Netflix Is Making Its Dubbed Foreign Content Sound Less Awkward

Netflix is home to a vast library of foreign content offering dubbed audio for English speakers. Some of these shows, such as Dark, have proven very popular with viewers, but one central complaint remains: dubbed dialogue that sounds less than realistic. The company is currently working on a big plan to change that, according to a new report, and it includes scrubbing certain available dubs and replacing them with higher-quality versions.

Netflix is creating original content around the world, as well as acquiring a number of foreign movies and TV shows for its streaming platform. Though this content is offered with subtitles, Netflix says the majority of its English-speaking users prefer dubbed content, which is when dialogue in English is used in place of the original non-English dialogue.

There's a downside to this preference, however, and it revolves around low-quality, awkward, or overall unconvincing dubbed content that sounds fake. Many Netflix subscribers have complained about lackluster English dubs offered by the platform, in some cases reporting that they stopped watching certain dubbed shows over the audio.

Netflix wants to prevent that by offering better dubbed productions that properly convey what viewers are seeing on the screen, according to The New York Times. The company has replaced the English dubs for the first and second seasons of hit Spanish series Money Heist with new, better quality versions, according to the report.

Money Heist is the most popular non-English show, according to Netflix, though it has a number of other hits in the English-speaking world, including Germany's Dark and Denmark's The Rain. Contrary to its nature, Netflix provided some numbers, saying that when it comes to American viewers, 72-percent prefer dubs on Money Heist and 85-percent on Dark.

It's unclear whether Netflix has any plans to replace other existing English dubs with higher-quality productions, but it seems that viewers can expect more immersive, realistic English dialogue on a number of foreign Netflix shows going forward.