April is upon us, but thankfully we've all been able to put April Fool's behind us by this point – we're now fully into the swing of the month, and here in the UK we're basking in a part of the year that brings a bunch of bank holidays with it. So, if you're mourning your return to work after the long Easter weekend, you might want some streaming action to take the edge off.
Anyone trying to recuperate from a heavy weekend of festivities or family exposure will probably be in the market for some new shows and movies, so I've done the hard yards for you all. I've scoured the listing of everything coming to Netflix and Prime Video both, and that's left me ideally placed to point you at the three highlights you need to know about this week. Check them out below, with trailers for your convenience.
The Boys Season 5
- Streaming on: Amazon Prime Video from 8 April
This might be the single biggest streaming launch of the month, let alone just this week, with millions of fans waiting rapt for the conclusion of The Boys, which has been wowing us all with profane and hyper-violent visions for years now. The superhero show has rewritten the rules about what we expect from adult shows on streaming platforms, and promises to keep doing that in its fifth and final season.
There are some huge showdowns in the pipeline, but while the B plots are plenty interesting, let's be honest; we're all here to see both whether Homelander dies, and how he does, if so. It'll be one of the most cathartic moments in recent TV history if it happens, but this show being the way it is, don't bet against some crushing character deaths along the way.
Big Mistakes
- Streaming on: Netflix from 9 April
Dan Levy's new project with Netflix has a really interesting trailer that made my ears perk up very directly. Like the excellent and much-loved Schitt's Creek before it, Big Mistakes will take a look at a dysfunctional family that's forced to work together when it hits hard times. While it's also a comedy, though, this new show does look a little darker in tone.
It'll see Levy's character and his sister get into very hot water when they fall into a world of criminality, with some organised criminals and others being rather less formal in their approach. That's going to make for some harem-scarem moments and a caperish tone that seems potentially very fun, all with what looks like a bigger budget than Levy's had before. The signs are very good, basically.
Sheng Wang: Purple
- Streaming on: Netflix from 7 April
While new shows and big launches are great, sometimes when a weeknight comes around, you just want to get a takeout and curl up with some nice, gentle comedy. Sheng Wang's work definitely falls into that category – he'll have you chuckling along nicely but is unlikely to head into massively complicated territory.
Of course, that's just going from his past work, and there's every chance he does something surprising during this comedy special filmed by Ali Wong. The trailer makes it clear that it's going to be lovely, though, full of jokes about adult life in all its complexities and idiosyncrasies.
