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March 2022 is shaping up to be a particularly plentiful month for TV watching, especially when it comes to streamers like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney + and Apple TV. With the Oscars wrapping up the season at the end of the month, March sees the drop of a number of contenders, including Spencer and The Eyes of Tammy Faye, for which both lead actresses, Kristen Stewart and Jessica Chastain are the favourites to win an Academy Award.
Meanwhile in terms of non-cinema releases, Ryan Reynolds’ much-praised The Adam Project comes to Netflix as does Windfall starring Emily in Paris’ Lily Collins, Jason Segal and Jesse Plemons, fresh from his first Oscar nomination. Fresh, starring Daisy Edgar Jones and Sebastian Stan arrives on Disney +.
However, on top of great films, there’s plenty of great TV, including plenty of based-on-a-true-story content. Amanda Seyfried is Theranos’ Elizabeth Holmes in Disney +’s The Dropout, while Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway bring the WeWork scandal to life in WeCrashed on Apple TV. Old favourite Bridgerton returns and the debut season of Pachinko on Apple TV looks excellent, based on the best-selling and wide-reaching novel of the same name from a few years back.
Like I said, March is certainly going to be a visual feast!
West Side Story, Disney +
Taking aside the scandal of its lead Ansel Elgort and the fact that the female cast members have been forced to defend him in his press absence, Spielberg’s reimagining of the 1960s’ original is something to behold. Colourful, exuberant and joyous, newcomer Rachel Zegler is a rare find and Ariana DeBose is already raking in the statues for her performance as Anita.
The Dropout, Disney +
A mini-series in the ilk of Inventing Anna, Amanda Seyfried stars as bright-eyed Steve Jobs wannabe Elizabeth Holmes, who drops out of Stanford to set up her company Theranos. Promising to be able to run extensive tests through just one drop of blood, the company receives financial backing in the millions but the actual system itself, it’s as perfect as Holmes and her cohorts are letting on.
Convicted last year of criminal fraud, the series charts the rise and fall of one of the world’s first female billionaires.
The Weekend Away, Netflix
Leighton Meester stars in this dramatic thriller, as an overtired mom whisked away on a girls’ trip to Croatia with her glamorous best friend. However, when her friend is found dead after a wild night out, she must race to figure out what happened, only to find the web is more tangled than she ever expected.
Fresh, Disney +
Starring Sebastian Stan and Daisy Edgar Jones, Noa is a naive young woman who, jaded by the online dating scene, falls for alluring and mysterious Steve after meeting him in a grocery store. However, all is not what it seems as they take a weekend away together. Swerving from innocent rom-com to You-esque levels of gore, it’s been raved about by reviewers.
Lucy & Desi, Amazon Prime
Directed by Amy Poehler comes this documentary of one of the most powerful couples in TV history. If you have seen Being the Ricardos, you’ll already have an idea of the remarkable longevity and personal instability of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz behind the scenes of their hit show I Love Lucy, but this film really captures it through tape recordings, friends and first-person accounts.
Pieces of Her, Netflix
From the producers of Big Little Lies and The Undoing, comes this pacey thriller based on a book of the same name by Karin Slaughter. Bella Heathcote and Toni Collette are a relatively normal mother-daughter duo, until one day, her mother shows an uncharacteristic amount of bravery to save her daughter’s life when a gunman enters a cafe they’re in. But is it really uncharacteristic? Forced to go on the run, she must now reevaluate everything she thought she knew about who her mother was before she became a parent.
Our House, 9pm, Virgin One
A woman arrives home to find people moving into her house, claiming they bought it. With her belongings gone, her children missing and her estranged husband uncontactable, things begins to spiral as current-day events bleed into memories of the former couple when they first made the place home and their subsequent affairs. Based on Louise Candish’s novel thriller, this juice four-part series runs throughout the week.
Tina, 9pm, Sky Documentaries
Selling in excess of 100 million records, Grammy-winning Tina Turner is preparing to retire after a half a century in the spotlight. Reflecting on her turbulent marriage to her first husband Ike, the swan song includes not only interviews with Turner herself, but also friends who have travelled the journey with her, such as Oprah Winfrey and Angela Bassett.
How I Met Your Father, Season 1, Disney +
Reviving not only the theme of the original series but also the not-quite-real-life, laugh-tracked popularity of the mid-2000s sitcom, this ensemble cast led by Hilary Duff and Kim Cattrall, actually looks kind of lovely and light. Caught between wanting to grow up and not wanting to let go of their younger selves, a group of friends try dating friendships and surviving in NYC in 2022.
The Andy Warhol Diaries, Netflix
A six-part portrait of the legendary artist from Pittsburg who went on to commercialise art in NYC in a way that had never been seen before, Ryan Murphy brings together the life and legacy of Andy Warhol. Interviewing those who knew him best and diving into his many mediums as well as his elusive personal life, this mini docu-series creates a complex portrait of one of the world’s most iconic Modern artists.
The Adam Project, Netflix
An ode to the 1980s Speilberg era of ET, The Adam Project stars Walker Scobell as a teenager who is still reeling from the loss of his father when he discovers an unusual spaceship crash-landed in the woods nearby his home one night. The pilot, played by Ryan Reynolds, is actually his older self, who needs help saving the future.
Formula 1: Drive to Survive, Season 4, Netflix
The surprise lockdown hit is back for its fourth season, following the fast-paced lives of Formula 1 drivers, teams and managers as they prepare for yet another heated season on and off the track.
The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey, Apple TV
Samuel L Jackson stars an elderly man suffering from memory loss who is offered one opportunity to have all his memories for a short period restored through an experimental drug. Using this brief moment of lucidity he tries to solve his nephew’s death with the help of orphaned teenager Robyn.
Alma’s Not Normal, 9pm, RTE Two
This brilliant BBC comedy, written and starring Sophie Willan, follows Alma, a woman coming to adulthood after a childhood in the care system. Following a breakup, she realises that her life isn’t quite as fabulous as she had hoped and its time to get things back on-track. Based on Willan’s own experiences.
Short Term 12, MUBI
An epic pre-fame cast of Brie Larson, LaKeith Stanfield, Kaitlyn Denver and Remi Malek, the script lives up to the standard of acting in this drama following the inhabitants and staff at a group home for troubled teens. This indie flick has been beloved by critics and its one that will appear regularly in best films of the 2000s lists.
Bad Vegan, Netflix
If you enjoyed The Tinder Swindler you’ll definitely be all in for this four-part documentary on the bizarre fall of one of New York’s most popular raw vegan chefs, Sarma Melngailis, after she fell under the apparent spell of a man she met online. The story only gets wilder from there, you’ll have to watch the trailer for a sneak peek of the chaos.
Downton Abbey: A New Era, in cinemas
A sequel to the first film sees the Crawleys heading to France as the Dowager Countess inherits a villa from a surprising person, as Mary agrees to give over Downton to an incoming American film crew, staging to house for a major motion picture – and all the drama that comes along with it. Written by the series’ creator Julian Fellowes, it has all the makings of an enjoyable afternoon watch.
WeCrashed, Apple TV
Jared Leto stars as the slightly off-kilter founder of WeWork, Adam Neuman, and the wild and chaotic love story at the centre of his equally narcissistic approach to business. Building a global brand around co-working space that was valued at more than $47 billion, the history of WeWork and its inevitable fall centres around its unusual founder that made himself its centre.
Deep Water, Amazon Prime
The movie that brought Ben Affleck and Ana De Armas together for that one fleeting summer pre-Bennifer 2.0, the chemistry of its leads is clearly apparent even just in the trailer. The psychological thriller centres around a dysfunctional marriage in which the husband allows his wife to continue with multiple affairs in order to keep her, only to become a prime suspect when one of her lovers disappears.
Windfall, Netflix
Another psychological thriller with a slightly comic twist, Jason Segal stars as a down-and-out guy who breaks into a tech billionaire’s vacation home for a holiday of his own, only for the wealthy owners (played by Jesse Plemons and Lily Collins) returns home suddenly. Deciding he has no choice but to take the couple hostage, but it quickly becomes apparent that all is not what it seems between them.
Riverdale: Season 6 Part 2, Netflix
Following a much darker intro into season six and the alternate reality of Rivervale, the sixth episode picks up where the fifth left off with a bomb planted in Archie’s bedroom. While Archie and Betty survive, it’ll have lasting effects on the rest of the season. There’s a new baddie in town too, in the shape of You’s Chris O’Shea. From everything cast and crew have told us, a big death is imminent in this second half, so hold on – it looks to be a wild ride.
The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up to Cancer, 8pm, Channel Four
If you’ve been missing your Bake Off fix, you’ll be able to get it this week in the shape of the celebrity charity special episode in which stars like Emma Willis, Clara Amfo, Alex Horne and Blake Harrison (Neil from The Inbetweeners) take on three baking challenges in the hopes of impressing judging panel Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith.
Our Ladies, Sky Cinema
A 2021 film set in mid-1990s Scotland, it follows a gang of six teenage girls from a Highland Catholic school making their first day trip to the bright lights of Edinburgh. Raucous and rebellious, it offers a peek into the frustrations and flirtations of teenagehood and the bonds of friendship they establish. Well-ranked on IMBD (6.7) and Rotten Tomatoes (97%) this teen comedy is one to watch with old pals.
The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Disney +
Fresh from winning Best Actress in a Lead Role SAG Award for her performance as televangelist Tammy Faye, Jessica Chastain stars alongside Andrew Garfield as her husband Jim. The film follows the life of the couple who built a religious broadcasting behemoth in the 1970s and the financial risks and schemes that brought it all down.
Bridgerton, Netflix
Moving on from the Duke and Duchess of Hastings love story which made up the bulk of the first season, the sophomore season of Bridgerton will look at the roving romantic life of Daphne’s oldest brother Andrew, and his attempts to find a wife. With a touch of the Taming of the Shrew about the plot, he sets his sights on the beauty of the season, Edwina Sheffield, only to find himself essentially blocked by her older sister Kate who doesn’t trust him.
Pachinko, Apple TV
A four-episode miniseries based on the best-selling novel by Min Jin Lee, Pachinko follows the fortunes of one Korean family over four generations spanning Korea, Japan and America as they try to hold their romantic and economic fortunes together in this wide-sweeping family epic.
Spencer, Amazon Prime
Part biopic, part psychological portrait of a woman on the edge, Kristen Stewart is magnificent as Princess Diana in this introspection of her life at the height of her fame and the depth of her despair. Focused on one Christmas weekend before she decided to divorce Charles, it’s a vision of a woman both losing herself and yet coming into my own.