The CW’s ‘March’ Documents an HBCU Marching Band: TV Review
variety.comDaniel D'Addario Chief TV CriticIn the long tail of Netflix’s “Cheer” comes the CW’s “March” — a documentary series about a group of collegiate athlete-performers in Texas.
And this series, set at the historically Black university Prairie View A&M, makes a strong case for itself as a doc filled with heart and spirit, and one with a deep curiosity about what goes into the work of a marching band at every level.As we open, Prairie View’s troupe is licking their wounds after having placed lower on a national ranking of HBCU marching bands — they’re No.
8, and, as any group of people who toil for hours on their chosen vocation, they believe themselves to be the rightful No. 1.
Five minutes in, after some initial exposition, we get a glimpse of what goes into it, with six drum majors practicing complex moves. (The series welcomes in viewers who may not be familiar with HBCU band culture by having a drum major explain that, unlike in staid college marching bands, here, drum majors are charismatic dancing “superstars.”) The show is upfront both about how hard its characters work to create joy on the field when they perform and the added challenge of pulling joy out of adversity.
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