Streaming Guide – March 2023

Season 2 of Shadow and Bone arrives on Netflix this month while Prime Video will stream the concluding episodes of Carnival Row. Meanwhile, Apple TV+ is redefining retrofuturism with its sci-fi series Hello Tomorrow! And Hulu has a couple of treats in store: History of the World, Part II and a new mini-series based on Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations.

Our monthly streaming guides focus on titles arriving each month on the major streaming services. See “Our Ultimate Streaming Guide” for a more comprehensive look at steampunk-related movies and series on these services.

Unless otherwise noted, these productions debut on March 1. We can only confirm new arrivals in the U.S., but some titles may also be available on these streaming services in other countries.

Apple TV+

We don’t typically include Apple TV+ in our roundups, which is why the new sci-fi series Hello Tomorrow! nearly slipped under our radar. As we’ve reported, the series is set in a retrofuturistic world that resembles the 1950s, but with robots, space travel, video phones, and other futuristic technologies.

The story involves a group of travelling salespeople, led by Jack Billings (Billy Crudup), who try to sell the dream of middle-class living on the Moon.

The series premiered on Feb. 17 and will continue with weekly episodes each Friday through April 7.

Disney+

The big news on Disney+ this month is the Season 3 premiere of The Mandalorian, the Star Wars spinoff about a space-traveling bounty hunter and his sidekick Grogu, otherwise known as “Baby Yoda.” The new season will take the title character back to his home world Mandalore.

Episode 1 will stream on Wednesday, March 1, followed by seven more that will stream weekly through April 19.

It’s not steampunk, of course, but many steampunk fans have drawn on the Mandalorian and other Star Wars characters as inspirations for cosplay mashups.

HBO Max

Perry Mason (Season 2) – This is on the fringes in terms of steampunk interest, but may have appeal given that it places the iconic criminal defense attorney in 1930s Los Angeles instead of his more familiar TV setting in the 1950s and 1960s. In most of Season 1, Perry Mason isn’t even a lawyer, but a down-on-his-luck private detective investigating a child kidnapping that’s drawn sensational headlines.

Season 2 puts Mason and his associates on a case involving a powerful oil family. Matthew Rhys has the lead role along with Juliet Rylance as Della Street and Chris Chalk as Paul Drake. It begins streaming on March 6.

The series is co-produced by Team Downey, the company led by Robert Downey Jr. and his wife Susan. Downey has expressed an interest developing TV spin-offs of Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes movies, in which Downey portrayed the Great Detective.

More info: Wikipedia | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes

Titles leaving at the end of the month include Martin Scorsese’s Hugo (2011), the 1956 adaptation of Around the World In 80 Days, and the first two Ghostbusters movies.

Hulu

History of the World, Part II – Mel Brooks is back (at age 96!) with a follow-up to his 1981 movie. This time, he’s serving as a writer and executive producer for an eight-episode sketch comedy series that lampoons historical events including the Civil War, the Russian Revolution, and the invention of the telephone.

It features an all-star cast of actors and comedians, including Wanda Sykes, Sarah Silverman, Jack Black, Taika Waititi, Seth Rogen, Danny DeVito, David Duchovny, Kumail Nanjiani, Zazie Beetz, and Josh Gad.

The series will run for four consecutive nights from March 6 through March 9, with two episodes each night. Early reviews are mostly positive.

More info: IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes

Great Expectations – This mini-series adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic stars Fionn Whitehead as Pip and Olivia Colman as Miss Havisham. It’s written and produced by Steven Knight, best known as the creator of Peaky Blinders. A joint production between the BBC and FX, it will air in the UK on BBC and stream in the U.S. exclusively on Hulu.

The series premieres March 26 on Hulu with two episodes, followed by four weekly installments through April 23. The BBC has not yet announced an air date for UK viewers.

More info: Wikipedia | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes

Also arriving in March: Guillermo del Toro’s Oscar-winning sci-fi drama The Shape of Water.

Titles leaving Hulu at month’s end include The Prestige (2006), The Mummy (1999), The Mummy Returns (2001), The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor (2008), and Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy starring Tobey Maguire as the superhero.

Netflix

Shadow and Bone (Season 2) – The fantasy series, based on Leigh Bardugo’s bestselling Grisha trilogy, returns with a new eight-episode season on March 16. Netflix is promising “more friendships, new romance, bigger battles, epic adventures — and a shocking family secret that could shatter everything.”

Whereas Season 1 drew from the eponymous first book in the trilogy, the new season is adapted from the second book, Siege and Storm. The series also features elements inspired by the Six of Crows duology, a pair of novels set in the same “Grishaverse.”

Bardugo has described the series as “Tsarpunk,” meaning “fantasy that takes its inspiration from the aesthetics, culture, politics, and social structure of early 19th century Russia.”

More info: Website | Wikipedia | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes

Peacock

March is “In Case You Missed It Month” on NBCUniversal’s streaming service as several movies of interest to steampunk fans are returning. Cowboys & Aliens (2011), starring Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford, pits occupants of a New Mexico town against an alien invasion in 1873.

In the gothic horror film Van Helsing (2004), Hugh Jackman stars as a monster hunter in late 19th century Europe. He’s armed with weapons that include a steam-powered crossbow.

Peacock is also streaming the complete Back to The Future trilogy along with Shaun of the Dead, the 2004 zombie comedy starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost.

Prime Video

Amazon’s streaming service has no major arrivals of steampunk interest, which is fine because you can still catch weekly episodes of Carnival Row, now in its second and final season. The series has drawn mixed reviews, but it’s become a favorite among many steampunk fans with its combination of fantasy elements and Victorian-era styling.

The 10-episode season began streaming on Feb. 17 with two episodes, followed by two more on Feb. 24.

Prime Video will continue streaming two episodes each week on Fridays through the series conclusion on March 17.