Monkey D. Luffy is back for the second season of live-action manga adaptation One Piece, Nicole Kidam, and Alan Ritchson fights an alien death robot in sci-fi action movie War Machine.
SERIES
Young Sherlock S1
5 March 2026 – Prime Video
We seemingly get a new on-screen spin on Sherlock Holmes every few years, so, at first glance, it may not be very surprising that a brand-new TV series take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s great literary detective has just slipped in under the radar without much fanfare. However, the lack of pomp with which Young Sherlock debuted on Prime Video yesterday (so little, in fact, that it wasn’t even mentioned in last week’s listings) is actually very shocking when you realize that one of the creative visions behind this new series is none other than Guy Ritchie. The acclaimed fan-favourite British director gave us two excellent Sherlock Holmes movies featuring Robert Downey Jr. back in the late 2000s, and fans have been clamouring for him to do more ever since. Young Sherlock – which Ritchie co-created with veteran TV writer Peter Harness (Wallander, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell) and adapted from Andrew Lane’s Young Sherlock Holmes books – may not be at all linked to those movies, but it will have to do for now. Up and coming thespian Hero Fiennes Tiffin plays the title role as a 19-year-old Oxford student who is still far from the famed detective we would come to know him as. This Sherlock is raw and lacking discipline, but when he gets swept up in is very first murder mystery, those iconic powers of deduction and insight set him on the path of greatness… and right into a global conspiracy.
One Piece S2
10 March 2026 – Netflix
Live-action anime/manga adaptations generally do not have a great track record. However, arguably one of the most successful recent efforts has been Netflix’s adaptation of Eiichiro Oda’s iconic long-running manga One Piece – and I’m not just saying that because I’m biased since the show is shot right here in Cape Town! Following a very positive reception by both fans and critics for its first season in 2023, the infectiously likeable (and very stretchable!) Monkey D. Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates are back for more high-seas hijinks as Luffy (Iñaki Godoy) continues his quest to find the legendary One Piece and become King of the Pirates. Season 2 will see Luffy, Zoro (Mackenyu), Nami (Emily Rudd), Usopp (Jacob Romero), and Sanji (Taz Skylar) travel to the Grand Line, a legendary stretch of sea where danger and wonder await at every turn. There, they’ll visit bizarre islands, recruit more allies (Tony Tony Chopper!) and battle formidable new foes as they search for the world’s greatest treasure.
Stumble S1
11 March 2026 – Showmax
The competitive world of junior college cheerleading may not be the first thing that springs to mind when you’re thinking of entertainment, but new mockumentary comedy series Stumble is looking to change that. Starring Jenny Lyon, Taran Killam, and stage/screen icon Kristin Chenoweth, Stumble is produced by real-life cheer coach Monica Aldama, the multiple award-winning coach who shot to fame while featured in acclaimed Netflix sports documentary Cheer. This new show is a much more light-hearted approach than its dramatic real-world counterpart though, as it follows an elite coach who is forced to start over with a new squad of lovable misfits after a public fall from grace.
Scarpetta S1
11 March 2026 – Prime Video
Since debuting in 1990 novel Postmortem, Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta has been one of author Patricia Cornwell’s most beloved literary creations, having led nearly 30 crime novels in three decades. And now she’s finally being brought to life on screen. Produced by and starring Oscar-winners Nicole Kidman and Jamie Lee Curtis, this new series sees Kidman playing the title character with Curtis playing Kay’s older sister Dorothy. As if that was not enough star power, the cast is rounded out by the likes of Bobby Cannavale, Ariana DeBose, Simon Baker, Anna Diop, and more. The official blurb for the eight-episode series states that “with skilled hands and an unnerving eye… unrelenting medical examiner [Kay Scarpetta] is determined to serve as the voice of the victims, unmask a serial killer, and prove that her career-making case from 28 years prior isn’t also her undoing.”
MOVIES
War Machine
6 March 2026 – Netflix
Becoming a U.S. Army Ranger is an infamously grueling test of physical and mental fortitude that would leave most people a broken, sweaty mess. Lasting over two months, the massively intense course focuses on testing soldiers’ capacities to conducting combat operations under extreme physical and mental stress, focusing on patrolling, reconnaissance, and small-unit tactics. You will notice that at no point in that description did I mention that it will also involve randomly finding and then being forced to survive being hunted by a high-tech extraterrestrial weapon of mass destruction. Unfortunately for Alan Ritchson that’s exactly what he has to deal with in War Machine. Written and directed by Patrick Hughes (The Hitman’s Bodyguard 1 & 2, The Expendables 3), this sci-fi action thriller follows Ritchson’s 81 (yes, this soldier is just a number) and the rest of his squadron of recruits in the final stages of their Ranger training in the remote wilderness. On their own and exponentially outgunned, the soldiers will have to band together to fight off this deadly threat. Dennis Quaid, Jai Courtney, Esai Morales, and Keiynan Lonsdale co-star.
Zootropolis 2
11 March 2026 – Disney+
And on the opposite side of the movie genre spectrum, we have Zootropolis 2 (known in the US as “Zootopia 2” for some reason) which makes its local streaming debut next week. The long-awaited follow-up to the original 2016 animated feature film, Zootropolis 2 sees the return of Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin), Zootopia’s first rabbit police office, and Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman), the sly red fox con-artist-tuned-police-officer. This time around they’re on the trail of a pit viper named Gary De’Snake (Ke Huy Quan) try to clear their names after being framed. As Noelle mentioned in her 7/10 review, “Zootropolis 2 is still more than fine family fare thanks to its exceptional animation, and consistently entertaining animal-themed parody of our reality. However, as a sequel it’s not so much lacking freshness as coming across like a filed down version of original, subbing out sharp commentary and surprises with manic action and an overstuffed cast of characters.” Those criticisms didn’t seem to affect the general public though, as Zootropolis went on to earn a whopping $1.86 billion at the global box office last year, making it the second-highest-grossing animated film of all time, and the second-highest-grossing film of 2025. Not to mention winning Best Animated Feature at the BAFTAs and being nominated in the same category at both the Golden Globes and Oscars.