March’s must-see TV shows
The Roys, Ted Lasso and Wiskayok High School’s finest are back, while a starstudded climate change anthology and Celeste Barber’s new dramedy debut, writes James Croot.
March offers a huge range of options for TV lovers. Free-to-air viewers’ choices on TVNZ include more WWE Legends (tomorrow, Duke), while Eden debuts British crime drama Maxine (March 16) and Prime has the broadcast premieres of streaming favourites such as Our Flag Means Death and the third season of Young Rock (both March 17).
Elsewhere, TVNZ+’s lineup features Kiwi MMA fighter Kai Kara-France-focused reality show Caged (March 23), Bob Odenkirk-starrer Lucky Hank (March 20), Marilyn Monroe docu-series Reframed (March 18), British thriller Better (March 28) and Flowers In The Attic prequel The Origin (March 20).
Neon’s newbies include United Kingdom dramedy Rain Dogs (March 8) and Batman spinoff Gotham Knights (March 17).
Apple TV+’s schedule promises music competition My Kind of Country (March 24) and Chris O’Dowd-headlining comedy The Big Door Prize (March 29).
Disney+ has Kerry Washington and Delroy Lindo in UnPrisoned (tomorrow) and Mel Brooks’ sketch series History of the World, Part 2 (now showing).
Prime Video boasts Australian high school reunion comedy Class of ‘07 (Friday) and sci-fi thriller Last Light (March 17).
Crime documentary series The Playboy Murders (Thursday) and controversial new reality show Milf Manor (March 30) are on ThreeNow.
Netflix’s usual eclectic range this month has everything from docos on MH370 (tomorrow) PornHub (March 15’s Money Shot) and Waco (March 22) to reality competitions Outlast (Friday), The Law Of The Jungle (March 15) and Dance 100 (March 17), and new seasons of You (March 9), Shadow And Bone (March 16) and Riverdale (March 30).
After looking through the schedules, Stuff to Watch has come up with our picks of the dozen shows we believe are well worth checking out.
Daisy Jones & The Six (Now showing, Prime Video)
Riley Keough, Sam Claflin, Suki Waterhouse, Camila Morrone and Timothy Olyphant feature in this 10-part musical-drama based on Taylor Jenkins Reid’s 2019 best-selling novel. In 1977, Daisy Jones & The Six were on top of the world. Fronted by lead singers – Jones (Keough) and Billy Dunne (Claflin) – the band had risen to fame, and then, after a sold-out show in Chicago, called it quits. Now, decades later, they have finally agreed to reveal the truth.
Doogie Kameā loha, M.D. (March 31, Disney+)
Peyton Elizabeth Lee returns as teenage doctor Lahela for a second 10-part season of this Hawaii-set reimagining of 1990s sitcom Doogie Howser, M.D. When her first love, Walter (Alex Aiono), returns from the World Surf Tour, he’s not the same boyfriend she said goodbye to months before. But she’s not the same girl either. That becomes clear when she meets dirt-biking bad boy Nico (Milo Manheim).
Extrapolations (March 17, Apple TV+)
Meryl Streep, Sienna Miller, Kit Harington, Daveed Diggs, Edward Norton, Diane Lane, Tahar Rahim, Matthew Rhys, Gemma Chan, Eiza Gonzalez, Forest Whitaker and Marion Cotillard feature in this eightpart near-future set drama. It is about how the chaotic effects of climate change have become embedded into our everyday lives. Each episode focuses on different characters, but the stories are interwoven and
explore the ‘‘life-altering choices that must be made when the planet is changing faster than the population’’.
Planet Sex with Cara Delevingne (Now showing, ThreeNow)
This six-part docu-series sees the British model-turned-actor dive into the world of selfidentity, sexual orientation and pleasure-seeking. ‘‘Planet Sex manages not to feel prurient or exploitative. . . it makes a concerted effort to take in the different cultural prejudices, social prohibitions and legal challenges being faced by women around the world,’’ wrote The Guardian’s Lucy Mangan.
The Power (March 31, Prime Video)
Toni Collette, John Leguizamo, Auli’i Cravalho, Eddie Marsan and Josh Charles star in this nine-part sci-fi drama based on Naomi Alderman’s 2016 novel. It’s about what happens when teenage girls develop the power to electrocute people at will –it results in a seismic shift in the world’s social structures.
Rabbit Hole (March 26, TVNZ+)
Kiefer Sutherland and Charles Dance team-up for this eightpart action-thriller which sees the former playing corporate spy and master of deception John Weir. When he is framed for murder, Weir discovers that the tables have been turned powerful forces who have the ability to influence and control populations. Suddenly, he finds himself in a fight for democracy.
Succession (March 27, Neon)
The fourth – and apparently final – season of everyone’s favourite scabrous black comedy sees the Roy kids plot against family patriarch Logan (Brian Cox), as he tries to push through the sale of Waystar Royco to tech entrepreneur Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgard). Expect plenty of twists and turns in the struggle for power. Debuts the same day on Neon and SkyGo.
Swarm (March 17, Prime Video)
UnREAL’s Janine Nabers and Atlanta’s Donald Glover cocreated this seven-part horror series about a young woman whose obsession with a popstar (apparently inspired by Beyonce) takes a dark turn. Starring Judas and the Black Messiah’s Dominique Fishback, singer Chloe Bailey and Snowfall’s Damson Idris.
Ted Lasso (March 15, Apple TV+)
In the 12-episode, third season of this Emmy Award-winning trans-Atlantic comedy, newlypromoted AFC Richmond faces ridicule as media predictions widely peg them to finish last in the Premier League. With Nate (Nick Mohammed) now working at rivals West Ham United, former player Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein) steps up as an assistant to underpressure Ted (Jason Sudeikis).
A Town Called Malice (March 26, Neon)
This eight-part UK crime thriller follows a family of former South London gangsters who have fallen to the bottom of the criminal food chain. Fleeing to Spain after a gangland battle, the Lords realise this might be a chance to reinvent themselves. Jack Rowan, Tahirah Sharif and Dougray Scott star. New episodes also drop on Tuesdays on SoHo from March 28.
Wellmania (March 29, Netflix)
Inspired by Australian journalist Brigid Delaney’s 2017 book subtitled Misadventures In The Search For Wellness, comedian Celeste Barber stars opposite Kiwis JJ Fong and Simone Kessell in this eight-part dramedy. When human tornado and food critic Liv is diagnosed with ‘‘catastrophic health’’ – potentially jeopardising her dream job in New York – she throws herself body-first into a radical wellness journey.
Yellowjackets (March 24, Neon)
New Zealand’s Melanie Lynskey is back playing Shauna Sadecki (nee Shipman) in the second season of this hit thriller. Switching between 1996 and 2021, its tale of the events leading up to and the fallout from a 1996 plane crash in the Canadian wilderness involving a girl’s high school football team, ended its initial 10-episode run with more questions than answers. Joining the cast (that includes Christina Ricci and Juliette Lewis) are Elijah Wood, Kiwi Simone Kessell and Lynskey’s husband Jason Ritter. New episodes drop on SoHo on Mondays from March 27 too.