•Get hooked up with the top streaming series and movies
Image: Netflix
1. Bridgerton
Christmas 2020 saw Bridgerton fever sweeping the world.
Based on the series of books by Julia Quinn, the raunchy Regency-era costume drama quickly became Netflix's most-watched series (an accolade that Squid Game now holds), and accrued a devoted fandom.
The first series set the romance between Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor) and the Duke of Hastings (Regé-Jean Page) against the backdrop of the juicy drama of London high society, and was relayed by the show's narrator and mystery society columnist Lady Whistledown (voiced by Julie Andrews).
The true identity of this 200-year-old Gossip Girl was revealed at the end of the first series – so make sure you've seen all eight episodes before you start the second.
This one will be focused on Daphne's older brother Anthony (Jonathan Bailey), and his quest for love. Page may not be reprising his role, but there are exciting new cast members including Simone Ashley (Sex Education) and Charithra Chandran (Alex Rider) – and if a second series isn't enough for you, a third and fourth have already been commissioned, as has a prequel centered on Queen Anne. Watch the teaser trailer here.
Season two of Bridgerton is released on 25 March on Netflix
2. Moon Knight
The number of prestige actors that haven't made it into the Marvel Cinematic Universe is getting ever smaller – and if you've been keeping a list, you can cross off Oscar Isaac, who takes on the title role in the latest Marvel TV series. Moon Knight is the alter-ego of Steven Grant, a seemingly normal man who works at a London museum gift shop. However after experiencing blackouts and memories he doesn't recognise, Grant is diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder – and discovers he shares a body with a mercenary called Marc Spector. The character first appeared in Marvel comics in the 70s, and this series will see Grant/ Spector/ Moon Knight in a battle against none other than the powerful gods of Egypt. Ethan Hawke (Training Day) and May Calamawy (Ramy) co-star, in what looks to be a high-octane thriller. Watch the trailer here.
Moon Knight premiers internationally on 30 March on Disney+
3. Pachinko
Min Jin Lee's novel Pachinko – a sweeping multi-generational epic about a Korean family throughout the 20th Century – was a New York Times bestseller, nominated for the 2017 US National Book Award, and recommended by President Barack Obama via his Facebook page. Now, Apple TV+ have adapted this beloved work into a trilingual limited series, created by The Terror's executive producer Soo Hugh. In promotional material for the show, Hugh has said: "not only is this a story of my forebears, it's my tribute to them… It's been an incredible honour to bring this series to life". The large cast includes several newcomers to the screen, as well as Devs' Jin Ha, Boys Over Flowers' Lee Min-ho and Oscar winner Youn Yuh-jung. Watch the trailer here.
The first three episodes of Pachinko are released on 25 March on Apple TV+, with the rest released weekly thereafter
4. Standing Up
For fans of Call My Agent! (which has a new series and a movie in the works, as well as a British remake), Standing Up could fill the Francophone comedic hole while you wait for its return – as it's created and written by Fanny Herrero, the woman behind that sparkling hit. It is centred on a Parisian comedy club and four of its performers, all from different backgrounds and at different stages of their careers. It promises to examine the harsh reality of the comedy scene, and the toll success – or the lack of it – can take on your life, as well as the friendships that get you through it.
Standing Up is released on 18 March on Netflix
5. Atlanta
Donald Glover's critically-adored show is returning to screens after four years away, thanks to pandemic-induced delays.
The comeback of the eccentric comedy-drama, which was last year named the 14th greatest TV series of the 21st Century by BBC Culture, has been hotly anticipated by fans, who have been on tenterhooks to find out what's happened to rapper Alfred "Paper Boi" Miles (Brian Tyree Henry) his manager Earn (Glover), and right hand man Darius (LaKeith Stanfield).
The end of series two left the trio having just boarded a plane destined for Alfred's European tour, and the continent is set to be the central location for the new run.
Interestingly, too, series four was filmed back-to-back with season three, and will be the show's last, Glover has confirmed, telling reporters: "I think it ends perfectly".
Watch the teaser here.
Atlanta series three premieres on 24 March on FX in the US
6. The Dropout
Elizabeth Holmes, the woman behind the Theranos scandal, dominated headlines at the beginning of the year when she was convicted of defrauding investors following a months-long trial. She was the named the world's youngest self-made woman by Forbes in 2015, when her biotech company – which promised to revolutionise the healthcare industry – was riding high. But an investigation by the Wall Street Journal subsequently revealed that the finger-prick blood tests the company was touting didn't work, and then it all fell apart. This miniseries – based on the hit ABC podcast of the same name – stars Mank's Amanda Seyfried as Holmes, and Lost's Naveen Andrews as Sunny Balwani, Holmes' former business partner and ex-boyfriend. Other cast members include Stephen Fry, Succession's Alan Ruck and Fargo's William H Macy. Speaking to What to Watch, Seyfried said of playing Holmes: "I came at it from a very human standpoint… as I started to get to know her through the script – through Liz's brain and writing and through everything that I've seen – I soon came to a place of, almost, compassion. It was almost like falling in love with her." Watch the trailer here.
The first three episodes of The Dropout are released on 3 March on Hulu in the US and Disney+ in the UK, with the rest released weekly thereafter
7. Worst Roommate Ever
For most people, sharing houses can be stressful at times, but the angst is usually limited to dealing with passive-aggressive notes about washing up and cleaning out other people's hair from the bathtub.
But for the people featured in Worst Roommate Ever, the house sharing-experience reached horrific new lows. F
rom Blumhouse – the horror production company behind Paranormal Activity, Split and The Purge – this anthology documentary series zones in on four truly terrible housemates – from murderers to serial con-artists.
One of the roommates featured is serial squatter Jamison Bachman, the story of whom was first told by New York Magazine in 2018.
Telling its stories through interviews, archive footage and animated reconstructions, it looks set to be a chilling examination of the terror of living alongside criminals and conmen. Watch the trailer here.
Worst Roommate Ever is released on 1 March on Netflix
8. The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey
"I've got a lot of things to do, and I need my memory to do it." Those are the words of Samuel L Jackson's Ptolemy Grey in the trailer for this adaptation of Walter Mosley's novel about a lonely man sinking into dementia, who is offered a remarkable treatment, which can restore his memories – but only temporarily, and only once.
Unlocking his memories reveals shocking truths, and on a race against time, as he faces losing them once more, he and his carer (Dominique Fishback) set off on an adventure to solve forgotten mysteries and come to terms with life.
The book was acclaimed when it was released, with the LA Times calling it "a daring, beautifully wrought story that incorporates elements of allegory, meditative reflection and the lilt of lyric tragedy".
And with Mosley, the author, adapting it for the screen as well as serving as executive producer, here's hoping that the TV version is just as good.
The first two episodes of The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey are released on 11 March on Apple TV+, with the rest released weekly thereafter
9. Human Resources
Hit animated TV series Big Mouth is getting a spin-off with Human Resources, a workplace comedy about the little creatures that "make humans, human".
Think a very adult version of Pixar hit Inside Out.
Some of these creatures, which include Hormone Monsters, Depression Kitties, Shame Wizards and Love Bugs were seen in Big Mouth, with many of the voice cast also reprising their roles, including Maya Rudolph, Nick Kroll, David Thewlis and Brandon Kyle Goodman.
Speaking to Inverse in 2020, Big Mouth and Human Resources executive producer Mark Levin said that they pitched the spin-off as "Big Mouth meets The Office," and if the teaser is anything to go by, expect quality riffs on modern office culture combined with existential quips on the realities of the modern human condition.
Human Resources is released on 18 March on Netflix
10. WeCrashed
If there's one thing the current TV landscape is full of, it's stranger-than-fiction retellings of the rise and fall of Silicon Valley types – see The Dropout, above, and this other new show about the failed co-working space business WeWork.
Like The Dropout, WeCrashed is also developed from a podcast, and stars Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway as the larger-than-life, hubristic WeWork co-founder Adam Neuman and his wife Rebekah; in 2019, Adam Neumann stepped down as chief executive of the firm, after scrutiny of his leadership had "become a significant distraction", while the business' finances imploded.
Watch the teaser trailer here.
The first three episodes of WeCrashed are released on 18 March on Apple TV+, with the rest released weekly thereafter