NOW critics pick the best movies and TV shows coming to the streaming platform
George DuBose
These are the most anticipated new titles hitting Netflix Canada in March 2021, including a Notorious B.I. G documentary, a British sci-fi crime drama and a sleeper indie comedy from 2020.
This authorized documentary about influential Brooklyn rapper The Notorious B.I.G. (aka Christopher Wallace) ditches the usual Biggie vs Tupac narrative in favour of a more intimate “origin story” approach in retelling his life and enduring influence on hip-hop. Directed by Emmett Malloy, I Got A Story To Tell promises to lean heavily on stories from Biggie’s mother Violetta Wallace and his less-famous friends, though Sean “Puffy” Combs and his widow Faith Evans are also interviewed. Given how disappointing the 2009 biopic Notorious was, this doc doesn’t exactly have a high bar to clear. March 1
Courtesy of Netflix Canada
The trailer for this British sci-fi crime drama is terrific. The premise is that a bit of DNA can match you with the perfect person, guaranteeing that you’ll both be madly in love. “It works, it really works,” states Hannah Ware, who plays the confident CEO of the company responsible for this breakthrough, MatchDNA. At the end of the teaser trailer, we’re shown signs of violence, hinting that something is obviously wrong with this operation. We’re sold! March 12
Usually reenactments in documentaries come across as lazy, unimaginative and cheesy. But when you’re reenacting wealthy celebrities like Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman – who were both charged with taking part in this scheme to get their kids into good U.S. colleges – the result could be documentary dynamite. Matthew Modine plays Rick Singer, who masterminded the whole operation. But for some reason neither Loughlin nor Huffman – who are both out of jail, after serving light sentences – took part. Wonder why? March 17
Courtesy of Netflix Canada
Like the rest of the world, stand-up comic Bargatze started a podcast during the pandemic. But unlike everyone else, his – called The Nateland Podcast – is actually pretty entertaining, and should bring more fans to his new full-length comedy special. A follow-up to 2019’s The Tennessee Kid, The Greatest Average American shows Bargatze talk about average things like meeting his wife while working at an Applebee’s and funny anecdotes about being a husband and dad. But don’t expect his observations – or jokes – to be average. March 18
Courtesy of Netflix Canada
There’s a reason why Nailed It! has been so popular during the pandemic. While millions of people around the globe have been struggling with their own baking fails, it’s heartening to watch others do it – on such a grand, and embarrassing, scale. Now the series is back with a twist. This time the bad bakers get to form pairs – everything from BFFs to siblings – to recreate famous desserts. So now we’ll get double the disasters, double the drama… and double the fun. Once again, the hilarious Nicole Byer – who scored a well-deserved Emmy nod last year – hosts. March 26
Netflix Canada / Matt Squire
Evidently emboldened by the strong showing of last year’s Enola Holmes, Netflix is doubling down on the Arthur Conan Doyle-adjacent entertainment, commissioning this eight-part series about the team of teens, hiding in plain sight on the streets of London, who help Sherlock and Watson solve their mysteries. This show, created by Tom Bidwell, suggests the Baker Street Irregulars were actually better at sleuthing than their employers – and that things were a lot stranger than Conan Doyle allowed. Thaddea Graham (The Letter For The King) and Harrison Osterfield (Catch-22) lead the youth parade, while Henry Lloyd-Hughes and Royce Pierreson play Holmes and Watson. And the game is afoot. March 26
As Mike Wheeler’s older sister Nancy on Stranger Things, Natalia Dyer has racked up a lot of experience playing outsized emotions. This tiny little comedy from filmmaker Karen Maine, who co-wrote and co-starred in the short film that became Gillian Robespierre’s delightful breakout Obvious Child, gives Dyer the chance to show a more subtle side of herself as a 00s teen sent to a Catholic summer camp for “help” in managing her normal adolescent curiosity… only to discover everyone else is just as helplessly horny as she is. March 5
VVS Films
You’d expect any reunion of Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves’s time-traveling BFFs to be goofy fun, and writer/producers Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson deliver that easily enough. But what’s really special about Bill And Ted Face The Music is the realization that the good-natured goofiness comes with an underlying message of hope for humanity, and a story that’s ultimately about finding perspective and opening yourself up to new possibilities – while still getting to shred with your best bud. Reeves and Winter have aged into very different people than they were three decades ago, so it’s a joy to see them snap back into character, and Galaxy Quest director Dean Parisot gives them the movie they both deserve. But really, we all deserve this. It’s 2021. Being excellent to each other has never seemed more necessary. March 28
Courtesy of CBC
There may be persistent questions about whether or not Trickster’s co-showrunner and director Michelle Latimer is Indigenous or not. That doubt should not deter people from watching the thrilling, comical and meaningful adaptation of Eden Robinson’s novel Son Of A Trickster. The series is about a molly-peddling BC teen (Joel Oulette) who discovers power and purpose in his ancestry. Oulette is exactly the kind of heartthrob to anchor a show for YA fans. But it’s Crystle Lightning who leaves us awestruck. Her revealing performance as a tender-but-fierce Indigenous mother is bottled up history, trauma, love and strength. March 1
Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett’s straight-faced salute to a certain subset of 70s and 80s horror has been shifting back and forth from one streaming service to another for a couple of years now; hopefully Netflix can hold on to it for a while, because it’s an absolute blast. Dan Stevens is both charming and sinister as a mysterious stranger who gains the trust of a fallen comrade’s family, with only the dead man’s sister (Maika Monroe) suspecting he might not be as upstanding as he claims; once she confirms it, their battle of wits levels up into something a lot more explosive. And now that Wingard is about to level up himself with Godzilla Vs. Kong, what better time to revisit his indie roots? March 9
Peter Iovino/Universal Pictures
Will Pitch Perfect be the last of its kind? The crowd-pleasing acapella musical starring Anna Kendrick followed in the footsteps of movies like Step Up, Save The Last Dance, Bring It On and Footloose. They were modest movies about young people using moves or musical notes to fit in. They were rife with cliches and bad acting. But joy and electricity pours out of them, especially when enjoyed with a crowd of like-minded music loves in a theatre, basking in renditions of No Diggity or Cups. Nowadays, an unassuming non-franchise musical or comedy pitched to young adults will likely go straight to streaming instead of theatres. At least they’ll have Pitch Perfect there as good company. March 3
The full list of new titles available on Netflix Canada in March 2021 by date:
Abia Fahita: Drama Queen
ARASHI’s Diary Voyage (episode 24)
The Yin Yang Master
Coroner (seasons 1-2)
Power Rangers Beast Morphers (season 2)
Thomas & Friends: Marvelous Machinery: A New Arrival
Thomas & Friends: Marvelous Machinery: World of Tomorrow
Trickster (season 1)
When Calls the Heart (season 5)
Word Party (season 5)
Murder Among The Mormons
The Flash (season 7)
Pacific Rim: The Black (season 1)
City Of Ghosts (season 1)
Nevenka: Breaking The Silence
Bombay Begums
The Houseboat
StarBeam (season 3)
The Dealer
Last Chance U: Basketball
Marriage Or Mortgage
Love Alarm (season 2)
The One
Paradise PD: Part 3
The Lost Pirate Kingdom
Zero Chill (season 1)
RebellComedy: Straight Outta The Zoo
Waffles + Mochi
Under Suspicion: Uncovering The Wesphael Case
B: The Beginning Succession
Nate Bargatze: The Greatest Average American
March 19
Alien TV (season 2)
Country Comfort (season 1)
Formula 1: Drive To Survive (season 3)
One Small Problem
Sky Rojo
Navillera
Loyiso Gola: Unlearning
Who Killed Sara?
The Irregulars
Magic for Humans By Mago Pop
Nailed It!: Double Trouble
Rainbow High (season 1)
Haunted: Latin America
10 Years
The American
Biggie: I Got A Story To Tell
Blanche Gardin: Bonne Nuit Blanche
The Bucket List
Diana
Happy Feet Two
Hit & Run
How To Be A Latin Lover
Jonah Hex
Just One Of The Guys
The Karate Kid Part II
The Karate Kid Part III
Mary, Queen Of Scots
The Mask Of Zorro
The Pianist
RocknRolla
Rush Hour
Rush Hour 2
S.W.A.T.
Serendipity
Shazam!
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
U.S. Marshals
Welcome To Marwen
You Don’t Mess with the Zohan
Being John Malkovich
Blue Crush
Fletch
Friday Night Lights
How To Build A Girl
Moxie
Oblivian
Pitch Perfect
Pitch Perfect 2
Scarface
Take Me Home Tonight
The Tale Of Despereaux
Dogwashers
Sentinelle
Vice
Yes, God, Yes
Ladies in Black
Bombay Rose
The Guest
The Block Island Sound
Coven Of Sisters
Paper Lives
Yes Day
The Curse of La Llorona
A Call To Spy
Bakugan: Armored Alliance
The Last Blockbuster (2020)
Shithouse
Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal
The Wedding Guest
Cabras de Peste
Skylines
Pokémon Detective Pikachu
Seaspiracy
Caught By A Wave
DOTA: Dragon’s Blood
Secret Magic Control Agency
A Week Away
Bad Trip
Croupier (1998)
Honest Thief
Bill & Ted Face The Music
March 29
Gods of Egypt
Octonauts & The Ring Of Fire
TV series and movies leaving Netflix Canada in March 2021.
Jaws
Jaws 2
Jaws 3
Jaws: The Revenge
The Bourne Identity
The Bourne Legacy
The Bourne Supremacy
The Bourne Ultimatum
Rectify (seasons 1-4)
A Star Is Born
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
Madagascar
Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
Spy Kids
Spy Kids 2: The Island Of Lost Dreams
Spy Kids 3: Game Over
Spy Kids: All the Time In The World
Peppa Pig (seasons 1-5)
