“Billions”
What You Need to Know: A sleeper hit of sorts, the Showtime series “Billions” has lined up a rather loyal fanbase who swear by the Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis-led show. According to those fans, the only reason to possibly not love this series is if you haven’t watched it yet. Now in its fourth season, we’re once again paired with Giamatti and Lewis’s characters as they chase wealth and power before running into a new threat. We even named it one of the best shows of 2018, saying “…it remains the best plotted and paced drama on TV right now, and one that seems to have a bottomless well of fascinating characters to introduce…”
Release Date: Season 4 premieres March 17 on Showtime
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LK06SXKPQ-c
“Jane the Virgin”
What You Need To Know: The show that turned talented actress Gina Rodrigez into a household name will begin its final season this month on The CW. At a Television Critics Association panel last month, series helmer Jennie Snyder Urman tearfully expressed her goal for the final season, “I want to say goodbye in the right way.” Being one of the many CW shows that are female-led (both in front and behind the camera), the show broke boundaries and established a loyal following over its five years on the air. Rodriguez, who got the chance to direct an episode in Season 4, will return to the director’s chair this season. In an effort not to skimp out on surprises this season, television star Sophia Bush (“One Tree Hill” and “Chicago P.D.”) will be taking on a guest role. While goodbyes are bittersweet, “Jane the Virgin” has undoubtedly left its mark on the television landscape, so much so that a spin-off series is in the works, called “Jane The Novelas” in which Rodriguez will hold the dual role of executive producer and series narrator.
Release Date: Season 5 premiere will air on March 27 on The CW
“What We Do In The Shadows”
What You Need To Know: The television adaptation of the cult favorite by the same name featuring the talents of Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi, who starred in and directed. The film is one of the most unique comedies in recent years. Filmed as a mockumentary, the film follows a group of vampires living their daily (or nightly) lives in Wellington, New Zealand. The same happens in the series except they happily reside in Staten Island, New York. Waititi and Clement are rightfully the creative force behind the project, with Clement serving as writer and Waititi serving as producer, director, and writer. Premiering on FX this month, the series stars Matt Berry, Natasha Demetriou, and Kayvan Novak.
Release Date: Season 1 premieres on March 27 on FX
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyZi3rJPENs
“Hanna”
What You Need To Know: This Amazon Prime series, similar to “What We Do In The Shadows,” is also based on a film of the same name. However, “Hanna” starred a young Saoirse Ronan alongside Eric Bana (currently appearing in Bravo series “Dirty John”) and Cate Blanchett. Just as in the film, little Hanna is saved from a mysterious facility in Romania by her father Erik, now played by Joel Kinnaman and raised in the Polish wilderness. There she’s trained as a highly skilled assassin and with the help of her father tries to evade a CIA agent hellbent on tracking her down. Amazon’s latest suspense thriller stars relative newcomer Esme Creed-Miles who takes on the coveted title role of Hanna with Kinnaman’s former costar in “The Killing,” Mireille Enos, playing the CIA agent relentlessly perusing her.
Release Date: All eight episodes will be released on Amazon Prime on March 29
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v75RmNuZgTs
“Veep”
What You Need To Know: The final season of HBO’s beloved presidential comedy “Veep” will also be its shortest, with only seven episodes. In early 2018, production on the final season was delayed as a result of comedy icon Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ breast cancer diagnosis. Not long after her surgery though, she was back in action and “ready to rock” on the Season 7 set. While fans may lament the show’s end, there is no doubt the series, that won Louis-Dreyfus an Emmy award every year since 2012, will be its best yet. Selina Meyer once more does what’s best for Americans by embarking on her most challenging campaign run yet. Tune into the show this spring to see how it all turns out.
Release Date: Season 7 premieres March 31st on HBO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EadSyNe1sEo
“Barry”
What You Need to Know: For anyone who has followed the trajectory of Bill Hader’s career, there was little surprise in just how subversive his HBO series “Barry” is. Cruising along with a dark and twisted sense of humor and muted devastation, the series was a tremendous showcase for its leading actor, paving the way to a new era of his career. Hader and supporting actor Henry Winkler went on to win at the 2018 Emmy’s for their work and if the bleak ending of season one is anything to go by, there are plenty more areas of the morbidly bizarre to explore in season two.
Release Date: Season 2 premieres March 31st on HBO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ir1_hjemxNA
