February felt incredibly long this year, and not just because it’s a leap year.
Between the 2020 election, troubling news about the coronavirus and the conclusion of the Senate impeachment trial, the month has been exhausting and grave. We’re moving on to March, which brings springtime, the joys of St. Patrick’s Day and new TV series and movies ready for you to stream from Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and Disney Plus.
From detective stories for the Anglophile set to adult animation to high school romance to documentaries to superheroes, we picked the five best choices for binge-watching from this month’s new offerings on the major streaming services.
If you loved ‘The OC’: ‘All American’
CW’s consistently underrated “All American” has no murders, superheroes, aliens or witches, but it does have soapy teen drama that rivals the 2000s heyday of the genre, when “The O.C.,” “One Tree Hill” and “Gossip Girl” reigned supreme. “American” has more than a setting in common with “O.C.” – it follows a kid from Los Angeles’ tough Crenshaw who moves in with a family in Beverly Hills to play on a better football team. Based on the life of former NFL player Spencer Paysinger, the series is more than a routine fish-out-of-water story. The characters (including Taye Diggs as the rich school’s coach) resist stereotypes, and the plot mostly resists cliché. Even when you can guess where the drama is going, it’s worth a little predictability for relationships and feuds this juicy.
Stream Season 2 on Netflix March 17.
If you love a British mystery: ‘Agatha Christie’s The Pale Horse’
Amazon has carved out a niche with detective dramas from across the pond. Its latest original is this adaptation of the Christie novel starring Rufus Sewell and Kaya Scodelario (“Skins”). Created by Sarah Phelps, the writer behind Starz’s excellent “Dublin Murders,” the series follows a man (Sewell) whose name is found written on a slip of paper tucked inside the shoe of a dead woman. As he investigates her life and death, the series takes a bleak and twisty turn, just like any good Christie tale.
Stream it on Amazon March 13.
If you need a dose of adult animation: ‘Archer’
We’re living in a golden age of adult animation that goes way beyond “The Simpsons.” One of the most stalwart examples is FXX’s secret-agent comedy “Archer.” The 10th season is coming to Hulu at the end of March (along with a slew of other FX Networks series, thanks to their new Disney parent). If you’ve never seen the consistently funny series and are looking for a deep catalog of episodes to spend your time on, “Archer” won’t let you down. Plus, you have 29 days to catch up to Season 10, and Season 11 hits FXX on May 6.
Stream Season 10 on Hulu March 29.
When the superhero movie craving hits: ‘Black Panther’
Now that Disney has its own streaming service, more superhero films than ever are available at the fingertips of hungry comic book fans (if you shell out for an additional subscription, that is). When the service launched in November, some of its most popular titles, including this stunner from director Ryan Coogler, weren’t available because of licensing agreements. Although it’s on Netflix until March 4, “Panther” will finally join its Marvel cousins on the Disney platform after the end of Black History Month. (It hits TNT on March 15.) “Panther,” the first Marvel film with a solo black lead, is one of the studio’s best movies and lends itself to rewatching far better than many of the lesser films.
Stream it on Disney Plus on March 4.
If you enjoyed the first Obama-produced documentary: ‘Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution’
Former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle signed a deal with Netflix a few years ago, and the first film to come out of their slate was last year’s “American Factory,” which won an Academy Award for best documentary. Next up for their Higher Ground production company is another documentary, about a camp for teens with disabilities in the 1970s. The doc received solid reviews after its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, and like “Factory,” it focuses on change and action within a small community.
Stream it on Netflix March 25.
What to stream where:
- Everything coming (and disappearing) on Netflix in March 2020 (including “Ozark”)
- Romantic (or not) shows and movies worth watching
