The 5 New and Under-the-Radar TV Shows You Can’t Miss in April
Photo Courtesy of Netflix TV Lists list
The joke is on TV viewers this April as the somewhat frantic race to premiere shows before the Emmy eligibility period ends continues. Shows have to air at least six episodes of their season before May 31 to be eligible for Emmy competition this year. That means there’s just a deluge of new TV shows coming your way.
This month sees the second season return of AppleTV+’s Schmigadoon on April 5 and Freeform’s Single Drunk Female on April 11. Prime Video’s Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and HBO’s Barry are both launching their final seasons on April 14 and April 16 respectively.
High-profile new TV shows on the way include Jennifer Garner’s return to series television in AppleTV+’s The Last Thing He Told Me on April 14, Hulu’s missing person mystery Saint X on April 26, and Joshua Jackson in Paramount+’s Fatal Attraction on April 30 (as I’ve explained to my editor I’m contractually obligated to mention when Pacey is in a show).
With the possible Writers Guild of America strike looming, it might be nice if networks and streaming platforms took a breath and slowed down their premiere rollouts. But that doesn’t look like it’s happening any time soon. So, once again, here are the five new and under-the-radar shows you can’t miss this month!
1. Jury Duty
Stars: Ronald Gladden, James Marsden, Alan Barinholtz, Susan Berger, Cassandra Blair, David Brown, Kirk Fox , Ross Kimball, Pramode Kumar, Trisha LaFache, and Mekki Leeper
Premiere Date: The first four episodes premiere April 7 on Amazon Freevee followed by two episodes each Friday until the finale on April 21
From the producers of The Office and The White Lotus comes this comedy about a jury trial. The catch? Only juror Ronald Gladden believes he’s a real juror in a real trial. Everyone else is just pretending, including James Marsden who plays a hilarious (and extremely self-centered) version of himself. I’m not going to lie, shows like this usually make me super uncomfortable. But Ronald is so sweet and earnest and Marsden is clearly having such a blast in the role, you can’t help but go along for the ride.
2. Rennervations
Stars: Jeremy Renner, Rory Millikin
Premiere Date: All four episodes premiere April 12 on Disney+
Some of us have been following Jeremy Renner’s career since 2002 when he was a struggling actor on Bravo’s The It Factor. But lately, Renner was in the news a lot at the start of the year when he was in a terrible snow plow accident outside his home in Lake Tahoe. This feel-good series was filmed before the accident and features Renner, his best friend Rory Millikin, a crew of very talented builders and celebrities including Vanessa Hudgens, Anil Kapoor, Sebastián Yatra, and Anthony Mackie. Renner takes huge vehicles long past their original use and refurbishes and repurposes them to help communities. First up creating a mobile music studio for kids in Chicago. “Alright it needs some work, but don’t we all?” Renner says of the bus before its transformation.
3. Jane
Stars: Ava Louise Murchison, Mason Blomberg, and Tamara Almeida
Premiere Date: All 10 episodes premiere April 14 on AppleTV+
This new children and family series, a blend of live action and CGI, arrives just in time for Earth Day. Nine-year-old Jane Garcia (Ava Louise Murchison), her best friend David (Mason Blomberg) and her chimpanzee pal Greybeard protect endangered species around the world. The moving series is inspired by the work of Dr. Jane Goodall and is produced in partnership with the Jane Goodall Institute. Jane often quotes Dr. Goodall and uses Goodall’s words to help guide her in her quest to save animals. The show’s theme song, “One Step Closer,” was written by Diane Warren and is performed by Leona Lewis.
4. Waco: The Aftermath
Stars: Michael Shannon, Shea Whigham, Annika Marks, Michael Vincent Berry, Alex Breaux, Michael Cassidy, Gary Cole, Nicholas Kolev, Michael Luwoye, Kieran Mulcare, Kali Rocha and Sasheer Zamata
Premiere Date: April 16 at 10 p.m. on Showtime
Coinciding with the 30th anniversary of the tragic events that began on February 28, 1993, this five episode series—a sequel of sorts to 2018’s underrated Waco (which starred Taylor Kitsch as David Koresh)—stars Michael Shannon, who reprises his role of FBI negotiator Gary Noesner. John Leguizamo is also back as undercover ATF agent Jacob Vasquez. Waco: The Aftermath follows the connection between what happened after the fatal confrontation at Mt. Caramel and the through line to what came next, including the rise of homegrown terrorists all the way to the storming of the US Capital on January 6, 2021.
5. The Diplomat
Stars: Keri Russell, Rufus Sewell, David Gyasi, Ali Ahn, Rory Kinnear, and Ato Essandoh
Premiere Date: All eight episodes premiere April 20 on Netflix
Keri Russell was last seen in a TV series as the duplicitous Elizabeth Jennings, an undercover KGB agent living the quintessential suburban life in FX’s The Americans. Now Russell, fresh off her stint in Cocaine Bear, headlines this new Netflix series at Kate Wyler, the US Ambassador to the United Kingdom. Kate must deal with brewing international crises while trying to keep her marriage to Hal (Rufus Sewell), who is also a diplomat, intact.
Amy Amatangelo, the TV Gal®, is a Boston-based freelance writer and a member of the Television Critics Association. She wasn’t allowed to watch much TV as a child and now her parents have to live with this as her career. You can follow her on Twitter @AmyTVGal.
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