Best French Shows to Learn French on Netflix, by Level

The best French shows to learn French on Netflix, sorted by how hard the French is: start with Lupin, The Hook Up Plan and Women at War, move on to Family Business and Into the Night, and keep Mortel and Standing Up for later. We also added a few films, including one from Québec. Netflix catalogs differ by country, so check each title where you live. At the end you'll find how to turn on French subtitles, how to watch with French and English lines together, and a two-week plan.

What makes a French show easy or hard

Three things decide it: speed, register and accent. A period drama where people speak in full sentences is easier than a comedy where everyone talks over each other. Teen shows and police thrillers are full of slang, argot and verlan (syllables swapped around, so fou becomes ouf), which you won't find in a textbook.

Accent matters too. Most French programs on Netflix come from Paris and use the standard French you hear in courses. Marseille has its own melody and vowels, Belgian French is close to Parisian with a few differences, and Québec French sounds different enough that learners of France French often need subtitles at first.

So the best French TV shows to learn French are the ones that match your level and the accent you need. One more rule beats any list: pick something you'll want to finish. If you already know the story, even better.

Best French shows on Netflix for beginners

These have clear speech, mostly standard French and a plot you can follow when you miss a line.

Lupin. Paris, thriller. Assane Diop, a gentleman thief inspired by Arsène Lupin, takes revenge on the rich family that ruined his father. Omar Sy speaks calmly and clearly, and the plot tells you what's going on even when the words don't. Three parts are out, and a fourth comes out in late October 2026. Tip: Lupin also has an English dub, so check that the audio says French [Original].

The Hook Up Plan (Plan Cœur). Paris, romantic comedy, three seasons of short episodes. A Parisian woman's friends secretly hire an escort to help her get over her ex. The French is informal and current: how young Parisians talk over drinks and on dates. Tip: write down the ways people say yes, no and "whatever"; you'll hear them everywhere.

Women at War (Les Combattantes). France in 1914, period drama, eight episodes. Four women face the first months of World War I. People speak slowly and fairly formally, which makes this one of the easiest series on the list for listening. Tip: save the war words the first time you hear them; the same ones come back in every episode.

Under Paris (Sous la Seine). Film, 2024, Paris. A huge shark appears in the Seine just before a triathlon. Action films have short lines and lots of repeated commands, which suits a beginner. Tip: watch it twice, the second time with French subtitles only.

French TV shows to learn French at an intermediate level

These are among the best shows to learn French on Netflix once the basics are in place. People talk faster and use more slang.

Family Business. Paris, comedy, three seasons. Joseph hears that France will legalize cannabis and decides to turn his family's butcher shop into a cannabis café. Jonathan Cohen talks very fast, and the humor comes from family arguments, so expect interruptions. Tip: rewatch the opening scene of each episode until you catch every line.

Into the Night. Belgium, sci-fi thriller, two seasons, Netflix's first Belgian original. A night flight from Brussels has to keep flying west to escape a sunrise that kills. It's a Belgian production with French as the original audio, and some passengers speak other languages too. Lines are short and urgent, which helps. Tip: if you plan to visit Brussels, listen to how close it is to Paris French; the differences are small.

Call My Agent! The Movie. Film, 2026, Paris. A follow-up to the series Dix pour cent: five years after the agency closed, a first-time director loses her lead actor and calls the old team back. Fast, witty Parisian dialogue with a lot of show-business talk. Tip: the original series left Netflix in the US in July 2025 and may be gone in other countries too, but the film works on its own.

Advanced: slang and Québec

Standing Up (Drôle). Paris, comedy-drama, one season of six episodes, from the creator of Call My Agent!. Four young comedians try to make it on the Paris stand-up scene. Stand-up is the hardest kind of French to follow, because the jokes run on wordplay and references to French life. Tip: pause after every joke you didn't get and look up the key word; that's where the slang lives.

Mortel. Teen fantasy, two seasons. Two high school students make a deal with a supernatural being and get powers. Lots of youth slang and verlan, spoken fast. Tip: don't try to learn every slang word; save the ones that come back three or four times.

The Decline (Jusqu'au déclin). Film, 2020, Québec, the first Québec-made Netflix original film. Survivalists at a remote training camp turn on each other after an accident. The audio is French (Canada), and the accent and vocabulary are a real step for learners of France French. Tip: watch with French subtitles from the start.

Original French audio vs dubbed versions

Most French originals on Netflix also have an English dub, and some non-French shows have a French dub. For learning, choose the audio marked French [Original]. That's what the actors actually said, with real rhythm and intonation.

Subtitles can trip you up. Some titles offer more than one French track, such as "French" and "French [CC]". On dubbed titles, one of them may follow the dub and the other the original script, so the words on screen won't match what you hear. If that happens, switch to the other French track. On French originals with French audio, this is rarely an issue.

How to get French subtitles on Netflix

On a computer, start the episode, click the screen and open Audio & Subtitles. Pick French [Original] under Audio and French under Subtitles. If French isn't listed, choose Other to see all options. If it still isn't there, the title has no French subtitles in your country.

Netflix shows one subtitle track at a time. That leaves you choosing between French (you see what you hear, but you may not understand it) and English (you understand, but you stop listening).

Watch with French and English lines using InterSub

InterSub is a browser extension for Chrome, Edge and Firefox that adds dual subtitles to Netflix: French on one line, English on the other. For the full setup, see our guide to two subtitles on Netflix.

What it does while you watch:

• Hover lookup. Hover over a word, the video pauses and you see its translation in context. The word goes to your Wordbook.
• Second line only on pause. Watch with French only, and the English line appears when you pause. This is the setting we recommend once the first episodes feel manageable.
• Shadowing mode. The video pauses after each subtitle so you can repeat the line out loud before it continues. Our shadowing technique guide explains how to use it.

Add InterSub to Chrome

If the French subtitles follow a dub and don't match the audio, or your country has no English track, a paid plan can translate the second line live with AI. You can sync saved words to Anki or practice them in the free InterSub Words Telegram bot; all the ways to practice your words are on the install page.

A two-week plan with French shows on Netflix

Pick one beginner show and stay with it. Twenty to forty minutes a day is enough.

Days 1–3. Watch episode 1 with Netflix dual subtitles, French and English, then watch it again. Don't stop much; just get the characters and the story.

Days 4–5. Rewatch the same episode with the English line shown only on pause. Look up every word you hear more than twice.

Days 6–7. Watch episode 2 the same way. Review your saved words before you start.

Days 8–10. Episodes 3 and 4 with French subtitles and English on pause. Pick one scene a day and shadow it: repeat each line after the pause.

Days 11–12. Go back to episode 1 with French subtitles only. You'll notice how much more you catch, which is the point of comprehensible input: lots of French you can almost follow.

Days 13–14. Try the first episode of an intermediate show. If it's too hard, finish your beginner show first.

Netflix won't do it all

Watching builds listening and vocabulary when you stop for words and rewatch. A season watched straight through teaches less than one episode you pause ten times. And watching won't make you speak; for that you need to say the lines out loud and talk to people.

Learning Spanish too? Here are the Spanish shows on Netflix we'd pick, sorted the same way.