The availability of an entire season of television at arm’s length upon release has changed the way we watch television. On the one hand, binge–watching shows over the course of a few days is a satisfying way to process the whole story without waiting week to week for answers. On the other hand, it is only so long before we’re forced to hop on to the next thing once we’ve wrapped up on a series. This March, Netflix is bringing back several original series, as well as introducing some new ones. There are also a handful of streamable movies and documentaries coming to the platform throughout the month.
Netflix has produced a number of documentary series in the past few years, ranging in subject from food to crime. This month, the platform will be introducing several new and returning documentary series. On Mar. 2, Flint Town and Girls Incarcerated were made available to stream. Flint Town is an extensive portrait of Flint, Michigan and its police department. It attempts a more nuanced take on the infamously poverty and crime–ridden city. Girls Incarcerated grapples with equally thought–provoking subject matter, that is, the lives of young women in juvenile detention. Both documentary series seek to reveal truths about the places and people about whom we tend to form opinions without sufficient understanding.
The monthly web special My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman will return this March with an episode on Malala Yousafzai. The series began in January with an episode featuring former President Barack Obama and will continue monthly through June. Other docu–series featured on Netflix this month include Wild Wild Country which revisits a controversial Oregon cult known as Rajneeshpuram, and the aptly–titled tour of architectural wonders, The World’s Most Extraordinary Homes.
Premiering Mar. 16 is the coming–of–age original On My Block which follows four streetwise teenagers from inner–city Los Angeles navigating high school with wit and humor. Netflix has recently had a lot of success with teen dramedies, so hopefully On My Block will continue that refreshing trend in programming.
Returning live–action series include Marvel’s Jessica Jones: Season 2, available since Mar. 8, San Clarita Diet: Season 2 available Mar. 23, and black–comedy/drama A Series of Unfortunate Events: Season 2, available Mar. 30. The latter will continue in the adaptation of the absurdist children’s book series, with Neil Patrick Harris returning as the ridiculous villain Count Olaf.
Moving into feature–length films and specials, Netflix delivered several new stand–up comedy shows this month, including Ricky Gervais: Humanity. As always, early in the month the platform introduced a wealth of newly available movies. Among these is the classic 1984 comedy Ghostbusters, British horror film The Descent, rom–com Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and cult satire Wet Hot American Summer.
While typically not the cinematic fare of choice for most American viewers, several critically acclaimed foreign films will be made available this month. The French–Canadian 2017 horror film Les Affamés, which tells the chilling story of villagers in upstate Quebec whose lives have been overturned by a zombie–like outbreak, has been available on Netflix since Mar. 2. Though seemingly simple in premise, the film has received acclaim for its use of social commentary within the horror genre. Layla M., available Mar. 23, is a Dutch film about a young Muslim woman in Amsterdam who is radicalized, but upon her relocation to Jordan, recognizes the oppressive nature of the patriarchal society she has entered. Layla M. has been praised for its nuance and strong female lead. Layla’s story is three–dimensional and explores the vicious cycle that leads to the teenager’s radicalization in a Western country, and her struggle to fit her beliefs into a society that accepts her.
Though we may be losing Zootopia and Memento this month, fans of returning original series, docu–series binge–watchers, and those willing to explore recent foreign films are in luck this March. As always, it's a challenge to visit Netflix only to come out having exhausted all streaming offerings—there really is something for everyone.
