(Photo by Magnet Releasing/courtesy Everett Collection)
Let’s talk about the sport that combines sharp blades, blunt sticks, 100-mile-per-hour pucks, and regularly scheduled fistfights. You’d think hockey and Hollywood would go together like and ice and blood, but that sport-to-movie pipeline is still being built, and we’re still a ways off before movies about hockey can compete with football, basketball, baseball, and Jamaican bobsledding.
We’ll start with the 10 best-reviewed hockey movies, with Certified Fresh films at the top. Red Army is a Soviet-focused documentary, especially on the five players that played for the Detroit Wings in the 1990s. (This so-called Russian Five got their own doc of the same name in 2018.) But if you want to see the Soviets get beaten, then check out 2004’s Miracle, which re-stages the U.S. Olympic hockey team victory at the legendary 1980 match.
Goon captures the day-to-day essence of hockey (an accolade typically shared with 1977’s Slap Shot) and an empathically comedic look at the enforcer, a position further explored in doc Ice Guardians.
Hockeyland highlights the role of the sport in a small Minnesota town. And you can’t go this long talking about hockey without mentioning Canada, as Youngblood, The Rocket 9, and Indian Horse will attest. —Alex Vo
92%
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81%
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83%
87%
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56%
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27%
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17%
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From DC Comics superheroes to biker gang antiheroes, March 2021 has 10 freshly reviewed series worthy of a binge before premiering new seasons later this month. And in the case of Disney+’s The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, we’ve even got you catching up on some fan-favorite ’90s features. So grab the popcorn and get ready to dig in!
85%
The Flash
(The CW)
What it is: Grant Gustin is a crime scene investigator–turned–crime scene vigilante Barry Allen (aka the Flash, the lightning-enhanced fastest man alive). The story follows Barry’s crime-fighting adventures alongside a group of friends with their own special abilities.
Why you should watch it: You don’t gain an adoring following like that of The Flash without bringing edge-of-your-seat comic-book action and suspense, lovable characters and story arcs, and pitch-perfect performances week to week. Gustin, in particular, is a star. Equal parts charming and high-octane in all the right ways, this DC Comics offering keeps us coming back for more. Season 7 premieres March 2 on the CW.
Where to watch: Amazon, FandangoNOW, Google Play, Microsoft, Netflix, Vudu
Commitment: Approx. 96 hours (for the first 6 seasons)
86%
Good Girls
(NBC)
What it is: Creator Jenna Bans (previously of Desperate Housewives and Scandal) brings her soapy creative chops to this unlikely network dramedy about three housewives — sisters Beth and Annie and their friend Ruby — who turn to burglary when put in a financial bind (mortgage defaulting, losing custody of her child, and healthcare crises, respectively). Christina Hendricks, Mae Whitman, and Retta star.
Why you should watch it: Good Girls is nothing if not tonally adventurous, finding a ripe balance between high stakes, heartbreaking drama, bits of fish-out-of-water levity, and criminal thrills. Throw in a trio of layered performances from Hendricks, Whitman, and Retta — all of whom are always welcome presences onscreen — and it’s no wonder the series is going three years strong. Season 4 premieres March 7 on NBC.
Where to watch: Amazon, FandangoNOW, Google Play, Microsoft, Netflix, Vudu
Commitment: Approx. 25.5 hours (for the first 3 seasons)
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Mayans M.C.
(FX)
What it is: Set on the blistering California-Mexico border, this Sons of Anarchy spinoff from creators Elgin James and Kurt Sutter follows Ezekiel “EZ” Reyes (JD Pardo), who’s freshly released from prison and now a new prospect in the titular biker gang. But with intersecting familial loyalties at play while he charts life as an outlaw, the drama and violence quickly ratchets up.
Why you should watch it: Pardo delivers a star-making turn as our central protagonist, and co-stars Clayton Cardenas as EZ’s brother Angel, Edward James Olmos as their father Felipe, and their ensemble of largely Latinx performers all meet him mark for bloody mark. Season 3 premieres March 16 on FX.
Where to watch: Amazon, FandangoNow, Google Play, Hulu, Microsoft, Vudu
Commitment: Approx. 20 hours (for the first 2 seasons)
86%
The Last Man on Earth: Season 2
(2015)
(Hulu)
What it is: Staged dives deep into how actors are facing the present day. David Tennant and Michael Sheen star as two West End actors whose play has been postponed due to the coronavirus-induced industry shutdown. Rehearsals, meanwhile, continue by video call, to cringingly comedic results.
Why you should watch it: They say that tragedy plus time is comedy — but how do you get to comedy from tragedy if you’re still sitting in the thick of it? Why, you add in Tennant and Sheen, of course! That’s the winning formula, at least, for Staged, which brilliantly put a meta spin on the stagnated lives of working stage actors during this last year of the pandemic. Comfortingly playing off of its leads’ chemistry while dramatizing the too-close-for-comfort past via a Zoom screen, the series does little wrong. Season 2 premieres March 16 on Hulu.
Where to watch it: Amazon, Hulu, Microsoft, Vudu
Commitment: Approx. 2.5 hours (for the first season)
71%
Genius
(National Geographic)
What it is: In 2017, Genius marked National Geographic’s first major foray into prestige television. An intimate, life-charting look into history’s greatest minds and personalities, season 1 follows Geoffrey Rush as Albert Einstein, season 2 follows Antonio Banderas as Pablo Picasso, and now the long-awaited season 3 follows Cynthia Erivo as Aretha Franklin. Better yet, this latest iteration also taps consummate playwright and Pulitzer winner Suzan-Lori Parks as showrunner.
Why you should watch it: An enthralling premise that’s ultimately as educational as it is entertaining (as the very best of narrative nonfiction is), Genius’ first outings rightfully earned a fistful of Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. While you of course don’t have to watch the seasons on Einstein and Picasso to understand Aretha, we recommend you do simply for the quality time spent. Season 3 premieres March 21 on National Geographic.
Where to watch: Amazon, FandangoNow, Google Play, Hulu, Microsoft, Vudu
Commitment: Approx. 14.5 hours (for the first 2 seasons)
92%
Breeders
(FX)
What it is: Martin Freeman took his international stardom from The Hobbit film series and Sherlock and did something unlikely: turned the lens on his personal life and co-created a passion project about modern day parenting. Also serving as star and executive producer, he plays Paul, partner to Ally (Daisy Haggard) and father to Luke and Ava.
Why you should watch it: In title, it’s a tongue-in-cheek nod to the procreative practices of heterosexual couples. In practice, it’s a refreshingly unflinching look at the good, bad, and ugly realities of parenthood—new parents be warned! Season 2 premieres March 22 on FX.
Where to watch: Amazon, FandangoNow, Google Play, Hulu, Microsoft, Netflix, Vudu
Commitment: Approx. 5 hours (for the first season)
87%
The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers
(Disney+)
What it is: Lauren Graham will never stop playing the small-screen mom of our dreams — and we love that for us! In this new The Mighty Ducks sequel series, she stars as Alex, a mom who encourages her son, Evan, to start his own youth hockey team when he doesn’t make the cut for the titular Ducks, who now stand as the junior league’s elite program.
Why you should watch it: Emilio Estevez returns to the franchise as the Mighty Ducks’ original coach Gordon Bombay. Graham stars as the dutifully supportive mother who sets the series’ action in motion. An ensemble of fresh-faced young actors hilariously steal the show, just like the films before it. What more do you want!? To get ready for it all, we’re recommending you watch the three original Mighty Ducks films from 1992–1992 (D1, D2, and D3), and the single season of Mighty Ducks: The Animated Series. The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers premieres March 26 on Disney+.
Where to watch: Amazon, Disney+, FandangoNow, Google Play, Microsoft, Vudu
Commitment: Approx. 5.2 hours (for D1, D2, and D3) and approx. 13 hours (for Mighty Ducks: The Animated Series)
95%
Solar Opposites
(Hulu)
What it is: Rick and Morty collaborators Mike McMahan and Justin Roiland reteam here to tell the story of an alien family who flee their home planet after it’s destroyed by an asteroid and wind up seeking refuge in middle America’s suburbia.
Why you should watch it: This adult-skewing animated series is as bizarre and deranged as it is sincere, zeroing in on contemporary humanity from the perspective of loveable if out-of-place extraterrestrials. Season 2 premieres March 26 on Hulu.
Where to watch: Amazon, FandangoNow, Google Play, Hulu, Microsoft, Vudu
Commitment: Approx. 3.5 hours (for the first season)
88%
City on a Hill
(Showtime)
What it is: Kevin Bacon and Aldis Hodge star in this 1990s-set police drama from creator Chuck MacLean as a respected veteran FBI agent with questionable (see: corrupt) tactics and a Black district attorney new on the scene, respectively. Together, however, they form an unlikely alliance to take on the rotten underbelly of Boston’s bureaucracy.
Why you should watch it: Our two leads are given enough scenery chewing here to elevate even the more meandering moments of their push for justice to top-tier entertainment for fans of the genre. The series’ fictionalized account of how Boston turned its justice system around from the inside out while tackling spiking street crime is nothing if not engaging. Plus, the accents! Season 2 premieres March 28 on Showtime.
Where to watch: Amazon, FandangoNow, Google Play, Microsoft, Vudu
Commitment: Approx. 10 hours (for the first season)
97%
Back
(IFC)
What it is: Beloved British collaborators David Mitchell and Robert Webb (Peep Show) reunite on Simon Blackwell’s Back as estranged foster brothers Stephen and Andrew who themselves are reunited after the death of their father — for better or worse.
Why you should watch it: As the birthson of the deceased, Stephen, Mitchell plays a perfect increasingly tense straight-man to Webb’s Andrew, the long-forgotten foster brother who returns out of the blue to reconnect. It doesn’t help, either, that the two are placed at odds while taking over the family business. But for the most part, it’s just a great joy to see the two performers riffing off of each other with pitch-black comedic scripts from the acclaimed Blackwell (Veep, In the Loop) after a four-year hiatus. Season 2 premieres March 31 on IFC.
Where to watch: Amazon, Google Play, Vudu
Commitment: Approx. 2.5 hours (for the first season)
Thumbnail image: The CW; NBC; Eric Ogden/Showtime
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They’ve been a long time coming, but Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan are reaching the climax with Fifty Shades Freed, opening wide this Friday. And if history is any indication (Grey and Darker are 25% and 10% respectively on the Tomatometer), Freed won’t be hitting the spot with critics, prompting this week’s gallery of the most Rotten movie trilogies ever.
