What to watch on Netflix, Disney +, Amazon Prime Video, DocPlay and Neon in April

It's an early Easter ahead, and while most of the world is in lockdown, this does also mean an extra long weekend for people to watch whatever they want - and not worry about work the next day.

So, while we march into April, with a third of the year nearly gone, here are the best things to watch on Netflix, Disney +, Amazon Prime Video, and Neon in April.

Concrete Cowboy (Netflix, April 2) 

Netflix continues its new movie every week mantra with Concrete Cowboy, an intriguing looking piece, notable for Idris Elba, saddled up with a pink bandana. Sent to live with his estranged father for the summer, a rebellious teen finds kinship in a tight-knit Philadelphia community of Black cowboys.

The Serpent (Netflix, April 2)

Doctor Who and Victoria star Jenna Coleman is one of the two leads in the limited eight part series based on the crimes of serial killer Charles Sobhraj, who murdered young tourists between 1975–1976. It also stars the eminently watchable Tahar Rahim.

National Geographic: Earth Moods  (Disney +, April 16)

Escape everyday life with Earth Moods seems like the perfect sell given the likely hustle and bustle of the Easter break.

Travelling to blue glaciers, swirling dunes, bustling cities and lush rainforests as Covid-19 continues to put the downer on global travel seems to be the perfect cure.

Them (Amazon Prime, April 9)

With series artwork that very much looks like a follow on to Jordan Peele's Us, the ten episode Amazon Original appears to have some spooky promise. A limited anthology series that explores terror in America, the 1950s set first season centres on a Black family who moves from North Carolina to an all-white Los Angeles neighbourhood during the period known as The Great Migration. The family’s idyllic home becomes ground zero where malevolent forces, next-door and otherworldly, threaten to taunt, ravage and destroy them.

The Nevers (Neon, April 12)

In the last years of Victoria’s reign, London is beset by the ‘Touched’: people – mostly women – who suddenly manifest abnormal abilities, some charming, some very disturbing. 

Among them are Amalia True, a mysterious, quick-fisted widow, and Penance Adair, a brilliant young inventor. They are the champions of this new underclass, making a home for the Touched, while fighting the forces of... well, pretty much all the forces..

A scifi drama series conceived by Buffy's Joss Whedon.

America's Great Divide: From Obama to Trump (DocPlay, April 19)

An investigation into America’s increasingly bitter, divided and toxic politics. Episode One traces how Barack Obama’s promise of unity collapsed as increasing racial, cultural and political divisions laid the groundwork for the rise of Donald Trump. 

Episode Two examines how Donald Trump’s campaign exploited the country’s divisions and how his presidency has unleashed anger on both sides of the divide.

Pertinent and depressingly timely, this doco will no doubt show just how polarised the United States have become.

Mare of Easttown (April 19, Neon)

As her life crumbles around her, a small-town Pennsylvania detective, Mare Sheehan investigates a local murder. Mare of Easttown is an exploration into the dark side of a close community and an authentic examination of how family and past tragedies can define our present.

Starring Kate Winslet and Guy Pearce 

Falcon and the Winter Soldier - season finale (April 23, Disney +)

The six episode Marvel series wraps up (already) with a no doubt explosive finale, and no doubt Marvel teasing future developments within the MCU as it continues to sprawl out across multiple formats.

Don't worry too much, though - the next Marvel TV series Loki will be along very, very soon.

The Handmaid's Tale Season 4 (April 29, Neon)

Yet more insufferable potential miserabilism from Margaret Atwood's world as the Handmaids return.

Delayed by Covid-19, and express from the US, the latest season promises to be even more explosive as June  strikes back against Gilead as a fierce rebel leader, but the risks  she takes bring unexpected and dangerous new challenges.  

Her quest for justice and revenge threatens to consume her and  destroy her most cherished relationships. 

Tom Clancy's Without Remorse (April 30, Amazon Prime Video)

Creed and Black Panther's Michael B. Jordan stars in this upcoming American action thriller film directed by Stefano Sollima and written by Taylor Sheridan and Will Staples. 

It is based on the 1993 novel of the same name by Tom Clancy and a spin-off of the Jack Ryan film series.

No word on whether Jack Ryan will show - but as Ryan is also an Amazon Prime property, you never quite can tell.

Genius: Aretha (April 30, Disney +)

Genius is an anthology series that focuses on the untold stories of the world's most brilliant innovators. 

This time around, it's Aretha Franklin's turn to get some R E S P E C T.