Netflix Canada in March 2021: What’s new this month

What you should watch

Biggie: I Got a Story to Tell (March 1): Christopher George Latore Wallace, or The Notorious B.I.G., lived up to his stage name by becoming arguably the most legendary rapper: he was shot to death in March 1997 at the age of 24, meaning that when Emmett Malloy’s new documentary drops, he’ll have been dead almost as long as he was alive. While the story of Wallace’s career and death has been told many times, Malloy was given access to footage that hasn’t been used in previous documentaries, including home videos captured on a camcorder by Wallace’s associate, Damien “D-Roc” Butler.

City of Ghosts (March 5): Elizabeth Ito (Adventure Time) created this unusual animated children’s series, which blends typical family animation with realistic documentary style. Set in Ito’s native Los Angeles, the show focuses on the “Ghost Club,” an enterprising group of children whose mission it is to meet and talk to ghosts. In addition to the voice actors, the show’s soundtrack includes interviews with real-life L.A. residents who talk about the city and its history. The show isn’t just about L.A., though; it aims to teach children about the way a city’s past intersects with its present and how neighbourhoods develop their character over many generations. While also, of course, letting them watch a cartoon about kids who talk to ghosts and solve mysteries.

Waffles & Mochi (March 16): Netflix’s contract with Michelle and Barack Obama continues with this 10-episode food series. The title characters are two puppets who want to become chefs, even though they don’t know anything about cooking. Fortunately, they have a magic shopping cart that sends them flying around the world to learn more about how to grow, choose and prepare good food. The show is a personal project for Michelle Obama, who has been strongly associated with the cause of improving children’s dietary habits; in addition to producing, she plays an onscreen role as owner of the supermarket where the title characters work. The series was created by Erika Thormahlen and Drunk History creator Jeremy Konner, and was originally announced under the title “Listen to Your Vegetables and Eat Your Parents.”

The Irregulars (March 26): The popularity of alternate takes on Sherlock Holmes will never end, because there’s always a slightly different way to do it. We already had a story where Holmes is incompetent and Watson does all the work (the 1980s comedy Without a Clue), but in this series, created by Tom Bidwell, Holmes is a hopeless drug addict and it’s a bunch of teenagers who do all the work: the Baker Street Irregulars, the loveable street urchins who helped Holmes get information, are actually doing all the mystery-solving themselves, with Watson as their boss, who writes the stories that give Holmes all the credit. Unlike Conan Doyle’s all-male Irregulars, this team is gender-balanced, led by Bea (Thaddea Graham), and they investigate mysteries that involve the supernatural. Producer Rebecca Hodgson told the London Times that the show is a Baker Street adventure aimed at Marvel-addicted kids who “are used to seeing massive special effects, massive action.”

Date TBA

Abla Fahita: Drama Queen —NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Disney may have the Muppets, but Netflix has this original series starring the Egyptian answer to Miss Piggy, the self-absorbed Abla Fahita, who finds herself accused of a crime she didn’t commit.

ARASHI’s Diary Voyage ep24 — NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY

The very last episode of perhaps the most protracted release in Netflix history: 24 episodes about the Japanese boy band, released mostly monthly since 2019, when things were very different for a touring band.

The Yin Yang Master — NETFLIX FILM

An adaptation of the mobile game “Onmyōji,” where Chen Kun plays the title character, who finds himself learning more about himself as he prepares to fight a demon.

Coming to Netflix on March 1

Biggie: I Got a Story to Tell — NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY

See introduction for details

Licensed content:

Leaving Netflix on March 1

• Jaws 
• Jaws 2
• Jaws 3
• Jaws: The Revenge
• The Bourne Identity
• The Bourne Legacy
• The Bourne Supremacy
• The Bourne Ultimatum

Coming to Netflix on March 2

Word Party: Season 5 — NETFLIX FAMILY

In this edu-tainment animated children’s series from the Jim Henson Company, five cute animals learn about the meanings and pronunciations of English and Mandarin words. 

Coming to Netflix on March 3

Moxie — NETFLIX FILM

Amy Poehler directed and co-produced this film adaptation of the book by Jennifer Mathieu, about a teenaged girl (Hadley Robinson) who starts an anonymous publication that encourages a grassroots revolution against institutional sexism at her school. Poehler co-stars as Robinson’s mother.

Murder Among the Mormons — NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY

A three-episode documentary produced by BBC Studios, taking an in-depth look at a series of pipe bombings in Salt Lake City in 1985, and how they unlocked an investigation into forged documents that purported to show the secret history of the Church of Latter-Day Saints.

Licensed content:

Coming to Netflix on March 4

Pacific Rim: The Black — NETFLIX ANIME

Animated spinoff of the popular franchise: while looking for their missing parents in a post-apocalyptic Australia, two characters must learn how to pilot one of the big robots from the movies. 

Coming to Netflix on March 5

City of Ghosts — NETFLIX FAMILY

See introduction for details

Dogwashers — NETFLIX FILM

Colombian film about a gardener who finds a secret trove of drug money.  

Nevenka: Breaking the Silence — NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY

In 2001, Nevenka Fernández sued Ismael Álvarez, mayor of the Spanish town of Ponferrada, for sexual harassment. In a country with a reputation for being lax on the issue, her lawsuit became a landmark, and this documentary series looks at the trial and its aftermath. 

Sentinelle — NETFLIX FILM

Olga Kurylenko stars in this action/revenge film as a soldier who takes it upon herself to hunt down the man who raped her sister.

Licensed content:

Vice

Yes, God, Yes

Coming to Netflix on March 8

Bombay Begums — NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Drama series about modern urban life in India, told through the intersecting stories of five different women of different ages and social backgrounds. Alankrita Shrivastava (Made in Heaven) created the series and directed three of the six episodes.

Bombay Rose — NETFLIX FILM

Gitanjali Rao wrote and directed this animated film which uses painted animation to tell stories of star-crossed love. Originally premiering at the 2019 Toronto Film Festival, it now makes its Netflix debut after being delayed from its originally-planned December release date.

Coming to Netflix on March 9

The Houseboat — NETFLIX ORIGINAL

After the death of German singing star Gunter Gabriel, two of his friends, Fynn Kliemann and Olli Schulz, took it upon themselves to restore his dilapidated houseboat and make it usable again. They documented their elaborate fix-up project with this series.

StarBeam: Season 3 — NETFLIX FAMILY

A new season of family-friendly adventures for Zoey (Nahanni Mitchell) and her superhero alter ego Starbeam.

Coming to Netflix on March 10

Dealer — NETFLIX ORIGINAL

“Found footage” drama series from France, in which a camera crew ventures into a dangerous neighbourhood to shoot a music video, and their cameras capture some real violence that they weren’t counting on.

Last Chance U: Basketball — NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY

Netflix’s “Last Chance U,” a documentary series about community-college football teams, lasted five seasons. Well, as we know, Netflix can’t let a show run much longer than that, so they’ve rebooted it as a series about community college basketball. This first season follows the team at East Los Angeles College as they try to get to the state championship. 

Marriage or Mortgage — NETFLIX ORIGINAL

In what has already been described as perhaps the most depressing premise for a reality show, young couples are offered a choice: do they spend their savings on a wedding, or a down payment on a house? Because if they made a show where millennial couples can afford both, it wouldn’t be a reality show. 

Coming to Netflix on March 11

Coven of Sisters — NETFLIX FILM

Set in Spain in the early 17th century, this film focuses on accused witches who somehow decide that they can help their case by getting their accuser to witness a witchcraft ritual.

Coming to Netflix on March 12

Love Alarm: Season 2 — NETFLIX ORIGINAL

The second season of Netflix’s first original Korean series, about a mobile app that can tell people if someone nearby is in love with them.

The One — NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Continuing the theme of science and technology intersecting with romance, this adaptation of John Marrs’ novel is about a not-so-distant future where DNA testing can determine who your soulmate is. The novel is a suspense thriller, so don’t expect this to go too well.

Paper Lives — NETFLIX FILM

Çağatay Ulusoy stars as Mehmet, a waste-paper collector in Istanbul, who makes it his mission to return an eight-year-old boy to his parents, and in the process is forced to confront his own bad childhood memories.

Paradise PD: Part 3 — NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Six more episodes of the animated sitcom about an inept small-town police force. This season they fumble their investigations into such subjects as sperm-donor clinics and, inevitably, doughnut shops.

Yes Day — NETFLIX FILM

Jennifer Lawrence and Edgar Ramirez play parents who promise to follow any rules their children make for 24 hours, and are somehow surprised when this leads to wacky adventures.

Coming to Netflix on March 14

The Curse of La Llorona

Coming to Netflix on March 15

The Lost Pirate Kingdom — NETFLIX ORIGINAL

This series uses documentary footage and re-enactments to tell the stories of the “real-life pirates of the Caribbean,” such as Blackbeard, and possibly other pirates who haven’t already been used by Disney.

Zero Chill — NETFLIX FAMILY

Kayla (Grace Beedie), an aspiring figure skater, is forced to rebuild her life and career when her family moves from Canada to England so that her brother Mac (Dakota Taylor) can go to a famous hockey academy.

Licensed content:

• A Call to Spy
• Bakugan: Armored Alliance
• The Last Blockbuster (2020)
• Shithouse

Coming to Netflix on March 16

RebellComedy: Straight Outta the Zoo — NETFLIX COMEDY SPECIAL

Netflix’s first stand-up comedy special of the month features an entire troupe of German stand-up comics, who take to the stage to talk about their lives and prove to the world that Germans can, in fact, be funny.

Michelle Obama in Waffles & Mochi (Netflix)

Waffles + Mochi — NETFLIX FAMILY 

See Introduction for details

Coming to Netflix on March 17

Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal — NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY

Another combination of documentary and reenactments, this time about the college-admissions scandal of 2019, where a scam artist took money from rich parents (including Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman) to get their kids into high-profile colleges by any means necessary.

Under Suspicion: Uncovering the Wesphael Case — NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Documentary about Bernard Wesphael, a Belgian politician who was accused of killing his wife.

The Wedding Guest

Coming to Netflix on March 18

B: The Beginning Succession — NETFLIX ANIME

Second season of Kazuto Nakazawa’s series about the exploits of a mysterious serial killer known as “Killer B.”

Cabras da Peste — NETFLIX FILM

Edmilson Filho and Matheus Nachtergaele star in this odd-couple action comedy about two cops from different parts of Brazil who are forced to work together to crack a case.

Nate Bargatze: The Greatest Average American — NETFLIX COMEDY SPECIAL

The second Netflix special for the comedian and host of “The Nateland Podcast,” directed by the prolific comedy-special director Troy Miller.

• Skylines (2020)

Coming to Netflix on March 19

Alien TV: Season 2 — NETFLIX FAMILY

Second season of the edu-tainment series where two aliens visit Earth to learn about human customs, a different one in each episode.

Country Comfort — NETFLIX FAMILY

Katharine McPhee stars in this sitcom as a young would-be singer who takes a job as nanny to the children of a handsome widower (Eddie Cibrian). And yes, the creator of the show used to write for “The Nanny.” 

Formula 1: Drive to Survive: Season 3 —NETFLIX ORIGINAL

The new season of the documentary series about Formula One racing, this time focusing on the 2020 championship and how it was affected by the COVID pandemic. 

One Small Problem — NETFLIX ORIGINAL

In this Mexican comedy, a man is afraid that his new girlfriend hates children, so his daughter pretends to be his sister, and wacky complications ensue.

Sky Rojo — NETFLIX ORIGINAL

From the creators of Netflix’s hit “Money Heist” comes this new series, which has already been picked up for a second season; it focuses on the cross-country adventures of three prostitutes as they race across Spain to escape their former pimp and his hired goons. 

Coming to Netflix on March 22

Navillera — NETFLIX ORIGINAL

South Korean drama, based on a web cartoon, about an unlikely friendship between a 23 year-old aspiring ballet dancer (Song Kang) and a 70-year-old man who once dreamed of being a dancer.

Coming to Netflix on March 23

Loyiso Gola: Unlearning — NETFLIX COMEDY SPECIAL

Stand-up special for the South African comedian, known in his home country as the creator and host of “Late Night News with Loyiso Gola,” the country’s answer to “The Daily Show.” 

Pokémon Detective Pikachu

Coming to Netflix on March 24

Seaspiracy — NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY

The creators of the 2014 documentary film Cowspiracy, which attacked the agriculture industry for its impact on the environment, are back to do the same for the fishing industry.

Who Killed Sara? — NETFLIX ORIGINAL

In this drama series from Mexico, Álex (Manolo Cardona) is released from prison after being framed for the murder of his sister, and sets out to get revenge on her real killers.

Coming to Netflix on March 25

Caught by a Wave — NETFLIX FILM

Two Italian teenagers (Elvira Camarrone and Roberto Christian) bond and fall in love over their mutual love of sailing, but she’s suffering from the kind of illness that at least one character is required to have in every romantic tearjerker.

DOTA: Dragon’s Blood — NETFLIX ANIME

Based on the video game, this series follows the adventures of a “Dragon Knight,” which, as it turns out, means a knight who fights dragons.

Secret Magic Control Agency — NETFLIX FAMILY

After their famous encounter with the witch, fairy-tale stars Hänsel and Gretel go into business as secret agents investigating magical problems. Their first assignment: to find the king, who has mysteriously disappeared.

Coming to Netflix on March 26

A Week Away — NETFLIX FILM (Trailer)

Netflix moves into the genre of faith-based movies, with this musical drama about a moody teenager whose life is turned around when he is sent to a Christian summer camp. 

Bad Trip — NETFLIX FILM 

Eric André and Lil Rel Howery star in this Borat-style hidden-camera film about two guys on a road trip across America.

The Irregulars — NETFLIX ORIGINAL

See introduction for details

Magic for Humans by Mago Pop — NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Illusionist  Antonio Díaz, better known by his stage name Mago Pop, demonstrates magic tricks to admiring observers in his hometown of Barcelona.

Nailed It!: Double Trouble — NETFLIX ORIGINAL

A spinoff of the popular baking-show franchise about amateurs being forced to bake things they have no idea how to bake. The format is the same, except everything is now done by teams of two amateurs, hence the title.

Licensed content:

Croupier (1998)

Honest Thief

Coming to Netflix on March 28

Bill & Ted Face The Music

Coming to Netflix on March 29

Gods of Egypt

Rainbow High: Season 1

Coming to Netflix on March 30

Octonauts & the Ring of Fire — NETFLIX FAMILY

Film version of the popular animated children’s series about a group of animals who do for the sea what the animals of Paw Patrol do for the surface world. 

Leaving Netflix on March 30

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 

Coming to Netflix on March 31

Haunted: Latin America — NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Yet another show with a mix of documentary footage and reenactments, about real-life stories of mysterious or paranormal encounters.

The post Netflix Canada in March 2021: What’s new this month appeared first on Macleans.ca.