February may be brief, but the streaming is bright. And that’s just the returning favourites: Gen X teen icon Anthony Michael Hall joins the third season of Reacher (Feb. 20 on Prime) and HBO’s Emmy-winning whodunit The White Lotus (Feb. 16 on Crave) takes viewers to Thailand. Arrow alum Stephen Amell joins original cast member Gabriel Macht out west on the (sadly, duchess-free) spinoff Suits: L.A. (Feb. 23 on CTV & Crave), while EastEnders’ Don Gilet lands on tropical Saint Marie as Death in Paradise’s new head detective (Feb. 19 on BritBox). Also returning for a third twisty season is the mind-bending dual timelineYellowjackets (Feb.14 on Crave/Paramount+), with Oscar winner Hilary Swank in a guest role.
Personally, I’ll be tuning in to the BBC’s acclaimed dark Welsh comedy Tree on a Hill (BritBox, Feb. 4) to see if it can fill the Detectorist-shaped void in my streaming life.
Still, don’t let returning favourites crowd out the best new scripted series’. The year’s shortest month packs a punch with these five new streaming series.
Clean Slate
This heartwarming comedy was among the last projects produced by the legendary Norman Lear, of All in the Family, Maude and more, who died in 2023 (Zoomer paid tribute to his legacy here). Even at the age of 101 he was working on a vehicle for Laverne Cox (52, Orange is the New Black), who stars as Desirée, a trans woman who returns to her small Alabama hometown to live with estranged outspoken traditional father (comedian George Wallace, 72) after her New York art gallery goes out of business. In signature Lear fashion, the series tackles progressive social issues with humour to address complex subjects with understanding that brings people together.
Where to Watch: Streaming on Prime Video starting Feb. 6 (8 episodes)
A Cruel Love
In 1955, 28-year-old club manager Ruth Ellis was found guilty of the premeditated murder of her abusive lover, racing driver David Blakely, and sentenced to death. She was the last woman to be hanged in Britain. This true crime miniseries exposes how classism and sexism contributed to her conviction. We follow lead Lucy Boynton (31, Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?) into the seedy glamour of London as this portrait of the era explores how the tragedy of childhood abuse shaped her relationships, and public disapproval influenced the notorious court case that gripped the nation.
Where to Watch: Streaming on BritBox starting Feb. 17 (4 episodes)
Zero Day
“This will happen again” is the message displayed on every smartphone in America after a devastating widespread cyber attack that comes to be known as Zero Day. The former U.S. president brought out of retirement to head a commission and hunt down the culprits is none other than Academy Award-winning icon Robert De Niro, 81. As he investigates political conspiracy, he’s flanked by the formidable Angela Bassett (66) and Joan Allen (68) — seriously, is there a favourite actor who isn’t in this? Matthew Modine (65), Dan Stevens (42) and Jesse Plemons (36) round out the thriller’s heavyweight cast. Noah Oppenheim produces together with Narcos and Children of Men producer Eric Newman; expect thought-provoking analysis of where society is headed. Is the threat of another attack merely an excuse to trample citizen’s rights permanently for financial gain? Civil liberties hang in the balance in this limited series that raises thorny and, sadly, all too timely questions about future freedom.
Where to Watch: Streaming on Netflix starting Feb. 20 (6 episodes)
A Thousand Blows
The creator of Peaky Blinders is back with another gripping period drama, this time set in the underground world of illegal bare-knuckle boxing in 1880s London. The premise of two friends and aspiring boxers (Malachi Kirby, 35, and Francis Lovehall, 35) on the run from Jamaica in Victorian England is inspired by true histories of immigration and survival in the East End. Erin Doherty, 32, last seen as Princess Anne in The Crown, is Mary Carr, leader of female gang The Forty Elephants (based on a real group that operated until the 1950s). They face off against syndicate boss Sugar Goodson (Stephen Graham of Boardwalk Empire, 51). The showrunner has a way with ferocious matriarchs (consider the late Helen McCrory’s unforgettable Polly in Peaky) so it’s sure to be a knockout.
Where to Watch: Streaming on Disney+ starting Feb. 21 (6 episodes)
Small Achievable Goals
Two of Baroness von Sketch Show’s sublime wits — Jennifer Whalen and Meredith MacNeill, 49, – created and star in this CBC Original comedy about menopause and middle age. Trust them to mine the physical indignities of hormonal misadventures for truth and hilarity as they play two diametrically different women thrown together to produce a podcast.
Where to Watch: Streaming on CBC Gem and CBC starting Feb. 25 (8 episodes)
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