Local addicts, Yellowstone expands and Louis Theroux mans up: March’s best TV

In his disarmingly polite way, the acclaimed documentarian enters the toxic hellhole of the manosphere to expose the people pushing this misogynistic movement to men and teenage boys around the world.

Talking to GQ, Theroux likened making this doco to facing “the final boss,” which, given the subjects found in his filmography, shows just how problematic the men he encounters here are.

Discovering that “racism, antisemitism, misogyny, homophobia, porn, human trafficking — they’re all folded in”, this promises to be an unsettling, horrifically eye-opening watch.

Watch: Netflix

When: From 11 March

This local dark dramedy is based on the experiences that creator, writer, and star Holly Shervey encountered when she checked into a psychiatric care clinic in 2010. The series follows Frankie, a 20-something who is sentenced to rehab after accidentally burning down her sister’s house while high and drunk.

With its kinetic direction and raw, lived-in script, Crackhead expertly balances harrowing emotion with pitch-black humour. It’s a potent dose of television that leaves you constantly wanting more.

Watch: Three & ThreeNow

When: Mid-March.

The ‘Sheridanverse’ expands this month with two new entries from Yellowstone’s uber-TV producer, Taylor Sheridan. The first is Marshals, a direct Yellowstone spin-off following the fan favourite character Kayce Dutton as he joins an elite unit of US Marshals and struggles with work-life balance and the high psychological costs of his job.

The second sounds more interesting. It sees screen greats Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell packing up their family and leaving New York for the sweeping vistas of Montana after a life-shattering tragedy. Described as “powerful, emotional” viewing, its leads could lasso new viewers into Yellowstone’s sphere.

Watch: Neon

When: Marshals, Monday 2 March, The Madison, Sunday 15 March.

We all know you can’t eat ghost chips, but can you find ghost elephants? That’s the question the acclaimed filmmaker and poetic miserablist Werner Herzog hopes to answer as he tags along with a conservation biologist into the highlands of Angola.

The pair is searching for legend, a new species of African elephants that’s been spoken of for generations but never actually sighted by humans.

Watch: Disney+

When: Sunday 8 March

Nicole Kidman stars as forensic pathologist D. Kay Scarpetta in this big-budget adaptation of Patricia Cornwell’s bestselling crime novels.

The show sees Scarpetta using modern forensic tools and her psychological training to investigate a serial killer terrorising her old hometown.

Things take a personal twist when she begins to suspect the killer may feature prominently in her past, allowing the show to divide into dual timelines as it keeps viewers on the edge of their seats and guessing whodunnit.

Watch: Prime Video

When: Wednesday, 11 March

A big happy birthday to this iconic celebration of rural life that now cements itself as one of the longest-running shows on the telly.

The show debuted in 1966, seven years before colour TV’s arrived in Aotearoa, and has been running strong since. Its tales of kiwi life and documentation of the heartland have never lost relevance in its six decades of storytelling.

The 60th celebration features all-new episodes and will also highlight some classics from the archives.

Now, when’s A Dog’s Show coming back?

Watch: TVNZ 1

When: Friday, 6 March

Steve Carell’s crime novelist visits his daughter at an elite college and finds himself embroiled in a plot straight out of one of his books.

Watch: Neon

When: Monday, 9 March

Aoteroa’s top athletes, celebrities and household names come together in this special event to compete in a series of track and field events.

The sportsfolk will be competing for New Zealand titles, while everyone else competes for bragging rights and our entertainment.

Watch: TVNZ 1

When: Saturday, 7 March

The big mystery of this coming-of-age thriller series focusing on a 19-year-old Sherlock Holmes is whether director Guy Ritchie has given the popular consulting detective a geezer makeover.

Watch: Prime Video

When: Wednesday, 4 March

Karl Puschmann is an arts and entertainment journalist, and also runs Screen Crack, a popular Substack dedicated to deep-diving into film and television. screencrack.substack.com.