Beef
From April 6th, Netflix
It starts with a road rage incident, and ends in near-apocalyptic mayhem, in this black comedy series about obsession, revenge and a complete inability to just let it go. Danny (Steven Yeun) is a contractor whose business is collapsing; Amy (Ali Wong) is an entrepreneur seems to have it all, but feels empty inside. When Danny’s truck and Amy’s car have a near miss, all their frustrations boil to the surface, and the two strangers embark on a vehicular vendetta that threatens to turn both their lives – and those of their families and friends – into a car crash. Jeez, get a room, guys.
Tiny Beautiful Things
From April 7th, Disney+
Clare is a writer in serious need of finding a new chapter in her life, and when a friend offers her a gig as an agony aunt, she discovers the therapeutic value of helping readers with their problems. Kathryn Hahn plays Clare, who has assumed her new persona as Dear Sugar, dishing out advice and wisdom to the public while piecing her own messed-up life back together. The series is based on the best-selling collection by Cheryl Strayed, and beware – there may be feelgood moments of unbearable lightness.
Boom! Boom! The World vs Boris Becker
From April 7th, Apple TV+
Sports documentary series are proving big winners for streaming channels – and there’s no shortage of archive material to pull from – or larger-than-life personalities to profile. This series by Alex Gibney and John Battsek focuses on the German tennis star who became the world’s youngest Wimbledon champion aged 17, looking at his glittering career on court, but also his tumultuous personal life, right up to his recent conviction for hiding assets. The series features interviews with top tennis stars past and present, including John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg and Novak Djokovic.
Transatlantic
From April 7th, Netflix
Between 1940 and 1041, The Emergency Rescue Committee helped thousands of refugees to escape from occupied France, and this series tells the true story of how a group of idealistic young people, led by American journalist Varian Fry (Cory Michael Smith) and bankrolled by Chicago heiress Mary Jayne Gold (Gillian Jacobs) managed to spirit out some of Europe’s greatest artists and intellectuals from under the Nazis’ noses – including Andre Breton, Hannah Arendt, Marcel Duchamp, Max Ernst and Marc Chagall.
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Single Drunk Female
From April 12th, Disney+
Samantha Fink (Sofia Black-D’Elia) is a twenty-something woman with a big media job in New York and even bigger booze problem. After a spectacular drunken meltdown, Samantha loses her job and, in order to avoid jail, moves back to her hometown to get sober and rebuild her life. Back in the bosom of her family, Sam now has to deal with her overbearing mother Carol (Ally Sheedy) and grapple daily with ghosts of her past. In series two, Samantha has been sober for a year and a half, and is feeling pretty optimistic about life. Don’t worry, that’ll soon be knocked out of her.
Obsession
From April 13th, Netflix
What, is Jeremy Irons having a streaming moment? This month sees the release of two new series based on movies starring Irons. Later we’ll have Dead Ringers, adapted from the David Cronenberg 1988 horror film (see below), and here’s a new erotic drama series based on Josephine Hart’s Damage, which was made into a 1992 film starring Irons, Juliette Binoche and Miranda Richardson. Irish actor Charlie Murphy plays Anna Barton, young, who is about to be married, but when she begins an embarks on an affair with her fiancé’s dad, William (Richard Armitage), everyone’s lives begin to spiral out of control.
The Diplomat
From April 20th, Netflix
Kate Wyler is a career diplomat who’s not afraid to take on the challenges of international politics. She’s hoping to get posted somewhere like Afghanistan, or some other crisis zone she can get her teeth into, but instead she’s given an even more perilous assignment: the new US ambassador to Britain. She’ll have to deal with tricksy British politicians while also navigating her marriage to fellow diplomat Hal Wyler (Rufus Sewell), who likes to hog the limelight.
Dead Ringers
From April 21st, Prime Video
It’s been 35 years since we squirmed at David Cronenberg’s horror film about identical twin gynaecologists played by Jeremy Irons. Now it’s getting an update, and this time it’s Rachel Weisz playing the dual roles in a six-part thriller that promises to be even more disturbing than the original film. Weisz plays Elliot and Beverly Mantle, twin medics who like to share everything – including lovers. Both share a passion for improving healthcare for women – but how far are they willing to go, and when does pushing the boundaries of medical ethics tip over into malpractice – and madness? Prepare to be grossed out all over again.
Sweet Tooth
From April 27th, Netflix
It’s a parent’s worst nightmare: your kid gets a face painting of a bunny rabbit, or puts on reindeer antlers for Christmas, but then you can’t get them off, so they’re stuck that way forever. This post-apocalyptic drama imagines a world where a pandemic known simply as The Sick causes children to be born half-human, half cute animal. These hybrids are hunted by folk who don’t understand, and in series two, Gus (Christian Convery) and his raggle-taggle group of hybrids are up against the evil General Abbot, who is holding them prisoner and planning to conduct some nasty experiments to find a cure. Try Fairy liquid.
Citadel
From April 28th, Prime Video
Mason Kane and Nadia Sinh are the ultimate sleeper agents – living ordinary lives, blissfully unaware that they are actually spies. They used to work for global espionage agency Citadel, but it fell to a powerful shadowy syndicate known as Manticore. Mason and Nadia escaped, but not before their memories were wiped. Now, they are just getting on with being normal people, but when an old colleague turns up with the news that Manticore are planning to take over the world, they have to quickly go back to spy elementary school if they are to avert a catastrophe. Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Richard Madden star, along with Stanley Tucci and Lesley Manville.
