Last weekend, a friend from home came to visit me, and she thought of watching a TV show she was dying to see. I didn’t recognise the name when she said it. It turns out that the third season premiere has made it a viral show in Poland right now. We were excited to binge-watch it, however, it was not available on UK Netflix.
We tried to find it online. Sadly, it was only accessible on Amazon Prime and similar platforms for £1.89 per episode. My flatmate advised using a VPN to watch it through Polish Netflix when I asked him for help.
During summer, I had a similar situation when I wanted to continue a series I started at home and discovered that I would have to pay an additional £20 to watch it in the UK. Although I’ve always considered streaming services in the UK to be more extensive, this shocked me by reminding me that different countries always offer different and, personalised to their audience, shows.
This made me consider the role that streaming has in Polish culture. TV is ingrained in my family’s everyday routine and serves as more than just entertainment. In my home, the television turns on at 6 a.m. and stays on until 11 p.m. Netflix has grown to be a major part of it.
Poland’s top shows are dominated by crime dramas, political thrillers, and documentaries, reflecting its more serious culture. However, children’s programmes also score highly, proving that Netflix is often a family activity. It has evolved into a platform where people of all ages may find something they like.
When I first arrived in the UK, I was shocked to find out that the most watched shows there typically fit into completely different categories. Programmes like Love Island seem to be the most talked-about and watched shows. Instead of going for more complex stories, these shows focus on reality TV and relaxing entertainment. On the contrary, every time I heard from my friends back home about a new TV series that everyone in Poland is watching – it’s always something serious/scary/thriller-y or documentary.
Polish-made series reflect Polish taste in filmography – they are mostly dark, mysterious, historical, thriller/action-based, emotional, dramatic, ominous or violent.
Some of the most popular Polish-made TV series are:
– High Water
– 1670
– 1983
– Sexify
Polish Netflix’s aim to provide stories that represent Poland’s history, cultural values, and cinematic tastes is demonstrated by its regional choices. At the same time, Netflix in the UK appears to have a more escapist and entertainment-focused interest. These differences highlight how important it is for streaming services to customise their material to local audiences rather than providing a universal, same for everyone, selection.
I asked my friends whether there’s anything they think is not available for them on major streaming platforms – they all answered no. All of their go-to streaming platform is Netflix. Netflix’s ability to adapt its material to other regions is spot on. In addition to a wide variety of American and other television shows, Polish audiences can enjoy local productions that appeal to their tastes.
Netflix in Poland is very successful. Polish audiences feel represented and engaged thanks to this personalised approach. What’s more platform’s investment in the region was further shown by its Warsaw-based office (a central hub for Netflix’s Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) productions).
Have You watched any of the Polish productions on Netflix yet? Let me know in the comments!