With a gloomy, unpredictable March underway, it’s easy to feel down and drained of energy. However, as we trudge through the Ides of March, let shows like Queer Eye (Netflix) lift you up and Billions (Showtime) stoke your fire.
Project Runway (Bravo, returning March 14)
When Project Runway stalwarts model Heidi Klum and advisor Tim Gunn left the show last year, I was sure I was done with the fashion competition. But now I’m eager to see where the show is going next. It’s returning to its original home on Bravo (the show aired on Bravo from 2004-08, then on Lifetime from 2009-17) and with a mostly updated panel of judges. Supermodel Karlie Kloss will take over hosting duties from Klum, and Project Runway season eight winner and now high-profile designer Christian Siriano will be the contestants’ mentor. The rest of the panel will be mainstay Nina Garcia, former Teen Vogue editor-in-chief Elaine Welteroth, and designer Brandon Maxwell, who regularly dresses queens — from Lady Gaga to Michelle Obama. I’m willing to give this series a shot because I have always enjoyed it and it seems like a good palate cleanser between dark prestige dramas. Also, the designers really are the stars of the show.
Queer Eye (Netflix, returning March 15)
The gentlemen of the Queer Eye reboot have captured the hearts of millions around the world with their vibrant personalities and simple-yet-chic tips for fashion, decor and self-confidence. This season, the guys head to Kansas City, Missouri, to help improve the lives of various individuals. On the surface, Queer Eye is a makeover show, but in reality, it’s much more. This iteration of the series highlights the importance of compassion and understanding. It acknowledges that everyone is going through something, and that self-improvement and self-care are ways that we can best help ourselves and others. It also encourages viewers to engage with people different from themselves. This show will make you laugh and cry and of course, say “YAAAAAAS queen!”
Shrill (Hulu, premiering March 15)
Based on the book by writer and comedian Lindy West, Shrill follows the life of Annie (played by SNL’s Aidy Bryant), a young woman trying to figure out her life as a writer (who also happens to be a plus-sized woman). The Hulu series is executive produced by Lorne Michaels (SNL) and Elizabeth Banks (Pitch Perfect), and deals with themes of body image and also online praise and hatred (Bryant’s character writes an article about her confidence in being a fat woman and the internet, per usual, showers her with both love and hate). I love Aidy Bryant, and am eager to see her character’s transformation from being politely apologetic about her body to embracing it.
Billions (Showtime, returning March 17)
The proverb “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” is in full force in the fourth season of Billions. Co-created by Brian Koppelman and David Levian (writers of Rounders, Ocean’s Thirteen and Solitary Man), Billions follows the push-and-pull feud between hedge-fund overlord Bobby Axelrod (Damian Lewis, Homeland) and legal crusader Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giamatti, Sideways.) The season four trailer teases that in spite of their knock-down, drag-out fights, they’re teaming up to take down mutual enemies from hedge-fund savant Taylor (Asia Kate Dillon, Orange Is the New Black) to Russian billionaire Grigor Andolov (John Malkovich, Bird Box.) Billions is always great at raising the stakes and finding new and interesting ways to have these bigger-than-life characters clash. Can’t wait for the new season!
