February is keeping things chill(y) in the streaming TV realm. Although we won’t see the return of these much anticipated shows until March, this month isn’t doing so shabby, either. For one thing, everyone’s favorite triumphant DC supervillainess (Kaley Cuoco in Harley Quinn) will return for her version of romance. Last month’s new shows will keep cranking, as well, but expect the twisted-love theme to return with You, in which Penn Badgley’s Stalker Joe has encountered a turning of the tables in London.
If you aren’t down for anything resembling a love story, you’re also in luck. The Party Down revival will soon stumble into view while the Fresh Prince reboot takes a further swagger down a darker path. There’s much more, including Fae Folk, Kooks and Pogues, voyages into outer space, and a final, explosive chapter for the origin story of crack cocaine. Here are the must-see shows for February 2023.
Murder in Big Horn (Showtime series streaming 2/5)
Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon may be running far behind the original schedule, but this series adopts the same somber theme. This three-part docuseries charts the longstanding epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women in Big Horn County, Montana. Through in-depth interviews of Native families and local law enforcement, Native journalists persist in seeking enough information to secure a rare arrest in these cases. What emerges is a powerful and stirring portrait of communities that hopes to heal long-lasted wounds of grieving families, who have been attempting to seek the truth for centuries on end.
You: Season 4 Part 1 (Netflix series streaming 2/9)
Joe Goldberg has another new name, and he’s moved to London. More news: the stalker is the one being stalked. Joe also has a new beard, but someone’s still onto him, but most importantly for his purposes, he’s vowed to finally change his ways, but books are still there for him. He’s now Jonathan Moore, a fake professor, who’s staring into the souls of college students and the adults who can’t quit academia, either. Penn Badgley has admitted to to feeling “icky” about a Season 4 poster, which still fits with the theme of the show, but now, it’s also a mystery story.
Harley Quinn: A Very Problematic Valentine’s Day Special (HBO Max episode streaming 2/9)
Amid the ongoing content exodus at HBO Max, there’s a reason why this DC Comics-adapting series is still making the cut. If you haven’t yet had the pleasure of enjoying this show’s free-wheeling take on supervillains and henchmen, it’s time to get caught up. Even if you haven’t seen the preceding seasons, though, this free-standing Valentine’s episode should be enjoyable enough upon its own merits. Who could ever be upset to see Harley freaking out over enjoying this first Hallmark holiday with Ivy? Also, poor Bane must endure a romantic disaster.
Star Trek: Picard: Season 3 (Paramount+ series streaming 2/16)
Sir Patrick Stewart’s most iconic character (yes, including X-Men) heads into his final season in the 25th century. This show provides a bounty of happiness for Star Trek: The Next Generation viewers, given that many fan-favorite characters are all onboard, along with Seven of Nine from Star Trek: Voyager. This season will see Picard deal with the threat of Captain Vadic, and it’s something to behold that this particular era of the franchise has now carried on for over 25 years. The “final frontier” keeps on kicking.
Carnival Row: Season 2 (Amazon series streaming 2/17)
Fantasy fans have plenty of other options to choose from (including Amazon’s Lord of the Rings as well as Netflix’s The Sandman and HBO’s House of the Dragon) these days, but that hasn’t prevented disappointment that this steampunk-inspired vision won’t carry on much longer. This second and final season follows Orlando Bloom’s ex-inspector digging into a series of suspicious deaths. Cara Delevingne’s character wants some payback, and the revolution against the Fae Folk’s Human oppressors has been ignited while everyone must choose sides. Oh, and there’s some conspiracy stuff and a love aspect, not necessarily in that order.
Snowfall: Season 6 (FX series returning 2/22)
“When your empire is threatened, the gloves come off,” as FX reveals with the John Singleton-created series preparing to bring a familial civil war to a shattering conclusion. In other words, this is how rock cocaine (and the CIA) destroyed a community. The show picks up in 1986, and Franklin attempts to pick up the pieces after the CIA put him out of business. One family member has undercut another, and another empire shall rise. In the process, Franklin could fully lose his family, and that’s only if he survives outsmarting the LAPD’s militarized incarnation along with a couple of federal agencies. Whew.
Outer Banks: Season 3 (Netflix series streaming 2/23)
This soapy mystery thriller will keep the battle going between the Kooks and the Pogues. This season, the latter group aims to visit the Caribbean for new adventures, but of course, that leads to diversions into other locations while everyone searches for a lost city. This was perhaps an inevitable although thoroughly delicious development.
Bel-Air: Season 2 (Peacock series streaming 2/23)
Those roughed-up Philly streets haven’t left Will’s psyche as easy as with his 1990s counterpart, even as Will shifts into a different gear with a new role model. The show grew dark during the first season by diving deeper than a 30-minute sitcom could ever do, even while accounting for the differences in tone. Jabari Banks returns as Will with Adrian Holmes as Uncle Phil and Cassandra Freeman as Aunt Viv. Also, rapper Saweetie will will surface for a cameo, and Olly Sholotan returns as Carlton, who will not be doing dance popularized by Alfonso Ribeiro’s version.
The Consultant (Amazon series streaming 2/24)
Most Terrifying Man In The World Christoph Waltz helms this darkly comedic thriller as a (you guessed it) consultant whose business recommendations are anything but typical, not to mention anything but benevolent. He’s also got a strange habit, as revealed in the above teaser, of smelling people to size them up. Run, everyone!
Party Down: Season 3 (Starz series streaming 2/24)
Adam Scott returns to bartend up an unenthused storm alongside a ton of original series regulars including Jane Lynch, Ken Marino, Martin Starr, and Ryan Hansen. Together, they’ll tackle all the Bar Mitzvahs fit for shaking. Why are they still doing this? Well, that’s part of the mystery, but it’s a catering-team comeback with new additions including James Marsden, Quinta Brunson, Nick Offerman, Bobby Moynihan, and Jennifer Garner. Actually, the sole missing ingredient here appears to be Lizzy Caplan, who’s been busy in Fleishman Is In Trouble-land.