Whether you鈥檙e laying out this year鈥檚 Oscar picks or looking for a great TV series to tide you over until spring, March鈥檚 streaming lineup is bursting with options.
Here鈥檚 a rundown of some of the most worthy streaming picks this month:
Oscar鈥檚 Best Picture Race
The Academy Awards are coming in quick on March 27, so there鈥檚 no time to waste in doing your homework on the 10 best picture nominees. Luckily, brushing up is easier than ever this year with many of the nominees landing on streaming services ahead of the main event. Disney Plus debuts contenders 鈥淲est Side Story鈥� on March 2 and 鈥淣ightmare Alley鈥� on March 16, while Crave premieres 鈥淒une鈥� on March 18. Other best picture nominees have settled onto streaming platforms already, with 鈥淒on鈥檛 Look Up鈥� and leading 12-time nominee 鈥淧ower of the Dog鈥� on Netflix and 鈥淐ODA鈥� on Apple TV Plus.
鈥淭urning Red鈥�
Chinese-Canadian filmmaker Domee Shi lovingly embraces Toronto with her coming-of-age Pixar adventure set in the city鈥檚 Chinatown district circa 2002. A young teen girl鈥檚 boyband obsession is sidelined when she unexpectedly begins exploding into a giant red panda every time she gets excited. The phenomenon sends her life into a tailspin as she looks for answers while facing the possibility of missing out on catching her favourite pop group when they roll into town. Filled to the brim with local colour, Canadian humour and charming characters, Shi proves her Oscar-winning 2018 animated short 鈥淏ao鈥� 鈥� another ode to Toronto 鈥� wasn鈥檛 a fluke. (Disney Plus, March 11)
鈥淪hining Vale鈥�
With their marriage on the rocks, a dried-up romance author and her husband 鈥� played by Courteney Cox and Greg Kinnear 鈥� flee New York with their kids to resettle at a rural Connecticut mansion. Purchased at a bargain, they hope the sprawling property will give Pat the inspiration she needs to plot her next book. Instead, she finds herself distracted by glimpses of a mysterious ghostly figure, played by Mira Sorvino, who鈥檚 lurking around the house. What begins as a simple haunt grows into a darker tale as Pat begins popping pills and seeking answers for her visions. Told with cutting humour and some seriously effective scares, 鈥淪hining Vale鈥� is a playful spin on typical horror fare. (Crave/Starz, March 6, episodes weekly)
鈥淲inning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty鈥�
Adam McKay divided audiences with his apocalyptic comet satire 鈥淒on鈥檛 Look Up鈥� and his contributions to this heavily stylized, fourth-wall shattering chronicle of the NBA鈥檚 heyday in the 1980s will likely split viewers, too. Told over 10 episodes, the HBO dramedy tells of a new age for basketball in America as superstars and rising players of the era, among them Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Earvin (Magic) Johnson, run against the excesses of the era. At the centre, John C. Reilly plays Jerry Buss, the testosterone-driven new owner of the Los Angeles Lakers who splits his time between parties and the courtside strategy. McKay sets the vibrant and relentless tone as director of the first episode, delivering one of the most uniquely cinematic experiences on television this year. (Crave, March 6, episodes weekly)
鈥淭he Last Days of Ptolemy Grey鈥�
Samuel L. Jackson plays the titular Grey, an ailing old man who鈥檚 living in squalor as his dementia eats away at his memory. Abandoned by his family and friends, he is assigned to the care of an orphaned teenager, played by Dominique Fishback, who helps him pursue an experimental treatment that could restore his memories or possibly kill him. Jackson delivers a gut-wrenching performance layered with vulnerability and conviction in this six-episode limited series adapted by Walter Mosley of his own novel. (Apple TV Plus, March 11, episodes weekly)
ALSO THIS MONTH:
鈥淭hree Months鈥� 鈥� After being exposed to HIV, a teenager played by pop singer Troye Sivan begins a weeks鈥� long waiting period for his results, finding a new perspective on life and love in the meantime. (Paramount Plus, March 1)
鈥淥ur Flag Means Death鈥� - Rhys Darby plays a wealthy landowner who ditches his comfy lifestyle to become a pirate in this 1700鈥檚-set comedy with Taika Waititi, Leslie Jones and Fred Armisen. (Crave, March 3)
鈥淪pencer鈥� - Kristen Stewart gives an Oscar-nominated performance as Diana, Princess of Wales, who is haunted by her troubles over Christmas at the Queen鈥檚 estate. (Prime Video, March 10)
鈥淒eep Water鈥� - Erotic thriller director Adrian Lyne (鈥淔atal Attraction,鈥� 鈥淚ndecent Proposal鈥�) pairs Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas as a couple whose open marriage leads to murder. (Prime Video, March 18)
鈥淲eCrashed鈥� - Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway play the flamboyantly capitalist couple at the centre of the WeWork scandal. (Apple TV Plus, March 18, episodes weekly)
鈥淗alo鈥� - The popular interstellar war video game franchise is adapted into a live-action science fiction series. (Paramount Plus, March 24)
鈥淧achinko鈥� - A sprawling cross-generational story of a Korean immigrant family. (Apple TV Plus, March 25, episodes weekly)
RETURNING SERIES:
Netflix returns to the drama of 鈥淏ridgerton鈥� for a second season on March 25, while the streaming giant puts the pedal to the metal with a fourth season of its acclaimed 鈥淔ormula 1: Drive to Survive鈥� documentary series on March 11.
Also in the pot this month is season 2 of Drake鈥檚 executive produced 鈥淭op Boy鈥� on March 18 and 鈥淨ueer Eye Germany鈥� with a local cast of Fab Five hosts on March 9.
A second season of 鈥淪tar Trek: Picard鈥� begins its weekly rollout on Crave starting March 3. Amazon鈥檚 Prime Video returns to metaverse comedy 鈥淯pload鈥� on March 11 and animated musical 鈥淐entral Park鈥� returns to Apple TV Plus on March 4.
鈥� David Friend, Canadian Press
