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11 Netflix original series ready for binging in March 2019

Bethany Lewis
Bethany Lewis

Show Snob

Netflix original series – Losers. Image by Netflix

It’s going to be hard to balance your bingeing schedule with all the cool new Netflix original series premiering in March.

This is really just a handful of everything new coming to the streaming service next month, but even with just these select choices, there’s everything from sports documentaries to family drama to returning favorites and international action.

Losers — March 1

This is a documentary series about some of the greatest sportsmen and women who have faced public defeat and failure and how they turned that loss into a valuable learning experience.

In a society that values winning above all else, particularly in sports, this Netflix original series has a very important point to make. So many people are so afraid of failure that they never try at all, or else if they do fail at something they never try again.

Failure is often seen as a negative thing, when in fact failure is essential to personal growth and development. Failure, while difficult and challenging, is one of the most positive things that can happen to someone.

This Netflix original series explores the challenges and opportunities associated with failure and takes the stigma out of being a loser. As the description asks, “But what do we miss when we turn our back on the lessons that failure gives us?”

Secret City. Image by Netflix

Northern Rescue — March 1

I keep thinking the title of this Netflix original series is Northern Exposure. That’s a very different show.

If you’re a fan of heartwarming family drama, this is probably for you. Recent widower and rescue worker John West (Billy Baldwin) moves with his three teenage children from Boston to the remote northern community of Turtle Island Bay to be near his sister as the family struggles with their grief.

Predictably, there is push back and acting out from the children as they process their feelings in different ways, making their grieving father’s job that much harder.

But it’s not all tears and drama in this Netflix original series, because John is a rescue worker who adds a little action into the mix as he rushes into fires and belays down rock cliffs. My real question is, just how many Baldwins are there anyway?

Secret City: Season 2 — March 6

I adore Anna Torv. Ever since her days on Fringe I have loved how beautiful and strong and smart she is, how she effortlessly portrays real, flawed, complicated female characters.

Her character in Secret City is no exception, as Torv portrays a determined and canny investigative journalist, Harriet Dunkley, who becomes too involved in her own stories.

In season one, it stopped being a news story so much as it became a personal quest for truth and survival.

Season two of this Netflix original series emerges Harriet in yet another government coverup, complete with mysterious informants and assassination attempts.

The Order, Image by Netflix

The Order — March 7

Was there not room for this Netflix original series on The CW or what?

I feel like I’ve seen a million promos just like this in the ads while I’m trying to watch Supernatural or The Flash, complete with a haunting background song, arbitrary male lead/female lead matchup, and a magical coming of age realization.

The Netflix original series itself looks like a mix of Supernatural, Charmed, Legends, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and a little bit of Riverdale school drama thrown in.

So it might be just the tiniest bit derivative, but if you enjoy any of those shows you might enjoy this.

After Life — March 8

Ricky Gervais plays a recently widowed journalist who decides to cover his pain with a facade of cynicism and rude honesty.

The Netflix original series is also written and directed by Gervais and gives him the perfect platform to employ some of his most creative and hilarious insults while imparting a message about the process of grief and finding value in the world after a loss.

Or maybe it’s just an excuse for Gervais to go about insulting people, I don’t know.

In any case, the Netflix original series does look like it has a lot of heart behind it — and even if Gervais’s character has decided to give up on the world, it’s pretty clear that there are plenty of people in his life that refuse to give up on him.

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.

TURN IT UP, CHARLIE. PHOTO CREDIT

Nick Wall/Netflix

Love, Death & Robots – March 15

I’ve already written about how fascinating I find the concept of this animated anthology Netflix original series and how it takes the concept of an anthology to another level.

David Fincher has produced and curated a selection of animated shorts, all from different countries and in different styles of animation, all along the theme of love, death, and of course, robots.

The trailer for the series looks appropriately Fincherian – fast-paced and flashy, a breathless compilation of strobe-light quick clips set to a pulsing techno beat, teasing the future of death and sex in a frightening and compelling madness of overstimulation.

There’s a lot to take in, but if the trailer is any indication, we’re in for a lot of very creative, thoughtful, and challenging stories.

Turn Up Charlie – March 15

I don’t know why it seems odd to me that Idris Elba should want to create a family based comedy series out of anything else he could choose, but this is indeed Elba’s second creation in that genre.

But Elba can do pretty much whatever he wants, whether it’s returning as DCI Luther or starring in a film version of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats.

Say what you want, the man has range, and the many diverse interests to accommodate it.

Turn Up Charlie follows a down-and-out DJ who reluctantly accepts a job as a Manny for his rich and famous friend’s troublesome daughter.

I imagine Elba, who also doubles as a DJ in real life, has plenty of real-life experiences to inspire the series writers. Based on first images, it looks like Elba’s character gets into plenty of trouble on his way to success.

Santa Clarita Diet Season 2. PHOTO CREDIT

Saeed Adyani/Netflix

Dehli Crime Story – March 22

This Indian crime drama is based on the true story of the 2012 gang rape and murder of a young woman in India which sparked international outrage.

More from Netflix

The actual circumstances surrounding the rape were truly horrific, causing widespread media coverage and forcing India to address its culture of rape and reform its laws regarding sexual assault.

The series is written and directed by Indo-Canadian director Ritchie Mehta (Amal) and stars Shefali Shah (Monsoon Wedding) as police officer Vartika Chaturvedi.

The seven-part Netflix original series was scrupulously researched over the course of six years and takes place during the aftermath of the rape, from the incident to the final arrests.

Considering how seminal the case was, particularly in the effect it had on Indian society and law, it should be fascinating to see the details of how the crime — which was clearly atrocious but could just as easily have been buried by the media — became the international scandal it was.

Santa Clarita Diet: Season 3 – March 29

This is such a weird, wacky, grotesque, fun show.

There’s really not much more to say about it except that it is the perfect showcase for Drew Barrymore’s optimistic quirkiness and that the writers seem to just do whatever the heck they want to do without any real regard for viewership or convention — which makes it that much more delightful and popular.

And while the premise and how it is executed is absolutely absurd and over-the-top, that’s often where the most humor comes in.

Things that should be — and really still are — distasteful, disgusting, or disturbing are overdone to the level of absurdity. At that point, you can’t help but laugh at how ridiculous it is.

The fact that this Netflix original series is going into its third season is ridiculous enough. And yet there’s something light-hearted and whimsical about it, despite its inherently dark and bloody concept.

The tone reminds me in some ways of a less poetic Pushing Daisies.

Bethany Lewis

Bethany Lewis

Traveler, reader, fan of many things. Graduated Boston University with an MFA in Film Studies, current day job working at a dude ranch in Arizona.