It’s a great time to be a Canadian or British entertainment company. With the dual SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes showing no signs of resolution, everyone from Netflix to The CW is anxiously looking to fill gaps in their content calendars, with a potential programming black hole appearing in spring 2024. This anxiety has made internationally-produced scripted and unscripted series—which are not affected by work stoppages—exceptionally attractive, not only as a driver of customer engagement, but also as a way to keep their respective platforms and channels feeling fresh. 

This workaround seems logical, and a potential life boat during a once-in-a-generation dual strike. It’s also reflective of larger abiding trends in the industry. Looking at Netflix’s original scripted titles debuting in September, it appears less than 20 percent are U.S.-based productions, as spotted by All Your Screens. (This isn’t a perfect example since so much English-language content is produced on foreign soil. But it’s still a fascinating illustrative example.) Additional data from Whip Media shows that just under 40 percent of “new Netflix shows in development are in a language other than English,” according to Hollywood Reporter. Whip Media also found that the share of non-U.S. content circulating via U.S. distributors doubled between 2018 and 2021 (8 percent to more than 16 percent respectively).