The tragedy seems all too familiar in these two international dramas

When a show is called The accidentyou know something very bad is going to happen, and when it starts with a child's birthday party, you know it's likely to be especially bad.

While on vacation, I came across the 10-part Spanish-language Netflix series The accidentwhich is currently in Netflix's top 10. I decided to give it a try, mainly because I wanted to know what the accident was about. I hadn't watched the trailer which gives it away, but because it does (and it is revealed in the first episode), I'll tell you what the accident was about: At the party, the bouncy castle the kids are playing on is caught in a gust of wind and tragedy ensues.

Unfortunately, that can happen (there was a similar tragedy in Maryland not long ago), but that's just the inciting incident. As we follow the families involved, there's intrigue about a business deal, an affair, a very scary man, a teen romance, and a twisted story about who is responsible for this accident. The show is about how these people are changed by one day in their lives, but it also has a strong undertone of soap opera drama.

I am not sure if the show excellentbut it's very watchable, as I watched all 10 episodes in a single day. (Vacation!) This is a Mexican drama, and it got me thinking about how the deepest fears, wherever a story comes from, often resonate quite effectively. A nightmare with children, families starting to assign blame, parents trying to juggle careers and family obligations, with devastating costs for failure – it's all pretty awful.

It's hard to switch with the words “apropos terrible”, but I also watched the 2019 Swedish drama series Quicksandadapted from the book of the same name, which begins with a school shooting. A young woman named Maja (Hanna Ardéhn) is found covered in blood after a shooting spree that killed several people (including her boyfriend). Over the course of six episodes, the series examines what role she played in the crime and the guilt she bears. While it's partly about what drives someone to commit such an act, a lot of it is also about the toxicity that can develop in relationships between teenagers, particularly when they feel alienated from friends or family. Ardéhn is excellent, as is the rest of the cast, and the story walks a fine line between sensitivity and mystery as it provides more and more information about the day's events.

While both shows are tough because of their subject matter, it's always interesting to look at stories that touch on familiar issues from a different perspective. For an American viewer like me, both shows make it clear that the legal system works differently in different places – and that crimes in other countries can result in completely different punishments.

And as always, I recommend watching these shows with subtitles, for the simple reason that you have to pay attention to them. You can't switch to the second screen if you need to read along, and there's a lot to be said for getting into the habit of concentrating on something for eight hours or so.

Netflix now gives me recommendations for many, many, many dramas that have been produced internationally. I'll see you in a few years when I've got a bit done.

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