What are you going to be watching in February? The Spinoff rounds up everything that’s coming to streaming services this month, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, Neon, Acorn and TVNZ OnDemand.
The biggies
Men in Kilts (docu-series on Neon from February 15)
Outlander fans, rejoice. Two stars from the popular time-travelling drama – Sam Heughan and Graeme McTavish – take a lively road trip in this travel documentary series, throwing themselves into a variety of adventures in their quest to discover what it really means to be Scottish. They’re the tour guides every Outlander fan dreams of, with the two mates exploring the history and culture of Scotland and delivering plenty of gorgeous scenery and matey hijinks along the way. / Tara Ward
Firefly Lane (binge on Netflix from February 3)
Grab your tissues and your closest mates and happy-sob your way through Firefly Lane, Netflix’s sentimental new drama about the unbreakable bond between two best friends. Katherine Heigl (Grey’s, Suits) and Sarah Chalke (Scrubs) play Tully and Kate, two women whose platonic love story has lasted 30 years and survived many questionable life choices. Based on the novel by Kristen Hannah, Firefly Lane is a celebration of female friendship that is sure to fill the Virgin River/Sweet Magnolia-shaped hole in your heart. / TW
We Are Who We Are (binge on TVNZ on Demand from February 20)
Do you love Call Me By Your Name, but feel weird about the age gap and also the fact that it stars an (alleged) cannibal fetishist? Look no further than the new series from that film’s director, Luca Guadagnino. This series follows two American teenagers as they explore their ‘true identities’ while living on a military base in the seaside of Chioggia, Italy. Expect the sweaty, dew-dropped romanticism of Guadagnino with the heightened realism of Euphoria, but set in Italy. What better way to relive your teenage angst? / Sam Brooks
Search Party (season four on Neon from February 3)
Search Party is one of the most singular shows around right now – part mystery, part thriller, part acutely observed satire of shiftless and over-educated 30-something New Yorkers. It stars Arrested Development’s Alia Shawkat as Dory Sief, who is PA to a wealthy and horrible housewife and perhaps the only vaguely sympathetic character on the show. When an acquaintance of Sief’s goes missing, she throws herself into finding her, dragging her annoying and hilarious friends along with her. It’s very funny and has neck-snapping twists and is exactly the kind of series that has one brilliant season then vanishes into cult status. Thankfully it hasn’t happened, and emerges for a fourth season this month. / Duncan Greive
The notables
Diana: The Interview that Shocked the World (documentary on Neon from February 7)
Think you’ve had enough of Princess Diana? Think again. This 90-minute documentary looks at the impact of Diana’s infamous 1995 Panorama interview, where she dropped the truth bombs that there were three people in her marriage and that she’d never be queen. It was a big deal at the time, but what made Diana speak so candidly, and how do we view the interview 25 years later? Also, what made interviewer Martin Bashir want to do Celebrity X-Factor? We’ll never know the truth to the last question, but the others will be chewed over by royal insiders like Paul Burrell and Jennie Bond until the end of days. / TW
Rick and Morty (on TVNZ on Demand from February 1)
You have to be of a certain level of intelligence to really appreciate Rick and Morty. It’s a cartoon about one man with chronic belching disease, Rick, and his weirdly sexually active grandson, Morty, putting themselves in mortal peril over and over again until their family notices them. If you’re not in Mensa you probably won’t grasp the grief and beauty in showrunner Dan Harmon’s nihilistic, self-excoriating attempts at gaining incels’ pity, and will instead get only joy and laughter out of watching it. How horrible it must be to be well-adjusted. The best character is Jerry, and at long last the taxpayer has free access to him. / Josie Adams
Nadiya Bakes (docuseries on Netflix from February 12)
2021 is hereby the year of comfort food, and Nadiya Hussein’s new baking show is sure to feed the soul all the way through to 2022. The Great British Bake Off winner is hugely popular in the UK, thanks to her easy charm and sense of fun, and the eight-episode Nadiya Bakes is filled with more of her simple recipes and tasty treats. Pies! Cakes! Puddings! It’s all here, a true treat for both the eyes and the stomach, and a little bit of joy when we need it most. / TW
The Muppet Show (classic series on Disney+ from February 19)
You know what that is. It’s the Muppet Show, and it’s the classic series. None of this half-baked remake crap! So yes, you can finally watch this amazing sketch featuring Rita Moreno and Animal in HD. You’re welcome. / SB
The movies
Malcolm & Marie (on Netflix from February 5)
Oof, this film has had an interesting trajectory. It first hit headlines as the first “major film” to be shot during quarantine, coming from “visionary” Euphoria creator Sam Levinson, starring Zendaya and John David Washington. The first responses were kind and rapturous, although notably from influencers and fan types, but when the critic’s reviews came, they were savage. The concept – a film director who hates his critics, and his long-suffering wife who hates her husband just as much – hasn’t gone down well. The gist seems to be: come for Zendaya, leave the rest of the film at home. And honestly? I’m fine with that. / SB
News of the World (on Netflix from February 10)
Tom Hanks loves playing a bloke in a pickle. He’s been stuck on a ship, he’s been stuck on an island, and in Netflix’s new movie News of the World, he’s stuck in 1870s Texas, charged with the task of returning a young girl to the care of her aunt and uncle against her will. Hanks plays a travelling storyteller who shares the news from around the globe to small-town Americans, until he agrees to take 10-year-old Johanna across an unforgiving wilderness. They’re both looking for that elusive place called “home”, and if you thought 2020 was a shitter of a year, Tom Hanks is about to prove that 1870 wasn’t that crash hot either. / TW
I Care A Lot (on Amazon Prime Video from February 19)
Rosamund Pike is what happens when a benevolent goddess brings an English rose to life, and it’s been a delight to see her pivot into straight-up villainy in the past few years. She takes that pivot and absolutely twirls on it in her latest role, playing a court-appointed guardian who regularly screws over her elderly wards. However, her latest ward, played by two-time Academy Award-winning titan Diane Wiest, might be nowhere near as innocent as her usual targets. Peter Dinklage also stars, and I frankly can’t wait to see Pike dig her (perfect) teeth into a meaty role like this. / SB
The rest
Netflix
February 1
Parks and Recreation: Seasons 1-7
Justin Bieber: Never Say Never
The Wolf of Wall Street
The Longest Yard
February 2
Tiffany Haddish Presents: They Ready: Season 2
Kid Cosmic
Mighty Express: Season 2
February 3
Firefly Lane
Black Beach
February 5
Hache: Season 2
Invisible City
The Last Paradiso
Little Big Women
Malcolm & Marie
Space Sweepers
Strip Down, Rise Up
February 10
News of the World
The Misadventures of Hedi and Cokeman
Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel
February 11
Capitani
Layla Majnun
Red Dot
Squared Love
February 12
Nadiya Bakes
Buried by the Bernards
To All The Boys: Always and Forever
Hate by Dani Rovira
Xico’s Journey
February 15
The Crew
February 16
Animals on the Loose: A You vs. Wild Movie
Jurassic World
February 17
Hello, Me!
Behind Her Eyes
MeatEater: Season 9: Part 2
February 18
Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan
February 19
Tribes of Europa
2067
February 20
Classmates Minus
February 23
Brian Regan: On the Rocks
Pele
February 24
Ginny & Georgia
Canine Intervention
February 25
Geez & Ann
High-Rise Invasion
February 26
Crazy About Her
Caught by a Wave
Bigfoot Family
Neon
February 1
The Bravest Knight Who Ever Lived
Julian is Mermaid
Love is Love
Rainbow Stories
Think Like a Dog
Survive the Night
February 3
Search Party: Season 4
February 5
Harriet
Seized
February 7
Diana: The Interview That Shook The World
Astro Boy
Fewbruary 8
The Postcard Killings
Jumanji: The Next Level
February 9
Loudermilk: Season 3
February 11
The World’s Fastest Indian
February 12
Fuck That’s Delicious: Season 4
Arctic Justice
Downhill
February 13
Sex and the City
Sex and the City 2
February 14
Dirty Dancing
February 15
Men in Kilts: A Roadtrip with Sam and Graham
February 17
Bridge to Terabithia
February 19
Bulletproof: Season 3
Happy Feet
Bad Boys for Life
February 21
Help is on the Way
Endings, Beginnings
February 22
CB Strike: Lethal White
Gretel & Hansel
February 24
Nerve
Arthur & Merlin: Knights of Camelot
February 26
Snowfall: Season 4
Igor
February 28
Pay Dirt
TVNZ on Demand
February 1
Robot H
February 4
Back
Confessions of a Serial Killer
February 6
The Life and Trials of Oscar Pistorius
February 10
Coyote
February 14
Doctor Doctor
February 17
Queen Sugar
February 20
We Are Who We Are
February 24
Informer 3838
Disney+
February 5
Wild Lapland
February 12
Inside Pixar
Like Mike 2
Africa’s Hidden Wonders
Marvel Battleworld: Mystery of the Thanostones
Marvel’s Behind the Mask
February 19
Flora & Ulysses
The Muppet Show
February 26
Myth: A Frozen Tale
Disney’s American Dragon: Jake Long
Disney Pair of Kings: Seasons 1-3
Micky Go Local: Season 1
Amazon Prime Video
February 1
Coming to America
48 Hours
Another 48 Hours
Beverly Hills Cop II
Beverly Hills Cop III
February 5
Bliss
Greenland
February 8
Soulmates: Season 1
February 12
The Family Man: Season 2
Map of Tiny Perfect Things
February 19
Tell Me Your Secrets: Season 1
I Care A Lot
Apple TV
February 5
The Snoopy Snow
February 19
For All Mankind
Acorn TV
February 1
Balthazar: Season 1
Inspector Morse: Season 8
Midsomer Murders: Season 19
Blue Murder: Season 5
February 8
Keeping Faith: Season 2
Suspects: Season 4
Kavanagh QC: Season 5
Moving On: Season 5 and 6
National Treasure
February 15
Agatha Raisin: Season 3
15 Days
Black Box
Lewi: Season 9
February 22
Suspects: Season 5
Prime Suspect: Tennison
The Last Detective: Season 3-4
Moving On: Season 7-8