March Madness! 8 New Must-Watch TV Shows This Month

Tune in and bliss out with the latest buzzy prestige TV arriving in March, from Annette Bening’s new drama to a buzzy Kate Winslet black comedy.

 

The Regime

HBO’s new absurdist black comedy from creator Will Tracy (Succession, The Menu) casts Kate Winslet as the indulged (and paranoid) hypochondriac dictator of a fictional modern authoritarian country in Central Europe. Even with the geopolitical backdrop, the series succeeds more as a comedy than as satire but it’s very well-acted: Winslet gets to showcase her comedic instincts (see also: Extras) and a deliriously unplaceable accent, alongside chameleon Andrea Riseborough (Birdman, To Leslie) as the palace majordomo and Matthias Schoenaerts (A Bigger Slash, Rust & Bone) as her confidante Zubak. Of note: Stephen Frears (The Queen), no stranger to palace intrigue and female rulers, directs a few episodes.

Where to watch: Streaming now on Crave.

 

Shōgun  

If you aren’t already riveted by this samurai saga that Time has already hailed as a masterpiece (and is being likened to Game of Thrones), catch up before the next weekly episode drops (new episodes arrive each Tuesday until Apr. 23). James Clavell’s 1975 bestseller, which has sold nearly 20 million copies, forms the basis of FX’s original limited series set in 1600 feudal Japan. This take puts Hiroyuki Sanada (47 Ronin, Bullet Train) at the forefront as Lord Yoshii Toranaga, whose enemies unite against him just as a mysterious European ship is found marooned in a nearby fishing village. The mesmerizing (and at times gruesome) epic was filmed in Vancouver, B.C. with an acclaimed Japanese cast and its premiere broke Disney and Hulu viewing records. Fascinated by dressing samurai and cultural accuracy of the era? Tune into the official companion podcast.  

Where to watch: Streaming now on Disney+.

 

The Gentlemen

The spinoff from Guy Ritchie’s 2019 movie is from the same universe but stars Theo James (Bridgerton) as Eddie, newly-anointed Duke of Halstead and unwitting heir of an estate that’s also home to the underground weed farm of a cannabis cartel. Ritchie’s small-screen debut about aristocrats and gangsters has everything fans expect of the stylish filmmaker of Sherlock Holmes, Snatch, and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (who also directs the first two of eight episodes): action, humour, swagger and fantastic menswear. As Eddie’s journey into the criminal world progresses, costume designer LouLou Bontemps explains, “he morphs into a gentleman gangster in beautifully tailored suits.”

Where to watch: Streaming now on Netflix.

 

Manhunt    

British actor Tobias Menzies has stealthily been doing great work for years, but it took juggernauts Outlander, Game of Thrones and an Emmy-winning turn as The Crown’s middle-aged Prince Philip to raise his profile in North America. He plays Abraham Lincoln’s longtime friend and secretary of war Edwin Station in this engrossing historical drama based on James L. Swanson’s bestselling book Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer – an hour-by-hour chronicle of the April 1865 assassination of the president and the ensuing pursuit and capture of Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth. Moving back and forth in time, the series shapes an intimate portrayal of the American statesman before becoming a courtroom drama and an investigation into a broader Confederate conspiracy plot in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War.

Where to watch: Premieres March 15 on AppleTV+.

 

Palm Royale  

Join indefatigable Maxine (SNL and Bridesmaids alum Kristen Wiig) as she tries to infiltrate the most exclusive country club of 1969 Palm Beach. This sharp comedy may showcase the Sunshine State’s signature bright corals, kelly greens and citrus shades but, faster than you can say Pucci, she discovers it’s full of dark malice. The cast is stacked: in addition to comedy legend Carol Burnett, 90, as the doyenne of the socialites, comedy geniuses past and present are draped in caftans and turbans: Allison Janney and Laura Dern have key supporting roles, and watch for witty veterans Julia Duffy (Newhart, Designing Women) and Mindy Cohn (The Facts of Life), as well as Ricky Martin’s wily club waiter.

Where to watch: Premieres March 20 on AppleTV+.

 

Apples Never Fall    

Bestselling Big Little Lies and Nine Perfect Strangers author Liane Moriarty continues to prove that other people’s problems are the best escape. This latest prestige TV adaptation of one of her books is set on Australia’s Gold Coast and follows a family saga that unpacks events leading up to the mysterious disappearance of Joy Delaney (Annette Bening), newly retired tennis coach and loving wife and mother of four. As befits Moriarty’s domestic suspense, suspicions shifts between her husband (Sam Neill) and adult children (including Jake Lacy and Alison Brie) as they revisit their childhood to re-assess family dynamics and the truth of their parents’ complicated marriage.

Where to watch: Premieres March 21 on W Network/Stack TV.

 

A Gentleman in Moscow

Amor Towles’s celebrated 2016 novel about a Russian aristocrat spared the firing squad during the Bolshevik Revolution, who is instead put under lifetime house arrest in a luxury hotel, got an unexpected second wind in the early pandemic lockdowns. The handsome period adaptation was initially developed with Kenneth Branagh in the lead but now stars Ewan McGregor (and his wife, Mary Elizabeth Windstead) and spans the three decades that amiable Count Alexander Rostov is confined to the Metropole Hotel, as well as his interactions with a variety of eccentric guests.

Where to watch: Premieres March 29 on Paramount+.

 

Parish  

Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul MVP Giancarlo Esposito takes the lead in this character-driven, six-episode revenge thriller set in the Big Easy. Modelled on BBC1 hit The Driver, his Gray Parish is a taxi driver mourning the tragic death of his son who gets pulled back into the life of crime he left to start a family. “I’m tired of being a passenger in my own life,” he explains in the opening chase; flashbacks abound as he navigates the city’s criminal underbelly and its kingpins (including Zackary Momoh and Bradley Whitford). Bonus: filmed on location around New Orleans, the atmospheric song cues are worthy of the city’s storied musical heritage.

Where to watch: Premieres March 31 on AMC / AMC+.

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