Every month offers a variety of intriguing new shows and returning favorites. And then there’s this February, which sees everything from the long-awaited return of Bob Odenkirk’s shifty lawyer Saul Goodman to Al Pacino tracking down Nazis in ’70s New York. There’s also a documentary about a long-running fast-food scam, an animated series starring Amy Poehler, and a Netflix series about a psychic teen. Here are your best TV/streaming bets for February.
Babylon Berlin, Season 3 (Netflix, Feb. 28)
It’s been a while since we’ve had a chance to visit the decadent, dangerous Weimar Era world of this cult-TV hit, which premiered on Netflix in 2018 after becoming a sensation in Germany. The first two seasons adapted the first of Volker Kutscher’s mysteries featuring a police inspector struggling with addiction and PTSD and a flapper who aspires to be a detective. Now, Round Three draws on Kutscher’s second novel, The Silent Death, whose title alone suggests life won’t be any less perilous for our heroes.
Better Call Saul, Season 5 (AMC, Feb. 23)
The Breaking Bad spin-off launches its fifth, and penultimate, season — which means we’re getting the beginning of the end. (Or the beginning of the middle of the end, if you try to sync this up to its sister show’s…oh, never mind.) Jimmy finally adopted the Saul Goodman name at the end of last season, and he now seems intent on plunging as deep into the Albuquerque underworld as that name and his increasingly shady reputation will take him. Speaking of Breaking Bad: Both Dean Norris and Steven Gomez are set to appear this season as the loop between Saul and the mothership series draws even tighter.
Briarpatch (USA, Feb. 6)
What’s going on in the evocatively named Texas burg of Saint Disgrace, where crime and corruption run rampant and zoo animals roam free? That’s the overarching question that returning native Allegra Dill (Rosario Dawson) has to answer when she comes back to her hometown to solve the murder of her sister. Developed by former TV critic Andy Greenwald and executive produced by Mr. Robot‘s Sam Esmail, this intriguing new series adopts a 1984 mystery by esteemed crime novelist Ross Thomas. It co-stars Jay R. Ferguson (Mad Men) and Kim Dickens (Deadwood, Fear the Walking Dead); if its trailer is any indication, this might quickly become the sweatiest show on television.
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Duncanville (Fox, Feb. 16)
Sure, mainstays like The Simpsons, The Family Guy, and Bob’s Burgers continue to enjoy long runs, but it’s been a minute since network TV has had a new animated hit. This co-creation of Amy Poehler and Simpsons vet Mike Scully, however, could turn things around. Poehler supplies the voice of Duncan, a 15-year-old kid whose experiencing the trials and tribulations of suburban teenhood, and his mom. Modern Family‘s Ty Burrell is Duncan’s dad; Garfunkel & Oates singer/comedian Riki Lindhome is his disaffected misfit sister.
High Fidelity (Hulu, Feb. 14)
Stephen Frears’ 2000 film proved that Nick Hornby’s novel about the disastrous love life of an opinionated, list-making London record store owner could make the move to Chicago. But can the same story work in the streaming era, when fewer and fewer make regular trips to the record store? How about with a female protagonist? This update finds Zoë Kravitz standing behind the counter, dispensing music recommendations and pondering heartbreak in a Brooklyn record store. David H. Holmes and Da’Vine Joy Randolph are the comic-relief sidekicks; Jake Lacy and Kingsley Ben-Adir are the romantic interests.
Hunters (Prime. Feb. 21)
If a Jordan Peele-produced show about Nazi hunters in late-’70s New York already has you interested, wait until you hear the cast of this series from newcomer David Weil. In his first starring TV role, Al Pacino heads an ensemble that includes everyone from Logan Lerman to Carol Kane, Saul Rubinek, Josh Radnor, Jeannie Berlin, and Lena Olin. Prime subscribers haven’t had a chance to see Nazis get their just desserts since The Man in the High Castle wound down its run last fall. This series looks likely to scratch that particular itch.
I Am Not Okay With This (Netflix, Feb. 28)
Comics creator Charles Forsman had good luck working with Jonathan Entwistle to adapt his graphic novel The End of the F–ing World for Netflix. So he apparently decided to let the streaming service and the producer, working with co-creator Christy Hall, have a crack at another of his books. This YA series stars It‘s Sophia Lillis as Sydney, a 15-year-old girl who has to deal with the usual high-school age problems — oh, and also a budding telekinetic ability. Will she ultimately be okay with this? Is this going to turn into Carrie Redux? You’ll have to tune in to find out.
Locke & Key (Netflix, Feb. 7)
Fans of writer Joe Hill and artist Gabriel Rodriguez’s cult horror hit — it’s your turn to see your beloved series turned into a potential hit TV show. The Locke kids — Bode, Tyler, and Kinsey Locke — have to move them back to their father’s creepy old mansion after his murder at the hands of a disturbed student. Once there, they start to discover a set of keys with mysterious powers. Then things get weird. Really weird.
McMillion$ (HBO, Feb. 3)
If you never had much luck playing McDonald’s popular Monopoly contests in the Clinton era, there might be a reason: Criminals had found a way to hoard all the best prize pieces for themselves. This six-part documentary, which recently premiered to rave reviews at Sundance, tells the twisty story of a long-running scheme that only started to unravel when the FBI received an anonymous tip. You say you love fast food and true-crime tales? Go collect $500 and proceed directly to Park Place.
Year of the Rabbit (IFC, Feb. 19)
Mysteries are abound in London, 1887 — and only a mismatched team can solve them. Specifically, the trio of jaded Detective Inspector Eli Rabbit (Matt Berry of What We Do in the Shadows), fresh-faced partner Wilbur Strauss (Freddie Fox), and Sergeant Mabel Wisbech (Susan Wokoma), a woman trying to make a name for herself on the sexist London police force. The latest from Kevin Cecil and Andy Riley, whose credits stretching back to ’90s and include stints working on Veep and Little Britain, already earned strong reviews when it aired on Britain’s Channel 4 last year. It may be the closest to a comedy sure thing this February has to offer.
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