9 Binge-Worthy New TV Shows to Stream in April
Are you ready for a huge month of streaming? It feels like some of our favourite platforms have been saving some of their fantastic new shows for April - that’s how good this month of streaming is shaping up to be.
A chilling true crime miniseries? A sprawling fantasy epic to rival Game of Thrones? A big, star-studded psychological thriller? A family drama based on a bestselling book? A new season of The Handmaid’s Tale? We’re excited. Here are nine of our favourite shows coming to streaming platforms next month.
9 best binge-worthy shows to watch in April
1. Worn Stories
Worn Stories was once a bestselling book that told the tales behind the beloved pieces of clothing that we all have hanging up in our closet. Everyone who read that book felt the same: that it would make an amazing television show.
Now, thanks to executive producer Jenji Kohan (who made Orange Is The New Black), that’s exactly what it is, a limited series in which real people share their most cherished clothing and accessories items. Uplifting and joyous and very moving, it will make you look at your wardrobe in a whole new light.
Where to watch in Australia: On Netflix from 1 April
2. The Serpent
When The Serpent was released in the UK on the BBC earlier in the year, it became that platform’s most-streamed miniseries since Normal People. That’s right, more than 31 million people streamed this miniseries, a chilling true crime thriller about a Charles Sobrahj, a real-life serial killer who murdered at least a dozen backpackers in Southeast Asia in the ‘70s.
This miniseries, starring Tahar Rahim and Jenna Coleman, has captured the sweaty, period aesthetics perfectly, and is anchored by a truly unforgettable, and unsettling, performance by French actor Rahim.
Where to watch in Australia: On Netflix from 2 April
3. The Nevers
It’s being called a mixture of Bridgerton and Outlander and to that we say: Yes please! This fantasy series is set in Victorian London, where a gang of magical women has banded together to try and fight back against their enemies.
The cast is brilliant: Laura Donnelly from Outlander, Eleanor Tomlinson from Poldark and James Norton from Grantchester (and the recent Greta Gerwig Little Women), and the costumes look gorgeous.
Where to watch in Australia: On Binge from 12 April
4. Younger, season 7
It’s everyone’s favourite guilty pleasure, and it’s back for its seventh season in April. Younger is one of those deliciously watchable shows that you just can’t quit. For seven seasons now, we’ve been wrapped up in the drama of Liza, the publishing executive who fakes her age in order to get back in the business, all while falling for the charms of two very different men.
Younger have kept us enthralled for years now, and this seventh season is the series’ last. We will miss the antics of this crew dearly. So long, and thanks for all the memories.
Where to watch in Australia: On Stan from 16 April
5. Mare of Easttown
We all love a psychological thriller, don’t we? Especially a psychological thriller made by HBO. This one has all the usual trappings: small town detective, secrets in her past, modern day crime that has echoes of that secretive past. But this series is elevated by an incredible cast, including Kate Winslet – returning to television for the first time in a decade – and Australians Guy Pearce and Angourie Rice. If you loved The Undoing or Behind Her Eyes, this may be the series for you.
Where to watch in Australia: On Binge from 19 April
6. Shadow and Bone
Many television shows have tried to capture the magic of Game of Thrones. Few have succeeded. Until now. If you want to get lost in a big, blow-out fantasy epic, then Shadow and Bone is here for you.
Based on a bestselling series of Young Adult books by American author Leigh Bardugo – Eva Chen has called her one of her favourite authors! – Shadow and Bone tells the story of Alina, a young mapmaker and a lowly soldier in her country Ravka’s civil war who discovers herself in possession of an awe-inspiring magical power that just might change the course of history.
The setting, with its hints of 1800s Russia, feels like something totally new in a fantasy world, and the characters – including Alina, her best friend Mal and a band of outlaws intent on kidnapping her – are so well-drawn you’ll fall in love with them instantly. This show was made for bingeing, and then buy the books and read them too. We’re obsessed.
Where to watch in Australia: On Netflix from 23 April
7. The Handmaid’s Tale, season four
This latest season of The Handmaid’s Tale was delayed because of coronavirus, when production was shut down in Canada for six months. But at the end of April, we’ll finally be getting that fourth season of the dystopian thriller we all love so much, starring Elisabeth Moss as June, Samira Wiley as Moira, Yvonne Strahovski as Serena Joy and Max Minghella as Nick, as well as new faces including Zawe Ashton as Moira’s girlfriend in Toronto. Moss also directed three episodes this season – her directorial debut.
And the plot? Like all things The Handmaid’s Tale, anything could happen. We know very little other than that the end of season three saw June escaping across the border into Canada with several children. What will June do with her new freedom? And what will her rebellion cost her?
Where to watch in Australia: On SBS and SBS On Demand from 29 April
8. The Mosquito Coast
Sneaking in there at the very end of April is The Mosquito Coast, a new adaptation of the bestselling novel – it was originally a film starring Harrison Ford in the ‘80s – starring Justin Theroux and Melissa George. They star as a husband and wife, who relocate their family to Mexico after finding themselves on the run from the US Government.
The original source material celebrates 40 years since it was first published in 2021, and the Harrison Ford movie is widely praised as some of his best work. Expect there to be a lot of buzz around this new, Theroux-led reboot on AppleTV+.
Where to watch in Australia: On AppleTV+ from 30 April
9. This Way Up
Two words: Aisling Bea. Two more words: Sharon Horgan. This Way Up is a delightful series from the two Irish comedians about a pair of sisters who just can’t seem to get it together. It’s very sharp, and very clever, and very, very enjoyable, especially if you couldn’t get enough of Fleabag or I May Destroy You. A second season will be on Stan later in the year, too. Wonderful.
Where to watch in Australia: On Stan from 30 April
Did you miss out on all the March 2021 new shows? No worries - we've rounded up all of them here.
