Everybody loves the first warm, sunny days of spring. What the entertainment industry wants you to consider is: What if you don’t? Wouldn’t you rather stay inside and watch every show ever made in the past year, since they’re seemingly all premiering at once to meet the Emmy eligibility cut-off? That’s the stuff! Stay indoors! April brings the final seasons of Barry and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, the return of gems like Dave and Somebody Somewhere, new shows about international intrigue like Citadel and The Diplomat, TV shows based on ’80s movies like Fatal Attraction and Dead Ringers, a road rage incident gone wrong (Beef), a true crime story getting adapted for television for the second time in under a year (Love & Death), and a nun fighting artificial intelligence (Mrs. Davis). And that’s not even half of it.

Our guide to the best TV in April is divided into three sections: the best shows and movies to watch in the month, the best shows to watch by streaming service, and a calendar of TV highlights. Whatever you’re looking for, you’ll find it below. 

Last month’s guide: The Ultimate Guide to What to Watch on HBO Max, Apple TV+, Netflix, and More in March

The best shows and movies to watch in April

Beef (April 6, Netflix)

This meaty dark comedy stars Steven Yeun as a troubled contractor and Ali Wong as a seemingly-has-it-all entrepreneur whose lives collide when they get into a road rage incident. Each determined not to let the other get the upper hand, they embark on a battle of wills as their personal lives crumble around them. Yeun is fantastic in this, and the endless parade of unfortunate circumstances that force both of them into their laser-eyed focus on destroying each other is a nice bit of schadenfreude. Who knew hate could be so fun? –Tim Surette [Trailer] [Review]

Dave Season 3 (April 5, FXX)

FXX’s comedy starring Dave « Lil’ Dicky » Bird returns for a third season as TV’s best comedy about an insecure white rapper with a weird-looking penis. It’s also better than most other things on TV, too. This season, Dave is headlining his first American tour and learning that the country is pretty messed up. He’s also looking for love, and anyone who has seen the first two seasons knows how hard the romantic episodes hit. Dave‘s a bit raunchy on the outside, but it’s sensitive inside, and its insightful look into fame makes this more than a bro-y show about dick jokes. (But it has those too, and they’re funny.) Episodes will be available to stream the next day on Hulu. –Tim Surette [Trailer]            

Barry Season 4 (April 16, HBO)

The final season of the dark hitman dramedy will find Barry (Bill Hader) in prison after that grand betrayal courtesy of his former acting teacher, Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler). Barry is one of those shows where you think you know exactly where it’s going, and you sort of do, but the minds behind it are so smart that they always make the journey a whole lot of fun to watch. We’ll miss it, but we can’t wait to see how this final act plays out. –Allison Picurro [Trailer]

Mrs. Davis (April 20, Peacock)

Mrs. Davis is my most anticipated new show of the year. The Peacock series, created by Tara Hernandez and The Leftovers‘ Damon Lindelof, has a killer Leftoversian concept — a nun, Sister Simone (Betty Gilpin), goes to war with an artificial intelligence system called Mrs. Davis — and an equally killer cast, including Gilpin, Jake McDorman, Andy McQueen, Margo Martindale, David Arquette, Elizabeth Marvel, and Katja Herbers. It’s all shrouded in mystery, but what details we do have absolutely rule; a Vulture preview cites influences ranging from The Sound of Music to Black Mirror‘s « San Junipero » to Pokemon GO. No further questions. –Kelly Connolly [Trailer]

The Diplomat (April 20, Netflix)

Cocaine Bear breakout star Keri Russell (can you imagine) leads The Diplomat, a political drama that brings the Americans alum back to TV and back to the world of international intrigue. Russell plays Kate Wyler, a diplomat who’s unexpectedly named the new U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom, where she manages global crises while bristling at the spotlight. The series has serious political-TV credentials — its showrunner is Debora Cahn, former writer and producer on shows like The West Wing and Homeland — but expect it to have some fun, too. Cahn told Vanity Fair, « The world might end on Tuesday because of a decision that they do or don’t make, but that doesn’t mean they remember the name of the person they’re talking to, and that doesn’t mean that they didn’t forget to take the tag off of their pants. » –Kelly Connolly

Dead Ringers (April 21, Prime Video)

What’s better than one Rachel Weisz? That’s right, two Rachel Weiszes. Dead Ringers is a modern, gender-flipped take on David Cronenberg’s film of the same name, starring Weisz in the roles originally played by Jeremy Irons. She plays the toxically co-dependent twin gynecologists (what a collection of words) Elliot and Beverly Mantle, who, let’s say, aren’t afraid to violate the Hippocratic Oath in order to challenge misogyny in women’s health care. Consider us on board. –Allison Picurro [Trailer] 

Somebody Somewhere Season 2 (April 23, HBO)

The second season of one of 2022’s best new shows that you probably didn’t watch (shame on you) has that same feel-good snuggly comedy with moments of inclusive jubilation. This season, Sam (Bridget Everett) is moving on from her sister’s untimely death, which leaves her open to new things, like working with a singing teacher and sharing more charming in-car conversations with her best friend, Joel (Jeff Hiller). –Allison Picurro [Trailer]

Saint X (April 26, Hulu)

This eight-episode limited series is adapted from Alexis Schaitkin’s novel about a family on an island vacation who are left devastated after the elder daughter is found dead. A pair of local employees at the Caribbean resort immediately become suspects, but years in the future, the victim’s younger sister (Alycia Debnam-Carey) searches for the truth. The series is told in different timelines and explores themes of race and class. Three episodes drop on the premiere date, with more episodes coming weekly. –Tim Surette

Love & Death (April 27, HBO Max)

You’ve seen the story of Candy Montgomery unfold on Hulu’s Candy, but now it gets HBO-ified. Elizabeth Olsen leaves the confines of WandaVision‘s Westview for the suburbs of Wylie, Texas, to play Montgomery, who was accused of murdering her friend Betty Gore with an axe after having an affair with her husband. The limited series was written by the indefatigable David E. Kelley and also stars Jesse Plemons, Krysten Ritter, Lily Rabe, and Patrick Fugit. –Allison Picurro [Trailer]

Citadel (April 28, Prime Video)

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power may be Amazon’s most expensive series, but Citadel may be its most ambitious. The action-thriller produced by the Russo brothers stars Game of Thrones‘ Richard Madden and Quantico‘s Priyanka Chopra as spies who work for Citadel, an agency « loyal to no country, » as Stanley Tucci mic drops in the trailer. Eight years after being double crossed and losing all memory of who they were, they’re pulled back into Citadel to probably save the world or something. If that sounds like a lot, it’s because it is, but it gets a lot more « a lot. » Four international spin-off series, which will be locally produced in different languages and feature stories that are interconnected with the other series, are also planned to expand the universe, Marvel style. Russo it up, Russo brothers! –Tim Surette [Trailer] 

Fatal Attraction (April 30, Paramount+)

She may not have RSVP’d for the third season of Party Down, but Lizzy Caplan will not be ignored. In this series based on the 1987 erotic thriller, she steps into her Glenn Close era, playing a woman who goes to extreme lengths to make sure her married boyfriend (Joshua Jackson, taking on the Michael Douglas role) doesn’t end their affair. –Allison Picurro [Trailer]

What’s on Amazon, Hulu, Netflix, HBO Max, and more in April

Amazon Prime Video’s best new shows and movies in April

The new shows and movies coming to Amazon Prime Video in April portend a month when I will spending a lot of time watching Prime Video. In addition to the final season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, which will premiere April 14, the following weeks see the debut of a new take on Jeremy Irons’ 1988 classic Dead Ringers, this time starring Rachel Weisz as the twin gynecologists, as well a  the new series Citadel, which is just the start of a new international spy franchise from the Russo brothers, starring Priyanka Chopra and Richard Madden. Here’s our list of the best shows and movies on Amazon Prime Video in April, plus everything coming to Prime Video in April.

More on Amazon:

Hulu’s best new shows and movies in April

Hulu is April showering you with some good-looking new shows and movies. This month, the streamer is bringing a few high-profile original series in Tiny Beautiful Things, starring Kathryn Hahn as an advice columnist who can use some of her own advice, and Saint X, a crime drama about a young woman who dies while on vacation in the Caribbean and her younger sister’s search for the truth. Hulu is also getting the new season of Dave a day after it premieres on FXX, as well as the complete series of New Girl, which has been on Netflix for what seems like forever. Here’s our list of the best shows and movies on Hulu in April, plus everything coming to Hulu in April.

More on Hulu: 

Netflix’s best new shows and movies in April

Netflix’s schedule has been big on returning shows lately — You Season 4, Outer Banks Season 3, Shadow and Bone Season 2 — but in April, the new shows are getting a chance to shine. The month’s first high-profile release is Beef, a tasty tale of a poisonous feud that devours the people at its center. It’s followed by the World War II period piece Transatlantic, and later in the month, Keri Russell makes her return to television in the high-profile political drama The Diplomat. But if you’re looking for something familiar, they’ve got that, too: Sweet Tooth is back for Season 2 on April 27, the final Firefly Lane episodes drop that same day, and the sixth and final season of TV Guide favorite Better Call Saul hits the streamer for one last round of emotional destruction on April 18. Here’s our list of the best shows and movies on Netflix in April, plus everything coming to and leaving Netflix in April.

More on Netflix:

HBO and HBO Max’s best new shows and movies in April

The best new shows on HBO and HBO Max in April is no doubt highlighted by the final season of Bill Hader’s Barry, television’s best dark comedy about an assassin who catches the acting bug. But April also brings another of HBO’s best shows, the darling indie comedy Somebody Somewhere, back for a second season. Toward the end of the month is the premiere of Love & Death, David E. Kelly’s new miniseries about Candy Montgomery, the housewife who was accused of murdering her friend in Texas. Here’s our list of the best shows and movies on HBO and HBO Max in April, plus everything coming to HBO and HBO Max in April.

More on HBO and HBO Max:

The best new shows and movies everywhere else in April

If you have my exact taste in television, the hottest show of the month is Mrs. Davis, a new series from Tara Hernandez and The Leftovers‘ Damon Lindelof about a nun (GLOW‘s Betty Gilpin) on a crusade against artificial intelligence, premiering April 20 on Peacock. Over on Apple TV+, Jennifer Garner hunts for answers in The Last Thing He Told Me (April 14), Schmigadoon! pays homage to Chicago in Season 2 (April 5), and Chris Evans gets ghosted by Ana de Armas in Ghosted (April 21). Disney+ has Rennervations (it’s what it sounds like!) on April 12 and Peter Pan & Wendy on April 28. On Paramount+, Grease musical prequel series Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies starts its engine on April 6, and Joshua Jackson and Lizzy Caplan give Fatal Attraction a modern update on April 30.

More on Apple TV+, Peacock, Disney+, and Paramount+:

April TV calendar highlights

Sunday, April 2
CMT Music Awards (Special, CBS)

Monday, April 3
Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields (Documentary, Hulu)

Tuesday, April 4
Mo’Nique: My Name Is Mo’Nique (Comedy Special, Netflix)
Redefined: J.R. Smith (Docuseries, Prime Video)

Wednesday, April 5
Dave (Season 3, FXX)
The Good Mothers (Limited Series, Hulu)
Lewis Capaldi: How I’m Feeling Now (Documentary, Netflix)
Schmigadoon! (Season 2, Apple TV+)

Thursday, April 6
Beef (Season 1, Netflix)
Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies (Season 1, Paramount+)

Friday, April 7
Jason Isbell: Running With Our Eyes Closed (Documentary, HBO)
Jury Duty (Season 1, Freevee)
On a Wing and a Prayer (Film, Prime Video)
Tiny Beautiful Things (Limited Series, Hulu)
Transatlantic (Limited Series, Netflix)

Saturday, April 8
The Portable Door (Film, MGM+)

Sunday, April 9
Catching Lightning (Docuseries, Showtime)

Monday, April 10
Below Deck Sailing Yacht (Season 4, Bravo)

Tuesday, April 10
Am I Being Unreasonable? (Season 1, Hulu)

Wednesday, April 12
34th Annual GLAAD Media Awards (Special, Hulu)
American Manhunt: The Boston Marathon Bombing (Docuseries, Netflix)
Rennervations (Season 1, Disney+)
Single Drunk Female (Season 2, Freeform)

Thursday, April 13
Florida Man (Limited Series, Netflix)
Obsession (Limited Series, Netflix)

Friday, April 14
A Black Lady Sketch Show (Season 4, HBO)
Blindspotting (Season 2, Starz)
Jane (Season 1, Apple TV+)
The Last Thing He Told Me (Season 1, Apple TV+)
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Season 5, Prime Video)
Personality Crisis: One Night Only (Documentary, Showtime)
Seven Kings Must Die (Film, Netflix)

Sunday, April 16
Barry (Season 4, HBO)
Waco: The Aftermath (Limited Series, Showtime)

Tuesday, April 18
Alex Borstein: Corsets & Clown Suits (Special, Prime Video)
Deadliest Catch (Season 19, Discovery)
How to Get Rich (Season 1, Netflix)
Longest Third Date (Documentary, Netflix)

Wednesday, April 19
Algiers, America: The Relentless Pursuit (Docuseries, Hulu)
Chimp Empire (Season 1, Netflix)
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always (Special, Netflix)

Thursday, April 20
The Diplomat (Season 1, Netflix)
Fired on Mars (Season 1, HBO Max)
Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butt-Head (Season 2, Paramount+)
Mrs. Davis (Season 1, Peacock)
Quasi (Film, Hulu)

Friday, April 21
Dead Ringers (Limited Series, Prime Video)
Dear Mama (Docuseries, FX)
Ghosted (Film, Apple TV+)
Judy Blume Forever (Documentary, Prime Video)
Slip (Season 1, The Roku Channel)
A Tourist’s Guide to Love (Film, Netflix)

Sunday, April 23
From (Season 2, MGM+)
Somebody Somewhere (Season 2, HBO)

Tuesday, April 25
John Mulaney: Baby J (Comedy Special, Netflix)

Wednesday, April 26
Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter and Love (Special, NBC)
Saint X (Season 1, Hulu)
Workin’ Moms (Season 7, Netflix)

Thursday, April 27
Firefly Lane (Season 2 Part 2, Netflix)
The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning (Season 1, Peacock)
The Last Last Late Late Show (Special, CBS)
Love & Death (Limited Series, HBO Max)
Sweet Tooth (Season 2, Netflix)

Friday, April 28
Citadel (Season 1, Prime Video)
Clock (Film, Hulu)
Couples Therapy (Season 3 Part 2, Showtime)
Frog and Toad (Season 1, Apple TV+)
From Black (Film, Shudder/AMC+)
Peter Pan & Wendy (Film, Disney+)

Sunday, April 30
Fatal Attraction (Season 1, Paramount+)
Tom Jones (Limited Series, PBS)