Y’all, what if they start recommending Lil Dicky songs at me?
NBC
Council of Dads
Scott Perry, a loving father of five, has his entire life’s plan thrown into upheaval by an unexpected health scare. He calls on a few of his most trusted friends to step in as back-up dads to help guide and support his growing family – just in case he ever can’t be there to do it himself. There’s Anthony, Scott’s oldest and most loyal friend; Larry, his tough-love AA sponsee; and Oliver, his dedicated doctor and wife’s dearest friend. Together, they discover that there’s more to being a father than anyone could do alone – and more to being a family than they ever thought possible.
Starring: Sarah Wayne Callies, Clive Standen, Michael O’Neill, J. August Richards, Michele Weaver, Emjay Anthony, Thalia Tran, Blue Chapman, Steven Silver
Quick Thoughts: I really did have a lot to say about this. About how this looked like a super depressing version of The Unicorn. About how NBC is desperate for another This Is Us and it shows. About how I can’t decide if I love or hate Michael O’Neill because he’s both Ron Butterfield and the guy who shot McDreamy on Grey’s Anatomy. But then while browsing the very little information that’s available about this show, I learned something interesting. I’ve been seeing some discourse online about how television rarely features transgender children. I did not expect to find an answer to that in this, the most basic of shows, because Council of Dads has a main character that is a trans seven-year-old. The couple that created and produce the show have a transgender child. They’ve been clear about how important it is to them to show that his family “embraces and celebrates who he is”. That’s worth at least a couple episodes, no?
Just a note. NBC is doing the same thing that they did with Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist and premiering the episode after the This Is Us finale before holding the rest of the episodes until April 30th
Premieres March 24th
Freeform
Motherland: Fort Salem
Set in an alternate, present-day America where witches ended their persecution 300 years ago by cutting a deal with the burgeoning U.S. government to fight for their country, “Motherland: Fort Salem” follows three young women from basic training in combat magic into terrifying and thrilling early deployment. In this world, the traditional roles of gender and power are flipped, with women on the front lines fighting looming terrorist threats that are strikingly familiar to our world, but with supernatural tactics and weapons.
Starring: Taylor Hickson, Jessica Sutton, Ashley Nicole Williams, Amalia Holm, Demetria McKinney, Lyne Renee
Quick Thoughts:
Time will tell if this becomes my favorite thing ever or just a series I am obsessed with entirely through promos like the Mermaid Throuple Show. I think the former because I did not care about the Mermaid Throuple Show until I saw the preview about them trying to get the mermaid pregnant. I care about Witch Boot Camp.
Premieres March 18th
HBO
The Plot Against America
A working-class Jewish family in New Jersey watches the political rise of aviator-hero and xenophobic populist Charles Lindbergh, as he becomes president and turns the nation toward fascism. This six-part re-imagining of history is based on the Philip Roth novel of the same name.
Starring: Winona Ryder, Zoe Kazan, John Turturro, Morgan Spector, Anthony Boyle, Azhy Robertson, Caleb Malis
Quick Thoughts: Television! A fun and escapist medium to make you forget the horrors of the real world!
I mean…it’s probably gonna be good but maybe I can just watch many hours of the burning trashfire that is Love is Blind in between episodes?
Premieres March 16th
BET
Twenties
The series follows the adventures of a queer black girl, Hattie, and her two straight best friends, Marie and Nia, who spend most of their days talking ‘ish’ and chasing their dreams.
Starring: Jonica T. Gibbs, Christina Elmore, Gabrielle Graham, Big Sean, Sophina Brown
Quick Thoughts: Hello. I was already excited to see a show about a messy writer’s PA and then Vanessa Williams and Rick Fox started being snarky in the trailer. Is Lena Waithe trying to kill me? Also I thought you should know that I stopped writing for an hour and listened to I Don’t Fuck With You over and over when I saw the name Big Sean in the cast list. The very guiltiest of pleasures.
Premieres March 4th
Love Goals
Renowned family and relationship therapist, Spirit, counsels five celebrity couples who are at crossroads in their relationships. Their challenges range from fame and power, infidelity and communication issues, as well as overcoming childhood trauma. Through an intense two-week therapy program that features both insight-oriented exercises and special guests, these famous couples will face their most challenging conflicts head on, as they strive to achieve their love goals.
Starring: Spirit,
Quick Thoughts: I like that all of Coolio’s hats have tiny pigtail holes.
Premieres March 7th
AMC
Dispatches From Elsewhere
Dispatches From Elsewhere follows a group of ordinary people who stumble onto a puzzle hiding just behind the veil of everyday life. They will come to find that the mystery winds far deeper than they ever imagined.
Starring: André Benjamin, Sally Field, Richard E. Grant, Jason Segel, Eve Lindley
Premieres March 1st
FX
Breeders
Breeders explores the paradox that every parent knows but never admits: you would willingly die for your children, but quite often you also want to kill them. Paul is a caring father discovering he’s not quite the man he thought he was. His partner in this impossibly steep parental climb is Ally, who runs a recording studio, makes Paul laugh and has the ability to read a story to their children while she’s technically asleep. In this honest and uncompromising comedy, Paul and Ally are juggling full-time careers, aging parents, a mortgage, upheavals in their relationship and the unenviable curveballs of parenting their young children, Luke and Ava. When Ally’s estranged father, Michael, appears on their doorstep, the family essentially takes on a third child – but this one comes with baggage and opinions. Paul’s own parents, Jackie and Jim, are on hand to help out, but their generation does parenting a little differently…
Starring: Daisy Haggard, Martin Freeman, Michael McKean, Alun Armstrong, Joanna Bacon, George Wakeman, Jayda Eyles
Premieres March 2nd
The Most Dangerous Animal Of All
Based on The New York Times best-selling book of the same name, The Most Dangerous Animal of All explores one man’s search for the father who abandoned him, only to uncover the worst: he believes his father is the Zodiac killer, one of the most infamous serial killers in American history.
Premieres March 6th
FXX
Dave
The series is centered on a suburban neurotic man in his late twenties who has convinced himself that he’s destined to be one of the best rappers of all time. Now he must convince his closest friends, because with their help, he might actually convince the world.
Starring: Dave Burd, Andrew Santino, Christine Ko, GaTa, Taylor Misiak, Travis Bennett
Quick Thoughts:
*eye twitch*
Premieres March 4th
SYFY
Vagrant Queen
Former child queen Elida has been on the run since her mother was shot and killed Commander Lazaro, the man responsible for bringing down their empire. A highly skilled fighter, Elida has been living in hiding and making ends meet as a scavenger while the unhinged Lazaro obsesses over tracking her down. When Elida’s old frenemy, Isaac, shows up with news that her mother is still alive, it takes the help of the optimistic mechanic Amae, to escape Lazaro’s army and begin the rescue mission across a dangerous galaxy.
To save her mother the team must break into the heavily guarded region of space where Elida once ruled, but an encounter with a group loyal to her former throne forces Elida to face her past as a child queen. Cannibalistic aliens, dangerous planets, shootouts, karaoke, and parking tickets complicate the journey further, and they don’t have long before the increasingly deranged Lazaro catches up to them.
Starring: Adriyan Rae, Tim Rozon, Alex McGregor, Colin Moss, Clayton Boyd
Quick Thoughts: I’m so grateful for all the great, deeply weird Canadian sci-fi shows that have appeared in our lives in the last couple of years. May you keep Tim Rozon employed forever, Syfy.
Premieres March 27th
