What To Watch The First Weekend Of April: New TV Shows And Movies To Stream On Netflix, Hulu And More

Hey look, it’s the weekend! Here in the mountains, two days of beautiful weather has given way to a full blown snowstorm. Winter is coming. Back. Winter is coming back. Making a comeback. Spring is in full retreat. Winter just Red Weddinged the crap out of spring, no doubt about it.

That’s fine. That just means more excuses to sit around and watch all the great shows and movies that are coming out this weekend, and there are some pretty spectacular ones. So, without further adieu, let’s dive right into this week’s spectacular streaming guide extravaganza!

Check out last week’s streaming guide here:

What’s New

We’ll start with the new stuff and then go over some of the shows currently airing. I don’t always catch everything, so if you know of something new and exciting (or that you think ought to be on this list) shoot me a message on Twitter and Facebook.

The last time I saw Colin Farrell as a detective it was in Season 2 of True Detective. He was spectacular in that. He also played a detective in Minority Report, hunting down Tom Cruise. Now he takes center stage in Apple TV’s Sugar, where he plays a private detective named John Sugar hired to track down a Hollywood producer’s missing grandchild. The first two episodes are out today with weekly episodes to follow. I’ll be watching since I’ve been on this massive mystery/detective show kick lately. (Please also watch Happy Valley won’t you?)

I’ve already written about Ripley, which came out this week on Netflix. You can read my spoiler-free post about the phenomenal thriller here. I still haven’t finished the show yet (it’s a slow burn and I’m taking my time with it) and will have a full review later. Suffice to say, the limited series starring Andrew Scott based on The Talented Mr. Ripley novels by Patricia Highsmith is incredible and chilling. Steven Zaillian, the award-winning writer of Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List, writes and directs. It’s all in black and white and Robert Elswit’s cinematography is some of the best I’ve ever seen in anything. Period. All episodes are out now on Netflix.

It’s kind of funny, I believe it was just yesterday or the day before that I looked up where to watch this and could only find it for rental or purchase on Amazon Prime Video. I thought to myself, “Oh well I’ll just wait until it comes out somewhere for free” and then today as I’m researching this guide, lo and behold!

What isn’t funny is the subject matter of A24’s film: The story follows Nazi commandant Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel) and his wife Hedwig (Sandra Hüller) as they build a totally normal and lovely little life for themselves . . . at the Auschwitz death camp Höss runs. I haven’t seen it yet but as a huge WWII nerd, I’m excited that it’s finally available to stream. Maybe “excited” isn’t the right word, but I’ve been wanting to watch this for some time. Director Jonathan Glazer won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for the film.

This hasn’t been on my radar at all but it sounds like the sort of period drama I could get into. Mary & George is the true story of Mary Villiers (Julianna Moore) who climbs the social ladder thanks to her son, George (Nicholas Galitzine) who just so happens to be sleeping with King James IV (Tony Curran). It looks like there should be plenty of political intrigue and backstabbery to keep this entertaining. New episodes air each Friday.

What’s Ongoing

And so we come to the currently airing portion of this guide. Notably absent this week is The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, which ended with a whimper (and a very convenient bang) last week. What a disaster of series. So disappointing. Thankfully, there are some other good ones still airing.

The best at the moment is Shogun on Hulu, though I have the hardest time remembering that it airs so early in the week and keep forgetting to watch it on time. There are just two episodes remaining. The next comes out on Tuesday, April 9th. The series is based on James Clavell’s novel and is truly exceptional in every way, from the costume and set design to the stunning cinematography, music and a bevy of brilliant performances. If you have any interest in feudal Japan or enjoy Game Of Thrones style intrigue, give it a go.

Other shows currently airing include:

• Parish on AMC with Giancarlo Esposito. I tried the first episode of this out and got a little bored and decided to watch something else. I’ll try to give it another shot. I love Esposito but something wasn’t clicking for me. The next episode is out this Sunday.
• A Gentlemen in Moscow on Paramount+ starring Ewan McGregor and Mary Elizabeth Winstead, about a Russian aristocrat under house arrest following the Soviet Revolution. This one is good. I need to write something up about it. Episode 2 airs Sunday.
• X-Men 97 on Disney+ brings back the classic, vintage feel of the old X-Men series. It continues airing on Wednesdays and is a lot of fun.
• I keep meaning to watch The Regime but still haven’t gotten around to it, probably because my life has just been a little too hectic lately to fit everything in. The finale airs this Sunday.

In Theaters

I like to include at least one theatrical release in these guides each week, and this week’s is In The Land Of Saints And Sinners starring Liam Neeson. I just found out about this one and it sound pretty interesting, if a little bit like the sort of film we’ve come to expect from Neeson (who somehow went from Schindler’s List to Taken and is now basically an action movie star). Set in 1970s Ireland, the story deals with Finbar Murphy (Neeson) as he’s drawn into a violent confrontation with terrorists led by Doirean (Kerry Condon, who I recognize from Better Call Saul). He doesn’t want to be part of this, but has a certain special set of skills. Honestly, it looks really good. Probably the most excited I’ve been for a Liam Neeson flick in ages.

And that’s all for now, folks. Be sure to let me know if you have any recommendations for me as well!

Further reading from your humble guide:

• The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live Finale Review
• Viggo Mortensen’s new Western movie looks amazing.
• Jerry Seinfeld has a new movie about Pop Tarts coming out soon.
• Vikings is out on Netflix, and I think you should watch it.

I made a video about Dune Part 2 recently also. You can watch that below:

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