April 2026 Watchlist
What to Watch
This Month
4
Must-See Films
14
Series & Specials
7
Streaming Platforms
∞
Excuses to Stay In
April 2026 might be the single most stacked month in recent memory. Zendaya alone has two major releases. Add a Michael Jackson biopic, the Handmaid's Tale sequel, a Malcolm in the Middle revival, and the final season of Hacks — you genuinely have to prioritize.
Platforms this month
Section 01
In Theaters
01
TheatersApr 1
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie
Chris Pratt · Anya Taylor-Joy · Jack Black · Charlie Day
Mario, Luigi, Peach and Yoshi blast into space to stop Bowser Jr. Sequel to the 2023 blockbuster — same directors, full cast back, now going fully cosmic with Rosalina and a surprise Fox McCloud cameo.
Why it's here: The 2023 film was a genuine delight. Adding Yoshi and going galactic is exactly the right move. The safe family blockbuster of the month.
A24Apr 3
The Drama
Zendaya · Robert Pattinson · Alana Haim
An engaged couple, days before their wedding. The bride reveals something from her past that shatters everything. Dark, uncomfortable, and funny in the worst way — from the director of Dream Scenario, produced by Ari Aster.
Why it's here: Zendaya and Pattinson in an A24 dark comedy. That sentence alone justifies a ticket.
A24Apr 17
Mother Mary
Anne Hathaway · Michaela Coel · Hunter Schafer
A pop superstar reconnects with her estranged best friend on the eve of her comeback tour. Original music by Charli XCX and Jack Antonoff — Hathaway performs every song herself. Directed by David Lowery.
Why it's here: An A24 psychosexual pop melodrama with Hathaway doing Charli XCX songs while Michaela Coel stares her down. The arthouse spectacle of the month.
TheatersApr 24
Michael
Jaafar Jackson · Nia Long · Colman Domingo
Antoine Fuqua directs this biopic of the King of Pop, starring Michael Jackson's actual nephew Jaafar in the lead role. Covers his rise, global superstardom, and the personal toll of both.
Why it's here: Casting an actual Jackson is bold. Fuqua goes big. Whatever you think of the legacy, this will be talked about for months.
Section 02
Streaming — Series
02
NetflixApr 16 · All eps
Beef — Season 2
Oscar Isaac · Carey Mulligan · Cailee Spaeny · Charles Melton
New story, new cast. A Gen-Z couple witness an explosive fight between their millennial boss and his wife at an elite country club. Class warfare, passive aggression, and a Korean billionaire pulling strings. 8 episodes.
Why it's here: Season 1 was one of the best shows of 2023. A24 + Lee Sung Jin + this cast is automatic. Block out a Saturday.
HuluApr 8 · 3 eps drop
The Testaments
Ann Dowd · Chase Infiniti · Lucy Halliday
The Handmaid's Tale sequel based on Atwood's Booker Prize-winning novel. Set 15 years later — two teenage girls navigate Aunt Lydia's elite school in Gilead. One of them is Hannah, June's lost daughter.
Why it's here: Ann Dowd returning as a more conflicted Aunt Lydia. The show Gilead fans have been waiting for since 2019.
Hulu / Disney+Apr 10 · All 4 eps
Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair
Bryan Cranston · Frankie Muniz · Jane Kaczmarek
Nearly 20 years later. Malcolm built a perfect life and kept his daughter far from his chaotic family — until Hal and Lois demand he show up for their 40th anniversary.
Why it's here: Bryan Cranston going from Hal to Walter White back to Hal is its own full-circle poetry. You'll watch it in one sitting.
HBO Max · Final SeasonApr 9 · Weekly
Hacks — Season 5
Jean Smart · Hannah Einbinder · Megan Stalter
The fifth and final season. After being falsely reported dead in Singapore, Deborah and Ava return to Las Vegas — but a non-compete clause means she literally cannot perform a single joke. 10 episodes.
Why it's here: The best comedy on streaming going out on their own terms. 99% on Rotten Tomatoes across all five seasons.
Apple TV+Apr 15 · Then weekly
Margo's Got Money Troubles
Elle Fanning · Michelle Pfeiffer · Nicole Kidman · Nick Offerman
A college dropout gets pregnant by her English professor who ghosts her. With a baby and mounting debt, she starts an OnlyFans using her pro-wrestler father's advice. From A24 and David E. Kelley. 100% on RT.
Why it's here: Three Oscar nominees as lead, executive producer, and co-star. The sleeper hit of the month.
NetflixApr 9 · All eps
Big Mistakes
Dan Levy · Laurie Metcalf · Taylor Ortega
Dan Levy and Rachel Sennott created this crime comedy. Two deeply incapable siblings accidentally get blackmailed into organized crime and fail upward through increasingly dangerous schemes. 8 episodes.
Why it's here: Levy's first major project since Schitt's Creek and he chose crime comedy.
AMC+Apr 12 · Weekly
The Audacity
Billy Magnussen · Sarah Goldberg · Zach Galifianakis
A darkly comic series inside the bubble of Silicon Valley power. Billy Magnussen plays an audacious, data-mining tech CEO who believes his own mythology completely.
Why it's here: The tech-bro satire we needed. Magnussen is deeply underrated and this is his moment.
Apple TV+Apr 10
Outcome
Keanu Reeves · Jonah Hill · Cameron Diaz · Matt Bomer
Directed by Jonah Hill. Keanu Reeves plays the world's biggest movie star, secretly sober five years, who gets blackmailed. To find the blackmailer he must apologize to everyone he's wronged.
Why it's here: Keanu in a Jonah Hill Hollywood satire with Cameron Diaz in her full comeback arc. The wildcard of the month.
MGM+Apr 19 · Weekly
FROM — Season 4
Harold Perrineau · Catalina Sandino Moreno
The cult mystery-horror series returns. A town where no one can leave and monsters come at night. Season 4 promises long-awaited mythology answers.
Why it's here: If you've been watching FROM, this is required. One of the most genuinely mysterious shows on TV.
NetflixApr 23
Running Point — Season 2
Kate Hudson · Justin Theroux · Ray Romano · Ken Marino
Kate Hudson's basketball comedy returns. Isla fights for the championship while managing locker room chaos — now with her brother back from rehab. Ray Romano and Ken Marino join.
Why it's here: Season 1 debuted at No. 3 globally on Netflix. Good formula, more of it.
PeacockApr 9 · All 10 eps
The Miniature Wife
Elizabeth Banks · Matthew Macfadyen
A technological accident literally shrinks the wife. A 10-episode dramedy about marriage power imbalances taken to absurdist extremes. Elizabeth Banks as a three-inch version of herself.
Why it's here: The premise alone. Banks and Macfadyen are committed performers.
NetflixApr 16
Ronaldinho: The One and Only
Ronaldinho Gaúcho · Documentary
Netflix traces Ronaldinho's full journey from prodigy in Porto Alegre to global legend — the 2002 World Cup, the Barcelona years, and the controversies.
Why it's here: R10 is widely considered the most technically gifted player of his generation. His story deserves the full treatment.
NetflixApr 22
This Is a Gardening Show
Zach Galifianakis · Host
Zach Galifianakis hosts a gardening show — not as an expert, but as someone genuinely learning alongside the audience. Self-deprecating, curious, sincere about the earth.
Why it's here: The most unexpected show of the month and Galifianakis's purest expression of himself.
Section 03
Stand-Up Specials
03
HuluApr 24
Nikki Glaser: Good Girl
Nikki Glaser · Stand-Up Special
After hosting the Golden Globes twice and being named Comedian of the Year by the New York Times, Nikki Glaser returns with a full Hulu special. Brutally honest, self-aware, and funnier than she has any right to be.
Why it's here: The most consistent performer in stand-up comedy right now. Watch it the night it drops.
Also worth noting, if that's your thing —
April also brings One Piece, the fifth and final season of The Boys on Prime Video (April 8), Your Friends & Neighbors Season 2 on Apple TV+ (April 3), Outlander: Blood of My Blood, a BTS World Tour concert film, and Stranger Things: Tales from '85 on Netflix (April 23). April is a lot.
Screen. · All dates subject to change · April 2026 · Happy watching.