Some months it’s a struggle to find three or four new crime shows worth highlighting. March is not one of those months. There’s something for just about everyone coming out. If you’re like me, the new Kim Philby limited series based on the Ben Macintyre book is the highlight—the knitwear alone might be worth the price of admission—but we’re also zeroing in on hallucinatory cross-country thrillers, mysteries set aboard ships, some new Perry Mason, the return of Yellowjackets, and much more.
Wreck
(Hulu / Premieres March 1)
A slasher-thriller-comedy that was a hit on the BBC, now coming to America. A teenager sneaks on board a cruise ship, determined to find out what happened to his missing sister.
Perry Mason (season 2)
(HBO / Premieres March 6)
A little under three years later, HBO’s Matthew Rhys-led noir is back for a second season, this time with new showrunners and a new storyline focused on the death of a California oil scion. Looks just as brooding as ever, with some pretty sumptuous production value.
Luther: The Fallen Sun
(Netflix / Premieres March 10)
Following a five season run Luther now gets a feature film to round out the story. Luther breaks out of prison in what looks like pretty dramatic fashion and sets about trying to catch a serial killer. Should be catnip for series fans.
A Spy Among Friends
(MGM+ / Premieres March 12)
Ben Macintyre’s study of the Kim Philby saga holds up, a decade later, as one of the more compelling nonfiction espionage reads you’ll ever come across, and now it’s getting a splashy adaptation, with Guy Pearce and Damian Lewis in the leads. This is the first I’m hearing of MGM+, but I will absolutely make a point of tracking it down for this limited series.
Swarm
(Amazon Prime / Premieres March 17)
The new series, co-created by Janine Nabers and Donald Glover, has about as much buzz as you can imagine. It centers on Dominique Fishback as Dre, a young woman with a dark obsession for a pop star. The trailer is truly unsettling, but also pretty damn enticing. (This is also the show with Malia Obama in the writers’ room, in case you didn’t remember.)
The Night Agent
(Netflix / Premieres March 23)
Based on the Matthew Quirk novel, this save-the-world thriller follows an FBI agent who answers an auspicious phone call and soon gets entangled in a vast conspiracy coming out of the White House.
Rabbit Hole
(Paramount+ / Premieres March 26)
Another big conspiracy series, this one featuring Kiefer Sutherland as a corporate espionage expert who gets set up for a murder wrap as part of a much bigger plot.
Yellowjackets
(Showtime / Premieres March 26)
And finally, the return of one of the more celebrated and innovative thrillers in recent memory, with some exciting new casting and new mysteries to get excited about.
