What to Watch This Weekend: March 10-12

It’s a big weekend for Hollywood! Jimmy Kimmel hosts the 95th Academy Awards ceremony which will be honoring some of the best performances and films of 2023. Some Best Picture nominees include Triangle of Sadness, All Quiet on the Western Front, Elvis, Women Talking, The Fabelmans, and of course, Everything Everywhere All at Once. Cate Blanchett, Andrea Riseborough, Michelle Yeoh, Brian Tyree Henry, Paul Mescal, and Kerry Condon are just some of the people nominated for the prestigious acting awards this year.

But the fancy golden statues aside, there are a lot of TV and movies coming your way this weekend. Damian Lewis and Guy Pearce play both friends and foes in the new MGM+ thriller series A Spy Among Friends. Kerry Washington and Delroy Lindo star in UnPrisoned, a Hulu comedy about a father who re-enters his daughter’s life after years in prison. Woody Harrelson continues his hot streak with Champions, a lovely comedy about a disgraced coach helping a group of basketball players with intellectual disabilities make it to the Special Olympics. The hit HBO series The Last of Us wraps up Season 1 (sigh). Above all, Jenna Ortega is ready to dominate your weekend as she hosts Saturday Night Live and fights Ghostface in Scream VI.

Here’s a closer look at five exciting titles hitting the big and small screens this weekend!

Scream VI

Release Date: March 10 in Theaters

Wipe that smile off of your Ghostface! In the highly anticipated next installment of the Scream franchise, the crew takes on the Big Apple. That’s right, the Woodsboro survivors attempt to forge a new, less deadly path in New York City, but, as you might suspect, there is no stopping the masked killer. Or is it killers? Though many died along the way, the iconic horror film series lives on. Scream VI is directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, and stars Courteney Cox, Wednesday star Jenna Ortega, Mason Gooding, Hayden Panettiere, Dermot Mulroney, Tony Revolori, and Samara Weaving.

In an interview with our own Perri Nemiroff, the directors talked about the changes that were necessary for the franchise to feel fresh. “We just knew that, for as warm and comforting and as homage-y as the last one was, we had to take a really hard left turn for the next one. Just to keep ourselves interested, right? To keep ourselves engaged and surprised, and I think that’s always been the compass.”

Luther: The Fallen Sun

Release Date: March 10 on Netflix

He’s back, baby! Idris Elba might not be James Bond (we can still hope), but he is one of the best detectives on television. In the series created by Neil Cross back in 2010, Elba plays John Luther, a nothing-will-stop-me murder investigator whose intense drive for answers rivals his violent tendencies. The Emmy-nominated BBC series returns in the form of a movie titled Luther: The Fallen Sun, which sees our titular detective getting out of jail and into more trouble as he tries to take down the murder-hungry tech billionaire David Robey (Andy Serkis). Director Jamie Payne and writer Neil Cross are also back from the series, with the addition of the great Cynthia Erivo.

Collider’s Carly Lane says in her review, “Like the wool long coat Luther inevitably slips back into, it feels like Elba never stopped playing the role, to begin with. He’s a comfort to watch, with Luther’s confidence, intensity, and shrewd investigative capabilities grounding the plot …” Lane added that Luther “will never not be enough to entice viewers to tune in once more, regardless of how much time we get to spend in this world. Ultimately, The Fallen Sun proves that Idris Elba never needed to be James Bond when he could just be DCI John Luther.”

Champions

Release Date: March 10 in Theaters

They are the champions. Well, they are at least trying to be. Woody Harrelson leads the way in Champions, a heartwarming comedy from Bobby Farrelly that follows the bumpy journey of Marcus (Harrelson), a dysfunctional minor-league basketball coach who is court-ordered to manage a team of students with intellectual disabilities and bold personalities. Though initially reluctant, Marcus quickly realizes that he needs them more than they need him and that a championship might not be as far-fetched as he once thought.

“As a solo debut for Bobby, Champions is kind of a perfect project, working with an actor he already has a history with, in a comedy (written by Gravity Falls’ story editor Mark Rizzo, based on the 2018 Spanish film of the same name) that feels like the type of film he and his brother would’ve written, and in a story that allows him to cast a brilliant group of actors with intellectual disabilities,” said our own Ross Bonaime in his review.

Saturday Night Live (Host Jenna Ortega)

Release Date: March 11 on NBC

Jenna Ortega is having a moment. A very well-deserved one at that. The 20-year-old actress has been working for a while, having starred in the Disney Channel series Stuck in the Middle, Jane the Virgin, The Fallout, and You. But it was her turn in the titular role of the mysterious and spooky and all together-ooky Netflix series Wednesday that launched her into our living room rooms and our hearts. Not only does she reprise her role as Tara Carpenter for Scream VI this weekend, but she also hits up 30 Rock to make her Saturday Night Live hosting debut alongside musical guest The 1975. It’s Jenna Ortega’s world, and we are just living in it.

The Last of Us (Season 1 Finale)

Release Date: March 12 on HBO

We’re saying goodbye to our favorite duo already? Just until Season 2! The Last of Us has, as expected, been a massive critical and commercial success. Based on the acclaimed video game of the same name by Naughty Dog and Sony Interactive Entertainment, the story follows the stoic Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal), a survivor of a global pandemic traversing a world of ruin, who is tasked with protecting Ellie (Bella Ramsey), a trouble-making 14-year-old who might have the answers humanity needs to survive. Season 1 has been filled with unexpected love stories, heartbreak, bloodshed, Clickers, and heroes. What will Season 2 have in store?

New Episodes

Friday

Your Honor (Showtime)

Servant (Prime Video)

Shrinking (Apple TV+)

BMF (Starz)

Hello Tomorrow! (Apple TV+)

Carnival Row (Prime Video)

S.W.A.T. (CBS)

Party Down (Starz)

Fire Country (CBS)

Lopez vs. Lopez (CBS)

Daisy Jones & The Six (Prime Video)

Grand Crew (NBC)

The Problem with Jon Stewart (Apple TV+)

Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO)

Game Theory with Bomani Jones (HBO)

UnPrisoned (Series Premiere, Hulu)

The Glory (Season 2, Netflix)

Saturday

Saturday Night Live (Host Jenna Ortega, Musical Guest The 1975, NBC)

Sunday

The Last of Us (HBO)

Mayor of Kingstown (Paramount+)

The Simpsons (FOX)

Family Guy (FOX)

Bob’s Burgers (FOX)

The Equalizer (CBS)

Magnum P.I. (NBC)

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

The Circus: Inside the Greatest Political Show on Earth (Showtime)

A Spy Among Friends (Series Premiere, MGM+)