11 Netflix original series ready for binging in March 2019

David Cross, Will Arnett, Lauren Weedman on Arrested Development. Image by Saeed Adyani/Netflix

Shadow — March 8

This South African crime series looks absolutely badass.

Set and filmed in Johannesburg, this Netflix original series centers around former detective Shadrach “Shadow” Khumalo who becomes an independent “fixer” after being failed by the justice system.

Following a chance lightning strike as a child, Shadow is also left unable to feel pain – which has its pros and cons.

The show looks action packed and stylish, having the feel of some of the darker Marvel shows mixed with the intelligence and mystery of a British crime thriller like Luther or Thorne.

Arrested Development Season 5B — March 15

One of the things I love about Arrested Development is that it doesn’t even try to be likable. The Bluth family just gets more and more alienating and terrible, their behavior gets more bizarre, and the storylines just get more absurd and complicated.

Now that the series is on Netflix, creator Mitch Hurwitz has the creative freedom to go way out on that limb that got the series canceled in the first place. And just when you think it’s over, yet another season seems to suddenly pop up out of nowhere.

When I watched the first part of season five, I didn’t even know there was a second part coming — which makes a lot more sense given how the first part ended. I wouldn’t put it past Hurwitz to simply end the season on such an ambiguous and incomplete note, so I just threw up my hands without a second thought about it.

I love how Hurwitz takes every element that makes a sitcom popular and completely ignores or inverts it. One of the best articles I ever read about television was Hurwitz’s Guide to Getting a Sitcom Cancelled. It is delightful reading, especially if you’re a fan.