How can you tell you’re watching a French television detective? There are moments when it’s obvious, as when Commisaire Magellan, hero of the long-running “Magellan,” uncovers a clandestine affair and tells his sergeant: “At last, a little sex. About time.” I don’t think we’ve heard that on “NCIS” lately.

Going by three French or partly French crime dramas now airing in the United States, though, the similarities outweigh the differences. In the international TV marketplace, a cop show is a cop show (or a spy show is a spy show), and English-speaking viewers checking out “The Bureau,” “Magellan” or “The Tunnel” will quickly feel at home.

One note: While a plethora of foreign series of all types are available for bingeing, these shows, even the ones on streaming services, are being released weekly — each is two to four episodes into its season, a perfect time to sample.

‘The Bureau’

SundanceNow, new episodes on Thursdays. Substitute for “Homeland.”

A critical and ratings hit in France, “Le Bureau des Légendes” — the original title refers to the elaborate fake identities created for undercover agents — is set in the French equivalent of the C.I.A., and much of the action takes place in the Middle East.