Seen on Screen: Charli xcx, Campus Dramedies and Scrubs Returns

As things slow down at the cinemas, the start of autumn brings more than its share of cosy small-screen offerings. We reunite with the cast of Scrubs and Deadloch, plus drop in on an island full of toxic boys (yay!) as well as two uni campuses, the setting for shows about the foibles of middle-aged romance. There’s also an Aussie mockumentary that puts a major twist on the formula.

In fact, there’s so much television this month that we couldn’t fit it all in (apologies to Scarpetta and Peaky Blinders). And if you do venture to the cinemas, enjoy the roller-coaster self-awareness on offer from Charli xcx (The Moment) and Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Bride). Here are our top picks for the best things to watch in March.

For a nostalgic visit to Sacred Heart Hospital: Scrubs

Considering the hairpin tonal shifts that Scrubs achieved during its first nine seasons, it should come as no surprise that the happy-sad comedy shrugs off a 16-year gap with such ease. The show’s revival plops Zach Braff’s earnest protagonist JD right back in the hectic halls of Sacred Heart Hospital, where he briefly returns while fulfilling his duties as a concierge doctor. Attempting to blissfully stroll down memory lane, he encounters the uncharacteristic darkness of his best friend Turk (Donald Faison), the cautious distance of his ex-wife Elliot (Sarah Chalke) and the weariness of his former mentor Dr Cox (John C McGinley). Soon Dr Cox convinces JD to succeed him as the hospital’s chief of medicine, where he faces a new wave of bumbling interns. Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence has since given us Ted Lasso, Shrinking and now Rooster (see below), but the accumulated nostalgia and goodwill for this show remains powerful indeed. On Disney+ now.

For the original damning look at boyhood violence: Lord of the Flies

If it seems a bit on the nose for Jack Thorne to follow up Adolescence by tackling the original tale of budding toxic masculinity, keep in mind just how acclaimed, ubiquitous and effective that show was. This time, Thorne collaborates with director Marc Munden rather than Stephen Graham, but you can expect familiar themes in Thorne’s four-episode adaptation of William Golding’s foundational boyhood horror fable. The set-up is just as you remember it from assigned reading: when assorted English schoolboys survive a plane crash only to end up on an uninhabited island, the blonde-haired Jack (Lox Pratt) assumes a menacing leadership role and quickly sets his sights on the bespectacled boy he nicknames Piggy (David McKenna). It’s tempting to point out how timely this story is, but when is it ever not? On Stan now.

For an Aussie mockumentary with a bracing twist: Unremarkable

The Bucket List meets Kath & Kim in this quirky Australian mockumentary from writer, director and actor Xavier Coy. Unremarkable begins on familiar footing, with Coy’s clueless character Tim Smith drifting from one entrepreneurial delusion to another in suburban Sydney. But when Tim gets a terminal diagnosis, the tone quickly shifts to become more confronting than cosy. With only a finite amount of time left, Tim taps into his unshakeable self-confidence to attempt a slew of things that he never got around to doing. That means everything from pole dancing to makeshift MMA, with Tim’s quest documented by a mate. While Coy has cited the influence of hilariously awkward Christopher Guest movies like Best in Show, his debut feature ultimately aims for something more layered. Available to rent or buy on Prime Video now.

For a bold reimagining with a stacked cast: The Bride!

Jessie Buckley just took home the Best Actress Oscar for her cathartic turn as a grieving mother in Hamnet, but she embodies a very different take on mortality in The Bride. A free-wheeling riff on The Bride of Frankenstein by actor turned writer and director Maggie Gyllenhaal, the horror/romance hybrid co-stars Christian Bale as a classic version of Frankenstein’s monster. Reviews have been mixed, but the supporting cast is stacked: Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, Penelope Cruz and Annette Bening. This isn’t an awards contender in the vein of Guillermo del Toro’s recent Frankenstein retelling, which earned our own Jacob Elordi an Oscar nom, it’s a big creative swing set in 1930s Chicago. In cinemas now.

For Charli xcx playing Charli xcx (sort of): The Moment

“It’s all cringe,” laments a member of Charli xcx’s team while strategising in this meta mockumentary about the English pop star’s ubiquitous brat album and tour. The Moment dryly laughs at the rampant dilution of personal brand and ethos required to ascend to global superstardom, and the game cast includes Alexander Skarsgård, Rachel Sennott, Kylie Jenner and Rosanna Arquette. Charli xcx is an avowed cinephile; she sports a prolific Letterboxd account and appears in several recent films including Gregg Araki’s I Want Your Sex, Julia Jackman’s 100 Nights of Hero and Pete Ohs’s Erupcja. And, of course, she released an entire album to accompany the re-imagined Wuthering Heights. So get used to seeing her on the big screen. In cinemas now.

For Rachel Weisz as a professor lost in steamy fantasies: Vladimir

After her dark turn as obsessive twin sisters in Dead Ringers, Rachel Weisz gets to flex her comedic chops in a big way with Vladimir. Adapted by Julia May Jonas from her acclaimed debut novel, this eight-part series sees Weisz play a literary professor saddled with an unfaithful husband (Mad Men’s John Slattery), disengaged students and an irritable daughter. When she meets a smart, kind and sexy younger man in Leo Woodall’s Vladimir, she becomes so fixated that her steamy fantasies begin to encroach upon her everyday reality. Weisz liberally addresses the camera as she begins to forcibly upturn her staid life as a middle-aged woman. There’s darkness looming in this show too, but shot through the lens of on-campus foibles and the often-neglected female gaze. On Netflix now.

For another complicated, uni-set dramedy this month: Rooster

Rooster is the latest show from Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence, and it co-stars Scrubs MVP John C McGinley. The HBO dramedy also shares a lot of parallels with Vladimir, including a university setting, marital infidelity, writerly hijinks and middle-aged romance. Steve Carell stars as a bestselling author whose professor daughter (Charly Clive) has torched the home of her husband and colleague (Phil Dunster) after the latter’s affair with a grad student. When Carell’s character does a speaking gig at the college where all of this unfolds, he’s convinced to stay on as a guest lecturer and support his daughter as best he can. The trailer’s vibes encouragingly recall the 2000 gem Wonder Boys. On HBO Max now.

For the sordid underbelly of female friendship: Imperfect Women

Messy friends bound by secrets and lies? That’s a gift that keeps on giving in modern television, and Imperfect Women is the latest psychological thriller to mine the set-up. Elisabeth Moss, Kerry Washington and Kate Mara play said friends whose connection frays beyond repair following an unthinkable tragedy. Strap in for the requisite twists and shades of Big Little Lies. The limited series is based on a novel by journalist turned author Araminta Hall, who has carved out a solid lane in this genre. As the central trio reflect on decades of drama-rich friendship, their juiciest deceptions are sure to rise to the surface. On Apple TV from March 18.

For a homegrown hit in a fresh new setting: Deadloch

Count on Kate McCartney and Kate McLennan to keep us guessing in the best possible way. After crafting a worldwide hit with comedic murder mystery Deadloch, the writer-creators have relocated the show from moody Tasmania to the tropical Top End for its second season. That means human remains are discovered in a crocodile rather than in a seal this time around, with lots of fun to be had with the ripe Northern Territory setting. The odd couple detectives played by Kate Box and Madeleine Sami are still a delightful pairing, and Nina Oyama and Alicia Gardiner are back in indelible supporting roles. Even better is the prospect of where the show might go next. After all, there’s a lot of Australia to explore – and McCartney and McLennan are two of our sharpest creative voices. On Prime Video from March 20.