We Looked Back at Our Favorite Streaming Releases for April and Recommend These Picks
When it comes to streaming entertainment, we here at CNET understand there is so much good stuff to watch that titles can easily fall through the cracks. You have responsibilities and busy lives (as do we), so it’s understandable how challenging it can be to keep up with what’s worth watching and what to skip.
That’s where we come in. To kick off our inaugural monthly catch-up, we’ve compiled our favorite shows, movies and finales that debuted on streaming platforms in April. From season 2 of an iconic sci-fi space drama and a bizarre travel show you have to see to believe, to the triumphant drop of a Marvel favorite, we’re highlighting six epic entries you should watch too.
You’ve landed on this page because you’re interested in what’s new, and trust us, these picks will not disappoint. Enough small talk, scroll on to find out what you should be watching.
Read more: 23 Fun Disney Plus Shows the Whole Family Can Enjoy
Dark Winds, which is based on Tony Hillerman’s Leaphorn and Chee novels, follows Lt. Joe Leaphorn (played to riveting perfection by Zahn McClarnon) and his Navajo police team as they investigate small-town cases that sometimes lean toward the supernatural. With three seasons under its belt and a fourth on the way, Dark Winds has gone and flipped the TV Western narrative on its head by shifting away from the oft-white perspective to deliver a taut 1970s thriller through an authentic Native lens. Not to be hyperbolic, but this is probably the best show on TV that you have not been watching.
David Blaine: Do Not Attempt finds the magician traveling across the globe in search of magic — but not the kind you’d expect. What he discovers is not meant for the easily squeamish viewer. He takes on dangerous endeavors like covering himself in bees, shoving steak knives up his nose or jumping off a bridge while lit on fire, and he does so while educating the viewer about the people and communities he visits. The six-episode first season finds him traveling to places like Brazil’s largest favela and a bee farm in Southeast Asia. This is the first time since Anthony Bourdain’s passing that I have seen a travel show with such a unique voice and edge. Color me addicted. Viewer discretion is most definitely advised.
Through nine episodes of the first season of this series, storylines either intersected or felt like separate threads that made you wonder where the story was going. But the finale brought it all together with Punisher going scorched earth (a beautiful sight to see), Daredevil choosing to fall back and Kingpin freaking all of us out with his barbaric nastiness. No complaints about loose ends here — we know who killed Hector Ayala and why the port is so important — and I’m sure season 2 is perfectly set up to have more nail-biting scenes. You can binge all of season 1 of Daredevil: Born Again now on Disney Plus.
In its first season, Andor solidified itself as an example of superb Star Wars storytelling. The series, which stands above everything else Disney Plus has released in the Star Wars universe, follows the events leading up to the Rebellion’s attack on the Death Star in 2016’s Star Wars: Rogue One. This here is a thoughtful, cinematic exploration of classism, protest and revolution. Sure, it’s fiction. But in these chaotic times, the struggles of Cassian Andor feel surprisingly prescient. We’re just halfway through the season, so stick around for the rest of the episodes in May.
The most recent Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series went to the ever-hilarious Hacks. Season 4 of the Max show finds its main character, Jean Smart’s Deborah Vance, celebrating a significant achievement of her own: a late-night hosting gig. Winning over audiences was never going to be easy, and the fallout from a choice her frequent collaborator, Hannah Einbinder’s Ava, made at the end of Season 3 adds another layer to the chaos. Whether they are throwing witty barbs at each other or being there in vital moments, Ava and Deborah are still an endlessly watchable pair.
To me, The Last of Us is what The Walking Dead should’ve been. Based on the popular post-apocalyptic video game series, Season 2, in just three episodes, has cut right to the marrow of what makes this program top-tier entertainment. The gut-wrenching performances by Bella Ramsey, Pedro Pascal, Gabriel Luna and Kaitlyn Dever, along with the poignant writing, gorgeous cinematography and gruesome makeup effects, put this series up there with the likes of Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad. That’s right, I said it.