On television this spring, there’s practically two of everything.
The post-winter months will give us not one but two new Taylor Sheridan dramas: “Marshalls” on CBS and “The Madison” on Paramount+. Honestly, that seems like a low number considering how many shows Sheridan cranks out. (He has at least one other due later this year.) Michelle Pfeiffer stars in two new series, the aforementioned “The Madison” and “Margo’s Got Money Troubles” on Apple TV. That is a blessing. During the first week of March, Netflix will drop a series called “Vladimir” that takes place on a college campus, followed a few days later by “Rooster,” an HBO series also set on a college campus. Meanwhile, the Duffer Brothers of “Stranger Things” fame are the executive producers behind two new Netflix originals: “Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen” and the animated “Stranger Things: Tales From ’85.”
That’s right: “Stranger Things” is already back! Returns are another running thread among this season’s network and streaming options. “Malcolm in the Middle” will show up again on our screens for the first time in two decades. So will “Euphoria,” which technically has only been on hiatus from HBO since its second season ended in 2022 — but that feels like two decades ago. “Beef” reappears in April for a second season with a whole new story and cast featuring Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan. Even “The Comeback” is making a comeback, with a third season full of Valerie Cherish self-promotional antics.
The 10 shows highlighted below include some of those revivals, as well as some new series worth your attention.
‘Rooster’
Even if I didn’t tell you that Bill Lawrence co-created this comedy about a best-selling author (Steve Carell) who inserts himself into the daily life of his college professor daughter (Charly Clive), you would know as soon as you started watching. Like most Lawrence joints — he’s responsible for “Shrinking,” “Scrubs” and “Ted Lasso,” among others — “Rooster” focuses on characters trying to do the right thing and usually failing miserably. Those characters often deliver dense, awkward yet sincere dialogue that would not be out of place in a Cameron Crowe movie, as is par for the Lawrence course. And some of the actors who play these everyday screwups — John C. McGinley of “Scrubs,” Phil Dunster of “Ted Lasso” — have previously appeared in other Lawrence projects. Premieres March 8 on HBO and HBO Max.
‘The Madison’
Taylor Sheridan’s new streaming drama is a “Yellowstone” spin-off, but only kind of? Like most of the entries in that TV franchise, it is set in Montana. But it’s not interested in the various generations of the Dutton family seen in “Yellowstone,” “1923” or Sheridan’s other related series. “The Madison” introduces an entirely new clan: the Clyburns, a wealthy family based in Manhattan whose patriarch, Preston (Kurt Russell), has ties to the Madison River area. After an unexpected tragedy, the Clyburns, including Preston’s wife, Stacy (Michelle Pfeiffer), must leave New York, a place the show amusingly characterizes as a dangerous hellhole (Taylor Sheridan, ladies and gentlemen!), for the great wide openness of Montana. In fairness, as photographed on the show, it does look awfully pretty there. Premieres March 14 on Paramount+.
‘Imperfect Women’
Annie Weisman, creator of the Apple TV+ series “Physical,” starring Rose Byrne, has given the streamer another study of women under deep duress. Based on Araminta Hall’s novel of the same name, “Imperfect Women” considers the long, close friendship between Eleanor (Kerry Washington), Mary (Elisabeth Moss) and Nancy (Kate Mara), and how those relationships are thrown into turmoil by an unexpected death. Expect secrets to come out, characters to engage in rogue sleuthing and the usual strong work from its three leads. Premieres March 18 on Apple TV.
‘Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat’
The first season of “Jury Duty” was an extended prank in which a faux trial was held, but only one juror — Ronald Gladden, a regular dude who became a celebrity when this comedy turned into a 2023 streaming hit — genuinely believed it was real. How do you make a second season of a show like that when the fake judicial cat is already out of the bag? Easy. Change the setting, keep the premise. This “Jury Duty” follow-up takes an unsuspecting temp recently hired by a hot sauce business and puts him at a company retreat that he has no idea is staged. It could be the “Punk’d”-meets-“Hot Ones” hybrid we never knew we wanted. Premieres March 20 on Prime Video.
‘The Comeback’
After “The Comeback” was canceled in 2005 following a single season on HBO, the comedy made a, um, comeback in 2014. Now it’s launching another one, with a third and (allegedly) final season that once again stars the great Lisa Kudrow as Valerie Cherish, a former sitcom actor perpetually desperate to stay relevant in an ever-changing media landscape. HBO has been pretty mum on plot details, but if Valerie is not desperately trying to become an influencer, I will be a little disappointed in her. Premieres March 22 on HBO and HBO Max.
‘Bait’
Riz Ahmed (“Sound of Metal”) created, wrote and stars in this comedy about Shah Latif (Ahmed), an actor who gets an audition for what may be the big break of his career: the opportunity to play James Bond. When the news arrives that he’s in the running, everyone has thoughts about whether he’s suited for the job — including his friends and family, as well as seemingly every member of society with access to social media. Premieres March 25 on Prime Video.
‘The Testaments’
“The Handmaid’s Tale” was a streaming drama that often felt like a cautionary tale about how bad things could get if America tipped further into conservative totalitarianism. Expect “The Testaments,” based on Margaret Atwood’s 2019 follow-up novel, to offer more of the same. Set several years after the events of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” the story focuses on Agnes (Chase Infiniti from “One Battle After Another”), a teenager being groomed to become a commander’s wife. Yes, it will probably be hard to watch this without thinking of current events. Premieres April 8 on Hulu.
‘Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair’
Twenty years after “Malcolm in the Middle” ended its run on Fox, the sitcom is being revived with a four-episode season that finds a grown-up Malcolm (Frankie Muniz) happily living a life that involves no contact with his wildly dysfunctional family. All that changes when his parents (Bryan Cranston and Jane Kaczmarek) insist on his presence at their 40th-anniversary party. Nearly all the major cast members are back, with one notable exception: Dewey, Malcolm’s younger brother, has been recast with Caleb Ellsworth-Clark because Erik Per Sullivan, who played the role in the original series, has retired from acting. Premieres April 10 on Hulu.
‘Margo’s Got Money Troubles’
Rufi Thorpe’s novel about a college student who unexpectedly gets pregnant and must come up with creative ways to support herself gets the prestige dramedy treatment from one of the few showrunners as prolific as Taylor Sheridan: David E. Kelley (“Big Little Lies,” “Presumed Innocent,” approximately 8 million other shows). Elle Fanning stars as Margo, the overwhelmed new mom, and Michelle Pfeiffer, appearing for the first time in one of her husband’s series (she and Kelley have been married for more than 30 years), plays Fanning’s less-than-naturally-maternal mother. Premieres April 15 on Apple TV.
‘Stranger Things: Tales From ’85’
You thought the Season 5 finale that dropped on New Year’s Eve marked the end of “Stranger Things?” Oh, you sweet naive child. Of course there is a spin-off, which is animated and apparently shares some stories about Eleven and the gang that we haven’t heard. Because Netflix series may end, but the Upside Down, and the potential merch that can be generated by its continued existence, lasts forever. Premieres April 23 on Netflix.
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