On Netflix, the borders remain open

New York

ALONGSIDE its well-publicised drive to dominate original content, Netflix is quietly transforming our television experience in another, perhaps just as profound way. Already this year it has added series from Argentina, Britain, Canada, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Spain and Turkey to its US offerings.

The United States may be tightening its borders to other countries' citizens, but for now, at least, their television shows are flooding in unmolested.

Netflix has a lot of competition in this area. But it has programmed foreign series more aggressively than other general-interest streamers such as Amazon and Hulu, and while smaller speciality sites may have larger offerings in Asian soap operas (DramaFever) or British dramas (AcornTV), Netflix's scale gives the shows …