable amount of drama and suspense in center-left alliances, pension plans and televised debates."
Here's the trailer for season 1:
Season 1 is available on Netflix by DVD only. You can also check your library (which is where I got season 2 and 3), or buy it on Amazon.
If this started streamin on Netflix, it would be a huge hit in the U.S.