Best international series on Showmax this March, from Succession S4 to The Last of Us

SUCCESSION S4 | First On Showmax | Mondays from 27 March 2023

Created by Oscar nominee Jesse Armstrong (Veep), Succession is the 70th highest-rated show of all time on IMDb, with a 94% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s won 13 Emmys already, including Outstanding Drama Series in 2020 and 2022.

In Season 4 of HBO’s smash hit series, the sale of Waystar Royco to tech visionary Lukas Matsson (Emmy winner Alexander Skarsgård from Big Little Lies) is looming ever closer. It’s a prospect that provokes existential angst and familial division among the Roys as they anticipate their diminished cultural and political influence once the deal is completed.

Matthew Macfadyen and Jeremy Strong return to their Emmy-winning roles as Tom Wambsgans and Kendall Roy respectively this season, alongside Brian Cox as Logan Roy, Sarah Snook and Kieran Culkin as Roy siblings Shiv and Roman, Nicholas Braun as Greg Hirsch, and J Smith-Cameron as Gerri Kellman – all Emmy-nominated performances.

New faces this season include Screen Actors Guild nominees Annabeth Gish (Midnight Mass) and Adam Godley (The Great), Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson (Vikings: Valhalla) and Berlin EFP Shooting Star winner Eili Harboe (Thelma).

THE LAST OF US S1 | Binge episodes 1-7 now, with new episodes on Mondays at 10pm. Binge all episodes from 20 March 2022

The Last of Us is now the 18th highest-rated TV show of all time on IMDb – behind only Chernobyl if you look at dramas from the past five years. It’s also the most popular title in the world on IMDb right now.

The breakout HBO hit is set 20 years after modern civilisation has been destroyed. Joel is hired to smuggle 14-year-old Ellie out of an oppressive quarantine zone. But what starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal journey as the pair cross the US, depending on each other for survival.

As Joel and Ellie, Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian, Game of Thrones) and Bella Ramsey (His Dark Materials, Game of Thrones) are currently the two highest ranked actors on IMDb’s Starmeter.

Co-created by Emmy winner Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) and game creator Neil Druckmann, The Last of Us’s cast also includes Emmy winner Murray Bartlett (The White Lotus), Critics Choice winner Melanie Lynskey (Yellowjackets) and Teen Choice nominee Storm Reid (Euphoria).

The Last of Us has a 97% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with Empire proclaiming it “a masterpiece” and The Guardian giving it five stars and hailing it as “one of the finest TV shows you will see this year… Desperately moving… A phenomenal blend of horror and heart, with a cast that could not be more perfect.”

Unsurprisingly, HBO has already ordered Season 2.

CHUCKY S2 | First on Showmax | Binge from 10 March 2023

Wanna … PRAY?

Chucky is coming for the clergy in Season 2 of the hit horror series, based on the killer doll’s three-decades-long cult film franchise.

After his diabolical plan to invade America’s children’s hospitals was foiled in Season 1, Chucky (Brad Dourif) now seeks revenge on those he holds responsible: surviving teens Jake (Zackary Arthur), Devon (Björgvin Arnarson) and Lexy (Alyvia Alyn Lind), along with his ex Tiffany (Oscar nominee Jennifer Tilly), now his sworn enemy. Meanwhile, can “Jevon” make it as a couple in the face of adversity at their new Catholic school, not to mention a brand-new onslaught of terror from the demon doll?

Up for Best Horror and Best Villain (Dourif) at the 2023 Critics Choice Super Awards, Chucky S2 has a 91% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with AVClub raving, “One of the best spooky shows on TV has stepped up its game.” It’s also nominated for a 2023 Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Series.

Season 3 has already been ordered.

THE ENGLISH | Binge from 6 March 2023

The Telegraph’s Best Series of 2022, The English stars BAFTA nominee Emily Blunt (A Quiet Place) as Cornelia Locke, an Englishwoman hell-bent on revenge. Her journey north intertwines with that of Eli Whipp (American Indian Film Festival Award winner Chaske Spencer from The Twilight Saga), a retired Pawnee cavalry scout out to claim the land he is owed for his service in the US army.

The miniseries has an 82% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with Empire calling it, “A massively ambitious and original take on the Western genre, confirming the extraordinary writing and directing skills of TV auteur Hugo Blick while showcasing one of Emily Blunt’s greatest performances yet.” Blunt was nominated for a 2023 Screen Actors Guild Award for the role.

Also look out for Oscar nominees Stephen Rea (Counterpart) and Ciarán Hinds (Belfast, Mance Rayder in Game of Thrones), Emmy nominee Rafe Spall (Life of Pi, The War of the Worlds), and SAFTA-nominated South African actor and comedian Cokey Falkow (The City and the City, Inside Man), who appears in episode 1.

THE GOOD FIGHT S6 | Binge from 17 March 2023

The sixth and final season of the Emmy-nominated legal drama The Good Fight finds Diane back on the associates’ floor and haunted by an uneasy sense of déjà vu, with everything from Roe v. Wade to voting rights and Cold War aggressions making a comeback. Meanwhile, Liz faces off with an ostentatious new name partner, and the lawyers of Reddick & Associates wonder if the increasing violence all around them could point to an impending civil war.

At the 2023 Critics Choice Awards, The Good Fight was up for Best Drama, Actress (Emmy winner Christine Baranski), Supporting Actress (Emmy winner Audra McDonald) and Supporting Actor (Emmy winner Andre Braugher, aka Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Captain Raymond Holt). It’s also up for a Writers Guild of America Award for Episodic Drama in March 2023.

Season 6 has a 94% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with Entertainment Weekly saying, “Good Fight is officially the weirdest normal show ever,” and praising its ability to “dramatise genuine chaos better than almost any TV show of our chaotic era.”

Look out for former Isidingo star Fikile Mthwalo in episode 7.

THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT S2 l Binge from 13 March 2023

In Season 2 of HBO Max’s smash hit The Flight Attendant, Cassie braves sobriety as she tries to clean up the hot mess she’s made of her life… while moonlighting as a CIA asset. But when an overseas assignment leads to her inadvertently witnessing a murder, the weird just gets weirder – and more dangerous – as she becomes entangled in a new intrigue.

People’s Choice Award winner Kaley Cuoco (Penny in The Big Bang Theory) was up for Best Actress In a Comedy Series at both the 2023 Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards, having also been nominated for an Emmy for both seasons.

Season 2 has an 85% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with Financial Times saying, “Cuoco’s Cassie remains a magnetic heroine forever on the precipice of calamity.”

Look out for Oscar nominee and Emmy winner Sharon Stone (Ratched, Basic Instinct) delivering an explosive guest performance as Cassie’s mom, Lisa Bowden.

QUANTUM LEAP S1 | First on Showmax | Binge from 24 March 2023

It’s time to remake history … with the revival of the cult-classic series Quantum Leap.

It’s been almost 30 years since Dr Sam Beckett stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator and vanished in the late-80s sci-fi series starring Scott Bakula, which ran for almost 100 episodes, winning six Emmys along the way.

Now, a new team, led by physicist Ben Song (Raymond Lee from Top Gun: Maverick), has been assembled to restart the project and try to unlock the mysteries behind the machine and the man who created it. But everything changes when Ben makes an unauthorised leap into the past…

Executive produced by original series creator Donald P Bellisario, the series also stars Black Reel nominee Ernie Hudson (Winston Zeddemore in the Ghostbusters movies and Warden Leo Glynn in Oz) and Mason Alexander Park (Gren in Cowboy Bebop, Desire in The Sandman), among others. Nigerian-American Chido Nwokocha plays Dr Felix Watts in episode 7: O Ye of Little Faith.

Quantum Leap has already been renewed for a second season.

THE CAPTURE S2 | Binge from 17 March 2023

Boasting a rare 100% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Season 2 of The Capture once again questions if we can really believe what we see.

Britain is under siege: hacked news feeds, manipulated media, and interference in politics. Entrenched in the UK’s own ‘Correction’ unit, DCI Rachel Carey (Critics Choice Award nominee Holliday Grainger) finds herself in the middle of a new conspiracy – with a new target. But how can she solve this case when she can’t even trust her closest colleagues?

Emmy and BAFTA nominee Paapa Essiedu (I May Destroy You, Gangs of London) joins the cast as Isaac Turner, a young MP with ambitions for the very top.

Escalating from the CCTV thriller of Season 1, the six-part season features “invisible” assassins, the terrifying rise of deepfake technology, the ever-growing tension between government and Big Tech, and corruption at the heart of the British media.

LEOPARD SKIN S1 | First on Showmax | Binge from 3 March 2023

Leopard Skin kicks off with a criminal gang taking shelter in the remote paradise of Playa Perdida, Mexico, following a botched jewellery heist. They take Alba, Batty and their guests hostage. But murderous secrets, coldhearted betrayals and shocking desires bubble to the surface as everyone awaits their fate.

Teen Choice nominee Carla Gugino (Gunpowder Milkshake, The Haunting of Hill House) reunites with series creator, writer and director Sebastian Gutierrez, who also penned her action series Jett.

Critics Choice winner Jeffrey Dean Morgan (The Walking Dead, The Good Wife) co-stars, along with Screen Actors Guild nominee Margot Bingham (Boardwalk Empire, The Walking Dead), multi-award-winner Nora Arnezeder (Mozart in the Jungle, Army of the Dead), and MTV Movie Awards, Mexico, winner Ana de la Reguera (Narcos).

MONARCH S1 | Binge from 20 March 2023

Monarch is an epic, multi-generational musical drama about the Romans, America’s “First Family” of country music. With the curtain set to come down for the reigning “Queen of Country”, Dottie Cantrell (Oscar winner Susan Sarandon from Ray Donovan and Thelma & Louise), the dynasty she has spent her life building is in jeopardy. Dottie’s daughter, Nicky (International Emmy winner Anna Friel from Marcella), will stop at nothing to protect her family’s legacy. It’s finally her turn. But is it too late?

Monarch’s cast includes Grammy-nominated country singer Trace Adkins, singer Beth Ditto (On Becoming a God in Central Florida), and MTV Movie Awards, Mexico winner Martha Higareda (Altered Carbon, Queen of the South). Dottie’s vocals are performed by country singer Mandy Barnett, with Sarandon’s real-life daughter, Young Artist Award winner Eva Amurri (Mothers and Daughters, Californication) playing the young Dottie. Also look out for guest appearances from the likes of Grammy winners Shania Twain, Tanya Tucker and Little Big Town, Grammy nominee Martina McBride, and hit singer-songwriter Caitlyn Smith.

Monarch is nominated for Best Music Supervision: Comedy or Musical at the 2023 Guild of Music Supervisor Awards, while AV Club says this “Texas-set musical-drama has all the makings of a hit: a sudsy premise, a star-studded cast, and a silky soundtrack composed of original tunes and country classics.”

SWIMMING WITH SHARKS | First on Showmax | Binge from 10 March 2023

Inspired by the 1994 film of the same name, the psychological drama Swimming with Sharks centres on Lou Simms, a young female assistant at Fountain Pictures, a Hollywood studio filled with monster bosses, manipulators, schemers and intrigue. Little do they know she is poised to outwit them all.

The series, which had its world premiere at SXSW, stars Teen Choice nominees Kiernan Shipka (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) and Diane Kruger (Inglourious Basterds), with the likes of Emmy winner Donald Sutherland (The Undoing) and Black Reel winner Erika Alexander (Shining Girls, Run the World) co-starring.

AIPT calls it, “sexy, shocking, can’t-miss television.”

ANNE BOLEYN S1 | Binge from 6 March 2023

Black Reel nominee Jodie Turner-Smith (Queen & Slim) stars in Anne Boleyn as the Queen of England and second wife of King Henry VIII, who confronts the patriarchy of Tudor England in the final months of her life.

Turner-Smith was nominated for an Image Award for Outstanding Actress for the role. As The Hollywood Reporter says, “There is one truly irresistible reason to watch Anne Boleyn, and her name is Jodie Turner-Smith.”

Directed by BAFTA winner Lynsey Miller (Deadwater Fell), the three-part historical series’ cast also includes the likes of Emmy nominee Paapa Essiedu (I May Destroy You, Gangs of London) and BAFTA Scotland nominee Mark Stanley (The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe).

THE CLEANING LADY S2 | Binge episodes 1-6 now, with new episodes on Thursdays.

Crime drama The Cleaning Lady follows a whip-smart Cambodian doctor (Elodie Yung from The Hitman’s Bodyguard and The Defenders), who comes to the US for medical treatment to save her son. When the system fails and pushes her into hiding, she becomes a cleaner for the mob and starts playing the game by her own rules.

The Cleaning Lady won the 2022 Women’s Image Network Award for Drama Series and was nominated for a 2022 Hollywood Critics Association Television Award for Best Broadcast Network Series: Drama. The series has been compared to Breaking Bad, with Paste saying, “The Cleaning Lady is a fast-paced portrayal of a woman pushed to the edge and forced to contend with hard decisions for the wellbeing of her family… Yung’s central performance is filled with warmth, determination, and grit.”

Adan Canto (Designated Survivor) and Teen Choice Award winner Oliver Hudson (Nashville) return, with Emmy nominee Naveen Andrews (The Dropout, Lost) joining the cast this season.

Based on the Argentine series La Chica que Limpia, the Warners Bros. Television production has already been renewed for a third season by Fox.

EAST NEW YORK S1 | First on Showmax | Binge eps 1-3 now, with new episodes on Thursdays

East New York follows recently promoted police captain Regina Haywood, who leads a diverse group of officers and detectives, some of whom are hesitant to deploy her creative methods of serving and protecting.

Amanda Warren (NCIS: New Orleans) stars as Deputy Inspector Haywood, alongside the likes of Emmy winner Jimmy Smits (NYPD Blue) and Emmy nominee Ruben Santiago-Hudson (Castle), and Screen Actors Guild winners Kevin Rankin (Breaking Bad) and Elizabeth Rodriguez (Orange is the New Black).

Created by Emmy winner William M. Finkelstein (The Good Fight, NYPD Blue, Law & Order, L.A. Law) and Black Reel nominee Mike Flynn (Power Book III: Raising Kanan, Queen Sugar), East New York has an 88% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes. As Variety says, “​​East New York sets a new course for the broadcast cop drama.”

STREAM THE 2023 CRITICS CHOICE SUPER NOMINEES

The Critics Choice Super Awards, honouring the most popular, fan-obsessed genres across both television and movies, including Superhero, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Horror, and Action, are taking place on Thursday, 16 March 2023.

In addition to Chucky (above), nominees on Showmax include:

• Peacemaker, up for Best Superhero Series, Limited Series or TV Movie, as well as Best Actor and Actress in the category for John Cena and Danielle Brooks respectively
• House of the Dragon, up for Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Series, Limited Series or TV Movie, as well as Best Actress and Actor in the category for Milly Alcock and Matt Smith, who is also nominated as Best Villain
• Queen Latifah, up for Best Actress: Action for The Equalizer
• Chiwetel Ejiofor, up for Best Actor: Science Fiction/Fantasy for The Man Who Fell To Earth

STREAM THE SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARD WINNERS

The Screen Actors Guild Awards took place in late February 2023, with the Showmax favourite The White Lotus: Sicily taking home awards for Outstanding Performance by An Ensemble and Outstanding Performance By A Female Actor in a Drama Series (Jennifer Coolidge), and Hacks earning Jean Smart the Outstanding Performance By A Female Actor in A Comedy Series award for the second year in a row.