Several beloved series are screeching back into town in April.
That’s one highlight of what’s happening this month, which will lead to so much TV that you’ll never have time to watch it all. Not only is Breaking Bad prequel Better Call Saul returning for the final season (and possibly tying together the timelines), but Ozark will bring you the second half of its final, supersized season. Both of these shows could end up killing fan-favorite characters, so prepare yourselves accordingly.
Speaking of untimely deaths, Natasha Lyonne’s Russian Doll is returning to do the Groundhog Day thing in a different way than it did last time. And Barry is looking to put an end to all the death, but good luck with that, pal. Expect return seasons of additional popular series (The Flight Attendant, Woke) and a few gangster-evoking offerings as well. Here are the must-see TV offerings for the coming month.
Woke: Season 2 (Hulu series streaming 4/8)
The Marshall Todd and Keith Knight-created series about “Keef Knight,” cartoonist, picks up in world where business = wokeness. Keef and his ragtag group of friends are attempting to do the activist thing while also climbing that ladder further as a marketable artist. Those worlds collide in a world where talking trashcans also exist, so expect heavy nerding here and razor-sharp satire. Lamorne Morris, T. Murph, Blake Anderson, Sasheer Zamata, and JB Smoove star, and Maurice “Mo” Marable is still executive producing, so you’re in good hands.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvEzCkdgnWk
The Kardashians: Season 1 (Hulu series streaming 4/14)
Kim Kardashian drummed up some controversy while recently telling women to, uh, work, so she’s got no new friends these days, but hey, the rest of the family is here and acting like gangsters in in the above trailer where they attempt to sound The Godfather-esque. Kanye West will make an appearance, even though that divorce already went through, and expect the whole family to catch you up with what’s been going in their lavish lifestyle since they quit their E! show after over 20 seasons. One can’t question how the fam’s image-management has kept them going strong, so we’ll see if they can keep going in the streaming realm.
Outer Range: Season 1 (Amazon Prime series streaming 4/15)
Yellowstone, it ain’t. Josh Brolin does, however, portray a rancher in Wyoming, where the expansive wilderness there is quite unlike the terrain of his No Country For Old Men days. There’s sardonic humor here (and Brolin is always fantastic in that department) amid a supernatural mystery after a young woman disappears, and suddenly, a profit-hungry ranch family attempts to intrude on everyone else’s land. There’s a black void lurking, though, which will start to trigger revelations and set off a whole host of troubling and tension-filled happenings.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j36nGWGC5FI
The First Lady (Showtime series streaming 4/17)
The A-list cast won’t stop here with Viola Davis playing Michelle Obama, Michelle Pfeiffer playing Betty Ford, and Gillian Anderson playing Eleanor Roosevelt. These three enigmatic ladies’ stories will be interwoven through time while the political drama simply swirls around them. In addition, look forward to seeing Dakota Fanning within the cast while Kiefer Sutherland steps up to portray President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Maybe you’re tired of politics these days, but it’s worth reliving some of the more iconic moments of yesteryear to forget the cable news cycle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYkrXFq3U9g
Better Call Saul: Season 5 (AMC series returning 4/18)
Another character that cannot die, or the fans will rage: Kim Wexler. The anxiety for her runs high going into the final season (coming to AMC on 4/18) as the spinoff grows ever closer to the Breaking Bad timeline. And since she never surfaces in that flagship series, things feel very ominous, also because those finger guns and Saul Goodmanification do not bode well for her. But maybe she’ll show up in a Cinnabon scene. One can hope!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3BYtlxN9l0
Mayans M.C.: Season 4 (FX series returning 4/19)
This red-tinged teaser continues to push wartimes between charters, and somehow, EZ and Angel are both alive (although not exactly well) while attempting to deal with fallout from the Santo Padre M.C.’s failed attempt at a widespread, united front. Where, exactly, is Miguel after Emily dumped his ass after learning that he tried to kill her? That’s an underrated part of the drama at this point, and in the background, Felipe’s dealing with betrayal-related consequences as well.
Russian Doll: Season 2 (Netflix series streaming 4/20)
Say it with me: what a concept. The close to perfect first season presented quite a dilemma, which is how to follow up the debut while believably upping Nadia and Charlie’s respective ongoing plights. Also, Charlie’s got quite a mustache now, and Annie Murphy has joined the cast while one of the show’s new YouTube revealed taglines is “The universe is back on its bulls@%t.” This season, there’s a time portal and hauntings from the past and, uh oh, more stairs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFeFlBdItUA
The Flight Attendant: Season 2 (HBO Max series streaming 4/21)
After the events of the last season finale, you’d think that Kaley Cuoco’s Cassie would get her act together and maybe not wake up (hungover) in the middle of a murder mystery again. Think again! Well, we don’t know if liquor is involved this time around because Cassie’s attempting to drop the booze and persist in “making better choices.” She’s still attending to flights and now based in Los Angeles, but somehow she’s how helping out the CIA as a part-time gig. Thankfully, Zosia Mamet and Rosie Perez are back on the scene, and there’s international intrigue afoot again.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BrwKUDMd8s
Barry: Season 3 (HBO series returning 4/24)
After nearly three years off the map (the world’s been busy, alright?), Bill Hader’s finally back in the realm of his contract killer, but Barry’s not into it. He wants out, and he’d like to finally just act instead, but now, it’s time to turn inward and discovery why he started this killing business at all. As it turns out, it’s not so easy to abandon one’s darker tendencies, even when the instruments disappear. Hopefully, there will be more dancing from NoHo Hank to help everyone unravel the really important answers here.
We Own This City: Season 1 (HBO series streaming 4/25)
The Wire creator David Simon goes back to Baltimore in this series that digs further into the police force of Charm City. This show bases itself upon Justin Fenton’s book about Freddie Gray’s death in 2015 and all the law enforcement maneuvering that followed. Jon Bernthal portrays a plainclothes unit leader who’s the very definition of corrupt and pocketing all manner of money, gleaned from drug deals and citizens alike. Treat Williams plays one of many investigators who are trying to take down the bad cops, and yup, this is David Simon territory for sure.
The Offer (Paramount+ limited series streaming 4/28)
Believe it or not (side-eyeing pretty much every superhero movie these days) three-hour movies were not typical. They were actually very difficult to pull off, and this 10-part series shows how Frances Ford Coppola (Dan Fogler) wasn’t the only one one who struggled to bring Mario Puzo’s saga to life. Miles Teller portrays legendary producer Albert S. Ruddy, who did a lot of the fighting here, and Giovanni Ribisi portrays crime boss Joe Colombo. The rest of the cast includes Juno Temple, Matthew Goode, Burn Gorman, and Colin Hanks.
Ozark: Season 4 Part 2 (Netflix series streaming 4/29)
Alright, one thing is certain: this season is gonna be violent and probably not end well for the Byrde family, who only wanna flee from their money-laundering adventures and go back to their cushy Chicago lives. Is that even possible at this point? Only these last episodes will tell that tale, and Ruth is hellaciously angry about losing almost everything in the world. She’s the centerpiece of the above teaser, and we’ll see if she can finally rise above that “cursed Langmore” status that she keeps clinging onto. There’s more cursed cookie jar, too, so we’ll see if she can rise above those ashes. She doesn’t seem too afraid to die, but please, don’t let that happen to her.
Shining Girls: Season 1 (Apple TV+ series streaming 4/29)
Following Mad Men, Elisabeth Moss’ career flew sky high, and she moved into leading lady status with The Handmaid’s Tale. Things grew every more gripping with her turn in The Invisible Man, and she’s returning to the horror realm with this adaptation of Lauren Beukes’ novel that feels like the lovechild between Stephen King and Gillian Flynn. Moss portrays a newspaper archivist who survives an assault and heads out with Wagner Moura’s reporter to find out whodunnit, but time and reality keep on twisting.
