Deep Dive: MHz Choice.

Here's an epic plunge into a streamer with enough international gems to make you reconsider what you're watching and paying for.

This is my opportunity to make a hard sell on something that shouldn’t be that hard to sell.

But the numbers don’t make it easy, so hear (and read) me out. I’ll start with something of a mild shocker: I found more series I want to watch on MHz Choice than I did on my previous (and fruitful) Deep Dive: Hulu.

Now, about those numbers. In early April, when I wrote that I’d be doing these Deep Dive features more regularly, I polled readers on all the streamers they subscribe to.

MHz Choice, which focuses on international fare with an emphasis on Nordic Noir and a high number of truly global series, came in at a measly 3 percent. Only ViaPlay, a streamer I’d barely heard of, had a lower number at 1 percent.

For comparison, streamers similar to MHz Choice with international series: BritBox (26 percent) and Acorn (13 percent).

I’m a longtime fan of both streamers and currently subscribe to BritBox as one of my essentials. But what I’ve found with MHz Choice, with its not-exactly-grabby title — I prefer to just call it MHz, but that doesn’t really make it better — is that many of the elements I’m looking for are there, which include consistently high quality drama, international settings that act as a character in the series I choose and, as previously mentioned, an emphasis on Scandinavian storytelling via the Nordic Noir crime genre.

At the core of my attempt to get you to sample MHz is the gift that is the ease of getting into and out of streaming subscriptions. A lot of people (me included) hold on to monthly subscriptions at the “Big 5” streamers — Netflix, Amazon, Max, Hulu, AppleTV+ — for too long. Taking a one-month break allows you to sample something like MHz and save money.

Toggling like this is the smart way to sample.

(I realize that Amazon Prime is a little more difficult to unsubscribe from because it is, in most cases, tied to your subscription to Amazon shopping/shipping. And yes, arguably Disney+ should be on this list, making it a Big 6, but as I’ve mentioned before, for critical viewing purposes, the bulk of the best shows are on Hulu, which is owned by Disney. And once I separated out that choice, the subscriber numbers in the poll were: Amazon: 93 percent; Netflix: 90 percent; HBO Max: 89 percent; AppleTV+: 88 percent; Hulu: 86 percent; and Disney+ at 73 percent. If you’re curious, Peacock+ at 69 percent was next, followed by Paramount+ at 59 percent).

The other selling point to sampling MHz is that I already did the Deep Dive for you. That means you can try a precision-targeted approach to getting the most out of a one month subscription and then decide if you wanted to continue (or come back later to finish more).

One of the primary challenges on all streamers is that the user interface is dominated by an over-eager algorithm. If you have more than two people in your house, this become particularly useless and troubling.

To truly find out what you’re getting on a particular streamer is to circumvent the algorithm and essentially try to go show by show to find the (often unpromoted) gems. That’s time consuming. And that’s why on the larger streamers — the Big 5 — it will take multiple volumes of the Deep Dive feature to keep churning up series that you should watch.

But on a smaller streamer like MHz, the task is a little easier (but also slow and sometimes odious).

I’ve taken multiple passes through the MHz archive and the first was the kind that most people do — simply checking out what the algorithm was touting. That first pass immediately brought me three choices I’m now hooked on:

“Arctic Circle,” an outstanding Finnish-German Nordic Noir series where the first images are miles of desolate, snow-packed mountains and a snow mobile cutting through it. I’m becoming particularly keen on the Finns and their television work because the border proximity to Russia has plenty of excellent story opportunities. This is an ongoing series that has three seasons (10, 6 and 6 episodes each) currently on the streamer with the fourth likely to pop up soon, as it premiered in January of this year. The writing and acting here are excellent.

“Greyzone,” a Swedish-Danish thriller that takes the action out of the Nordic Noir genre and into the tech and espionage worlds. It’s either a limited series or a one-and-done (typical of a lot of international fare) of 10 episodes. So far, it’s intriguing enough to keep me hooked.

“Bordertown,” is yet another acclaimed Finnish series in the Nordic Noir genre, running three seasons (and a movie) and starring Ville Virtanen as DI Kari Sorjonen, a detective with high-functioning autism and memory traits that align with a kind of savantism that looks to be inspired by Daniel Tammet, the British writer and memoirist whose unique abilities have made him a best-selling author and memoirist.

The writing on “Bordertown” is excellent and the plotting is creative and often surprising, as most international fare is, by dint of approaching storytelling from a non-American style.

Three strong, addictive picks in the first pass was a little surprising and encouraging. Not everything from that original algorithm path held up, however — let’s just say that some countries (like South Africa) aren’t yet on the level of the Scandinavians.

After falling for those three series above — already worth the subscription price — I spent a lot longer on the Deep Dive and here are some series I would recommend and some thoughts about the process:

MHz is home to “The Bridge” and “The Killing,” arguably the two most prominent Nordic Noir series, with both being remade in multiple countries including the U.S., where you should absolutely watch…not the U.S. versions.

The streamer also has a lot of French and Italian series and numerous German series, including the astonishingly long-running and multi-pronged “Tatort” franchise (which also has Austrian and Swiss connections). Similarly, the historical drama “A French Village” has a seemingly endless number of episodes (okay, seven seasons and 72 episodes) and a truly devoted fan base, as the series is set on the French-Swiss border (in the Jura) and depicts life there during WWII.

MHz also has “Millennium,” which is a long-ish six-part series with added scenes from the three movies based on Stieg Larsson’s books; “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” “The Girl Who Played With Fire,” and “The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest.” This compilation series of episodes came out about a year after the films and was packaged with extended scenes and broken up in a way that some people prefer to the films.

If you’re intrigued by international series partly for the “travelogue” appeal — and most people are — you’re going to see places that aren’t frequently featured. In fact, one of the series I’m currently intrigued about is “OPJ,” aka “OPJ Pacifique Sud” and the less cool English variant, “Pacific Criminal,” set in French-speaking New Caledonia.

(Booking dreamy future vacation ticket in head for New Caledonia.)

All of the rest of these shows (some of them limited series) are ones I curated for myself — I’m definitely watching — and for you, after completing the Deep Dive:

“A Good Year,” (Belgium): Limited series centering on low-level criminals who pull off a wine theft and try to pass off the bottles as being from Hitler’s cellar. Smartly called “a caper.” Indeed.

“Agent Hamilton,” (Sweden). A spy thriller (with a Norwegian actor — hey, it’s always a bit fluid in Scandinavia; just don’t say that out loud if you’re over there). Think smart action you can watch while doing other things.

“Angela Black,” (U.K.). A limited series from writers Harry and Jack Williams (“The Missing,” “The Tourist,” producers of “Fleabag”), starring Joanne Froggatt.

“Exterior Night,” (Italy). Directed and co-written by acclaimed Italian director Marco Bellocchio, this is one of those excellent examples of someone saying “yes” to talent and letting Bellocchio, whose 2003 film, “Good Morning, Night,” about the kidnapping of Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro is considered something of a masterpiece, return to the story and refashion it in creative ways for television.

“Fjallbacka Murders,” (Sweden). Based on the crime novels of Camilla Läckberg, these are essentially six distinct movies running roughly 90 minutes each.

“Fallen,” (Sweden). Another crime drama (six episodes) starring Sofia Helin from the OG “Bridge.”

“Freezing Embrace,” (Finland). A psychological thriller with two seasons (eight and six episodes) and, as the title will indicate, quite a bit of snow. Nordic Noir for the win!

(As usual, I suggest everyone watch in the original language with subtitles, but I also know that’s not possible for everyone. Separate note: So many of these series don’t even have trailers and when they do it’s often just one long scene, so it really does take some watching).

“Fatal Crossing,” (Denmark). Serial killer mystery (eight episodes).

“The Frozen Dead,” (France). Technically not Nordic Noir but, hey, there’s snow and this is a limited series set in the French Pyrenees, so it’s a cousin (based on the novel “Glacé” by Bernard Minier.

“Pension Metsa” (Japan). A six-episode limited series that is the perfect way to wash off some of that gritty Nordic Noir blood-stained snow. It follows a woman (Satomi Kobayashi) who runs a guest house and focuses on the lives of the varied guests she gets to know, including Koji Yakusho from “Perfect Days.”

“Petra,” (Italy). Crime thriller with some comedy and stars Paolo Cortellesi as a no-nonsense inspector in Genoa, based on the Spanish novels from Alicia Giménez Bartlett. Two short seasons, eight episodes total with two more coming this year.

“Queens,” (Israel). An Israeli period-piece mafia dramedy where all the male gang leaders are killed and the women step up, somewhat reluctantly and without much initial skill, and get into the game. Currently at two seasons.

“Reindeer Mafia,” (Finland). I know what you’re thinking with that title (other than it follows another quirky Mafia show), but the original title is “Poromafia,” which I think is the same thing? My Finnish is rusty. Anyway, this limited series is decidedly not a comedy.

“Run,” (U.K.) A limited series action thriller where four disparate people (in four episodes) are connected by the decisions they make in frantic world, with two of those people being Olivia Colman and Lennie James, and there are repercussions about paths taken and not.

“SF8” (Korea). A science-fiction anthology series limited to eight episodes with eight film directors, it’s often described as “the Korean ‘Black Mirror’” but creator and filmmaker Min Kyu-dong looks at them as standalone films, not episodes.

“Salamander,” (Belgium). Crime story with some state (and family) secrets, it has tons of action and you get to see Belgium. Two seasons, completely different stories.

“The Silence” (Croatia/Ukraine). Borders are a very interesting aspect of international mysteries and of course they should be. Lots of competing interests, jurisdictions and historical differences. This is a seriously gritty crime mystery with beautiful and haunted locations because, honestly, sometimes it’s just great to not see New York or L.A. in a TV series. Two seasons.

“Snow Angels,” (Sweden). At this point you may have guessed that Scandinavian television produces a lot of dark but fascinating crime series. You are right. Limited series (six episodes).

“Spring Tide,” (Sweden, Denmark). Limited series with more dark Noir vibes, but not so remote or frozen this time, yet just as bleak and compelling. Two seasons, 20 episodes.

“Trom,” (Faroe Islands, Denmark, Iceland, Germany). Do you want to be visually stunned? I mean, we all do, that’s why we watch. OK then, click on the trailer. That’s the kind of aerial scenes I live for. A limited series (six episodes) starring the familiar and strong lead vibes of Ulrich Thomsen).

“Twin,” (Norway). Crime/emotional drama with one very big twist, starring, in a dual role, Kristofer Hivju, (“Game of Thrones”). Limited series (eight episodes).

“The Typist,” (Germany). Mystery-thriller that isn’t what you’d initially expect as it goes into some serious revenge territory. Limited series (five episodes). Useful note about many of these series but “The Typist” made me think of it: The rest of the world is not nearly as hung up on seeing young faces on television as the States. So you thankfully get a LOT more options where “older” (in the States that’s 40+) get to do a lot of damage. Do not take that typist over there lightly.

“Voiceless,” (Italy). Want to go to the Italian Lake District and soak up some sun and maybe get on the water and then have dinner where you might see George Clooney? Well, you could try that, or you could watch this and probably think better of it. Another mysterious disappearance; another case to solve; another series with great visuals. One season, 10 episodes.

“The Winemaker,” (Austria, Germany). Wine? In. Mafia background coming back to cause a shit ton of trouble? In. Thriller, which is probably obvious but I didn’t want you to think it all took place in the grapevines. Two seasons.

So, let’s asses the situation after that lengthy list of shows (and I didn’t even include movies).

Maybe now you think there’s some value in MHz Choice, despite the name?

I do. My assumption is that, after discovering so many series I want to watch, my plan to only keep it for a few months has now been extended.

But for your purposes, that doesn’t mean you can’t just cherry pick from this list, take a break from one of the “Big 5” streamers you’re paying for, and expand your horizons on the international side.