What to Watch in April: 7 Must-See New Shows

Spring has sprung and, with it, brought eight new shows for April that we can’t wait to watch.

 

Ripley

The role of Patricia Highsmith’s sociopath grifter Tom Ripley seems made for Andrew Scott, 47, who brings the same simmering intensity to the literary anti-hero as he did to Moriarty in BBC’s Sherlock and Fleabag’s “Hot Priest.” His interloper is a terrific foil for amiable golden boy Dickie Greenleaf (Johnny Flynn, of Love Sick, Emma). Brought to the small screen by Academy Award-winning screenwriter Steven Zaillian (Schindler’s List), Ripley eschews the sun-drenched gloss of Anthony Minghella’s star-studded 1999 young Hollywood adaptation and explores the sordid, unseemly side of envy. With moody Venice as its exquisite canvas, the twisty ’60s-set thriller is lensed in glorious black-and-white by There Will Be Blood’s Oscar-winning cinematographer Robert Elswit, lending the same crisp gravitas he did to George Clooney’s throwback Murrow/McCarthy chamber piece, Good Night, and Good Luck.

Where to watch: Streaming now on Netflix (8 episodes)

 

Sugar

Kick it old-school by following dapper gumshoe John Sugar (Colin Farrell, 47) as he drives a vintage blue Corvette around Los Angeles, tracking down missing persons on behalf of powerful Hollywood clients like James Cromwell, 84, and Breaking Bad’s Anna Gunn, 55. Like classic private eye Philip Marlowe before him, suave Sugar soon finds himself entangled with the criminal denizens of the city’s underbelly. It’s a wonderfully internal performance by Farrell, whose recent Oscar-nominated turn in The Banshees of Inisherin reminded us that he’s always had the chops (even if he also loves juicy over-the-top characters, like reprising his titular role in HBO’s upcoming DC Comics series, The Penguin).

Where to watch: Streaming now on AppleTV+ (8 episodes)

 

Mary & George  

Soapier than The Crown and sexier than Bridgerton: erotic and political intrigue abound in this 17th-century bonkbuster – a.k.a. your new guilty pleasure. With palpable relish, Julianne Moore, 63, plays opportunistic schemer Mary Villiers, Countess of Buckingham – the royal court’s ultimate monstrous momager, who shaped her ridiculously beautiful son George (Nicholas Galitzine) into the seducer and lover of King James VI. The historical psycho-drama from Killing Eve writer D.C. Moore and BAFTA-nominated Oliver Hermanus (Living) is inspired by Benjamin Woolley’s book, The King’s Assassin. And not only is it sumptuous, it is bitingly witty.

Where to watch: Streaming now on Crave (7 episodes)

 

Fallout  

The Last of Us proved that good TV can come from video games – and has the eight Emmy awards to prove it. Millions of retro-futuristic video franchise Fallout’s global fans will now be tuning in to see how this gritty post-apocalyptic adaptation fares. Ella Purnell (teen Jackie in Yellowjackets), Kyle MacLachlan, 65, and And Just Like That’s Sarita Choudhury, 57, are among the sheltered inhabitants of a luxury fallout shelter who return to the irradiated Los Angeles left behind by their ancestors, navigating bandits and mutants with the action-adventure game’s signature dark humour.

Where to watch: Streaming on Prime starting April 11 (8 episodes)

 

Franklin  

Apple’s been acing its period series of late. In this acerbic historical drama, Academy Award and Emmy winner Michael Douglas, 79, is Benjamin Franklin, the influential 18th-century intellectual, leading scientist, inventor and publisher, who was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Based on Stacy Schiff’s Pulitzer Prize-winning history work A Great Improvisation, the series covers Franklin’s life in France and his diplomatic missions to broker alliances and peace treaties. Filmed on location in France, it’s also murderers’ row of character actors (like Eddie Marsan as John Adams).

Where to watch: Streaming on AppleTV+ starting April 12 (8 episodes)

 

The Sympathizer 

“Refugee, traitor, hero, spy.” This hotly anticipated HBO Original espionage thriller is based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s searing Pulitzer Prize winner about a biracial French/Vietnamese communist spy who has escaped the waning days of the Vietnam War and is now attempting to build new life as a refugee in Los Angeles. The gripping series features Hoa Xuande with Canadian Sandra Oh, 52, and freshly-minted Oscar winner Robert Downey Jr., 58, who plays multiple roles (including, behind the scenes, executive producer). Multi-faceted Canadian Don McKellar, 60 (The Drowsy Chaperone) is co-creator and co-showrunner and the political satire is directed by prolific South Korean film legend Park Chan-wook, 60 (Oldboy).

Where to watch: Streaming on Crave starting April 14 (7 episodes)

 

The Veil

From Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, along comes a cat-and-mouse game hoping to fill the Killing Eve-shaped hole in your heart. Mad Men and The Handmaid’s Tale star Elisabeth Moss is MI6 agent Imogen Slater, a shape-shifting super spy and loose cannon whose loyalties come into question after she retrieves her latest target (a fantastic Yumna Marwan) from a refugee camp on the Turkish and Syrian border. They find themselves on the run from her employer and an international organization in this suspenseful spy drama that asks questions about duplicity, trust and justice.

Where to watch: Streaming on Disney+ starting April 30 (6 episodes)

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