Looking for something new to watch on Netflix? Here is a list of all the best new shows and movies released on Netflix the week of March 15-22.
If you complain about not having anything to watch on Netflix this week, then maybe you should go to Hulu instead, you prickly pear. This week, Netflix is rolling out what might be the final episodes of one of the most cherished comedies of all time (at one point), an endearing reality makeover show that is sure to pull you out of your funk, an animated sci-fi experiment from one of the greatest filmmakers of our generation, and Idris Elba playing a nanny and a DJ! There literally is no room for anything else!
If you’re looking for even more hand-picked recommendations, click over to our Watch This Now! page.
(All titles are out Friday, March 15 unless otherwise specified.)
The Biggest Releases
Arrested Development, Season 5B
The Bluths return with more of the same madcap energy that we’re used to, but the question seems to be: Are we too used to it? The final eight episodes of Season 5 could very well be the last episodes of the series — and they kind of feel that way with a rare sense of season-ending closure — and early reviews say they’re pretty ho-hum as the weariness of the once-beloved sitcom trudges along. But for all its faults, Arrested Development is still incredibly funny, dizzying in its complexity, and has one of the best casts in the business. Let the haters complain that the show isn’t as good as it used to be. Spoiler alert: Nothing is as good as it used to be.
Queer Eye, Season 3
Speaking of more of the same, the crew of Queer Eye — the uplifting makeover show that’s changing the world one person at a time — goes back to recommending French tucks in Season 3, but this time they’re canvasing Kansas City, Missouri, for willing participants. You’ll laugh! You’ll cry! You’ll realize that you really need to take a shower, get a haircut, and buy a bunch of new clothes! Fair warning: There’s less political chatter in Season 3, which was a highlight of the first two seasons. (Trailer)
Love, Death + Robots, Season 1
Speaking of more of not the same, Love, Death + Robots is all about keeping things fresh with an animated anthology about love, death, and, yes, robots in science-fiction stories. There will be 18 individual shorts (the time and length of which we don’t know because Netflix didn’t send out advanced screeners) each following a unique animation style. Some look like kids’ movies, some look like pro anime, some look like video game cut scenes, but all of them look cool as heck. Despite the word “animated” in the description, do be aware that these are intended for adults. (Trailer)
Everything Else
Turn Up Charlie, Season 1
This is one of those weird shows that maybe could have worked a lot better but still does an adequate job of being OK! Stringer Bell (Idris Elba) plays a washed-up club DJ and pop star in London who becomes a nanny to his famous friends’ precocious nightmare of an American daughter, and yes, that’s the actual premise of the show. There are genuine emotional moments as the two butt heads and learn to appreciate each other through understanding, but there are even more moments of awful parenting, awful childing, and sitcom tomfoolery. Idris Elba, who created the show, does his part to make things as good as they can be, though.
Burn Out
A pro motorcycle racer runs drugs on his crotch rocket to save the lives of his loved ones in this French thriller that could be cool once you get over the preposterous premise of the film. Why don’t these drug dealers get more organized and plan their shipments out ahead instead of needing them to be delivered within the hour? Call me, drug dealers, I have a Google Calendar account and can help. (Trailer)
Dry Martina
This Argentinian comedy film is about a woman who used to be a famous singer but has become disenchanted with life and sexless with love, so she goes to Chile to get her groove back. Her sexual groove back. Apparently that title is wordplay, and that’s gross. (Also: Netflix doesn’t even have a page for the film, so maybe it isn’t out this week?) (Trailer)
Girl
This international film festival award-winner is sure to make you shoot a constant stream of tears out of your eyes. It follows a transgender woman who aspires to become a professional ballerina, but becomes frustrated with the limitations of her body. (Trailer)
If I Hadn’t Met You, Season 1
Part Back to the Future, part Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, part Awake, and all Spanish multiverse drama, baby! After his family is killed in a car crash that he blames himself for, a dude travels to a parallel universe to make things right by trying to convince his younger self to never meet his future wife so they can both be happy. At least that’s what I think I got from the –> (Trailer)
The Mafia Dolls (Las Muñecas de la Mafia), Season 2
Oh hell yeah, women who were done wrong by their drug-dealing lovers get payback in this telenovela-style drama. It’s like Desperate Housewives meets some show where ladies blow people up. (Trailer)
Paskal
In this Malaysian military thriller, a lot of people get shot on a boat! (Trailer)
Robozuna, Season 2
A boy and his homemade robot enter into some competitive sport or something in order to save their village, I guess. For children who don’t mind pretty awful animation. (Trailer)
YooHoo to the Rescue
I know what you’re thinking: Another season of YooHoo and Friends? But nope, this is YooHoo to the Rescue, a spin-off of YooHoo and Friends. In the original, big-eyed YooHoo and friends go on missions to protect the environment and learn valuable lessons about friendship, but in YooHoo to the Rescue, YooHoo and his friends go on missions to help out animals, protect the environment, and learn valuable lessons about friendship. Massive difference. (Trailer)
Green Door, Season 1
Netflix exec: “How do we capitalize on everyone searching to see if Best Picture winner Green Book is on Netflix?” Sneaky Netflix intern: “I have an idea!” This Taiwanese horror-thriller features a ghost shrink who offers therapy to ghosts, which sounds like a great idea actually. Maybe THIS should have won Best Picture. (Trailer / Saturday, March 16)
Amy Schumer: Growing
The comedienne has a new excuse to talk about her vagina: She’s pregnant! (Trailer / Tuesday, March 19)
Antoine Griezmann: The Making of a Legend
Do you like running around a lot for 90 minutes, occasionally kicking a round object, and frequently falling down and crying like someone just shot you in the leg? Then you probably love soccer, and will enjoy this movie about French soccer stud Antoine Griezmann. (Trailer / Thursday, March 21)
Stop searching, start watching! TV Guide’s Watch This Now! page has even more TV recommendations.
The 52 Netflix Originals You Should Be Watching