Look, I got really into Columbo during the pandemic, too, so I get it. I’m excited for the new Rian Johnson/Natasha Lyonne series, and I really hope that every episode begins with a half hour block of a movie star murdering someone and thinking they’re going to get away with it. But that’s not going to get me through a whole month. Fortunately, there’s also our old friend Joe Goldberg and a whole new society for the writers of You to skewer with their blade-sharp satire. February’s shaping up to be pretty strong. Here’s a guide to what’s coming.
Poker Face
(Premieres January 26 / Peacock)
This is obviously the headliner for the month: Rian Johnson and Natasha Lyonne bringing the case-of-the-week format back to TV, with Lyonne starring as the traveling sleuth and a host of guest stars appearing each each week to get in on the murder mystery fun. But the first mystery you may need to solve: how to get access to Peacock.
You
(season 4)
(Premieres February 9 / Netflix)
Joe Goldberg has a beard and a new gig teaching at a posh school in England. And a new obsession that has him traipsing around London in the old cap. That’s all I need to know. This standout thriller keeps moving along with something interesting and incisive to say with each new season.
Snowfall
(season 6)
(Premieres February 22 / FX)
It’s time for the final season of John Singletary’s series about South Central LA and the CIA’s involvement in the proliferation of cocaine and arms into black communities in America, and it looks like the show’s lead Franklin (Damson Idris) is ready to burn it all to the ground.
The Consultant
(Premieres February 24 / Amazon Prime)
Christoph Waltz gets a chance to chew up some scenery as the probably sociopathic consultant called in to impose some rigor on a video game company in this new thriller coming to Amazon Prime. Waltz looks to be enjoying himself, which should bring a good off-kilter element to the action.
The Company You Keep
(Premieres February 19 / ABC)
Milo Ventimigila and Sarah Wayne Callies star in this new series about a con man and a CIA officer who fall into a very complicated romantic entanglement. Looks pretty steamy and banter-heavy, which is always a good thing in my book.
