April showers bring May flowers, but they also offer an excuse to stay in and watch the month’s hottest new scripted series’. Here, our cheat sheet to notable April premieres across the streamers.
The Bondsman
All hail the pure escapism of the latest Blumhouse creation – it’s a little bit supernatural and a little bit country and so silly that it goes down easy. Kevin Bacon (66) is resurrected from the dead to round up souls that have escaped the underworld. While pursuing each demon-of-the-week, he gets a second chance at love and rekindling his abandoned dream of a country music career. All this, plus satisfying Jason Statham vengeance vibes! (Which supply a fictional measure of the elusive justice we crave, given current world events.) More serious minds, however, might opt for filmmaker Justin Kurzell’s Amazon Original take on Richard Flanagan’s sensuous, Booker-winning war epic The Narrow Road to the Deep North, about the life of an Australian soldier and brutalized Second World War POW (played by Jacob Elordi, 27, and Ciaran Hinds, 72, respectively).
Where to Watch: Streaming on Prime starting Apr. 3 (8 episodes)
Dying for Sex
This racy limited series is inspired by the life story of Molly Kochan (originally shared on a Wondery podcast with her best friend Nikki Boyer), who died of breast cancer in 2019. A terminal diagnosis leads Molly (Michelle Williams, 45) to leave her husband and open up on a journey of self-discovery, pursuing her erotic and emotional desires for the first time. It’s a pity The Joy of Sex title was already taken, because it’s like they read Canadian journalist Mireille Silcoff’s recent viral New York Times article “Why Gen X Women Are Having the Best Sex” and took it to heart! Sissy Spacek, 79, also appears in the series.
Where to Watch: Streaming on Disney+ starting Apr. 4 (8 episodes)
Government Cheese
Besides Severance or Ted Lasso, Apple doesn’t do a great job of marketing its high-quality shows. So it’s my duty to highlight this quirky period piece – described as a “historical surrealist drama” – starring David Oyelowo (49) as a newly-released ex-con who tries to reconnect with his family while dreaming up inventions instead of going back to a life of crime. It’s drenched in the sunny optimism of suburban ‘60s California that looks and feels like a colourized Pleasantville. Between the bouncy tone and genuine heart, it’s entertaining and mostly successful at striking a balance between droll humour and deeply-felt stakes. Plus, it showcases the acclaimed dramatic actor’s comedy chops (see also: the English remake of Ten Percent). For darker angst, John Hamm scams everyone in Your Friends & Neighbors – AppleTV+’s other new suburban drama this month.
Where to Watch: Streaming on AppleTV+ starting Apr. 16 (8 episodes)
Agatha Christie’s Towards Zero
BritBox has two juicy new whodunnits this month (their other family inheritance murder mystery is I, Jack Wright with Gemma Jones, 82, and John Simm, 54). But based on glossy production values alone, I opted for the prestige Agatha Christie helmed by Olivier-winning director Sam Yates. Academy Award winner Anjelica Huston (73) is flawless as imperious matriarch Lady Tressillian, who presides over bickering family assembled for a summer holiday at her coastal mansion. Set in the mid-1930s, class snobbery, greed, and unfinished business between exes are among the murderous motives that Matthew Rhys’s rumpled gumshoe needs to resolve. Bonus: the excellent costume design (by Charlotte Mitchell, of Killing Eve) contains explicit homages to classic Hollywood icons.
Where to Watch: Streaming on BritBox starting Apr. 16 (3 episodes)
Ransom Canyon
Sure, you could tune in to Netflix’s other big April release – the Miami medical drama Pulse – but aren’t your nerves still frayed from that incredible The Pitt finale? If so, saddle up with this handsome adaptation of the bestselling Jodi Thomas books instead. Yellowstone meets Friday Night Lights as Josh Duhamel (Transformers, 52) and Minka Kelly (Friday Night Lights, 44) anchor this contemporary romantic western that revolves around the ambitions of several rugged West Texas ranching families, high school football games and shots of the stunning landscape. Watch for James Brolin, 84, as ill-tempered ranch owner Cap Fuller.
Where to Watch: Streaming on Netflix starting Apr. 17 (10 episodes)
Nine Bodies in a Mexican Morgue
Canadian Will & Grace star Eric McCormack (61) is among the bewildered passengers trying to avoid being murdered after their small plane crashes in the remote Mexican jungle. The latest mystery from prolific crime novelist and series creator Anthony Horowitz (of Foyle’s War and Magpie Murders) goes Lost as it updates Agatha Christie’s ingenious landmark And Then There Were None, unfolding in noirish flashbacks as the passengers attempt to figure out the motives and identity of an unseen killer.
Where to Watch: Streaming on Crave starting Apr. 25 (6 episodes)
RELATED:
March Madness: 8 New Must-See TV Shows for March
