5 Netflix movies and shows you really need to stream in April

Sure, Netflix has a lot more competition today than a decade ago. But we keep a close eye on what comes out on the streamers, and Netflix still can’t be topped for the consistency with which it flings out new movies and TV shows.

A whole bunch are due in April. We’ve sifted through the lot to pick out the five movies, documentaries and TV shows we think might be worth holding onto your subscription for.

We have epic sci-fi, a slick-looking thriller from a screenwriting master and, you guessed it, another slice of true crime. Let's get started.

1. Scoop

What is it? A behind-the scenes dramatisation of a landmark BBC interview starring Gillian Anderson

Release date: April 5

In 2019, the BBC’s Newsnight broadcast an interview with Prince Andrew so disastrous it led to him stepping back from public duties as a member of the royal family within days. Emily Maitlis was the interviewer, played by Gillian Anderson in this dramatisation of the true story. The film is a 100-odd-minute watch and is more about what went on behind the scenes to make the interview happen than the actual interview itself. It’s directed by Philip Martin, who also worked on The Crown.

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2. Rebel Moon - Part 2: The Scargiver

What is it? The second part of Zack Snyder’s sci-fi epic

Release date: April 19

Zack Snyder has made a lower-budget version of Star Wars. It's called Rebel Moon. The first part didn’t blow minds, but we have hopes the story may come together better in the second part, Rebel Moon - Part 2: The Scargiver. That scargiver is, of course, Kora, played by Sofia Boutella. This is the second and final part of the Rebel Moon saga, and in true Zack Snyder style we expect it to be topped off with plenty of epic action.

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3. Ripley

What is it? A black and white thriller TV series starring Andrew Scott

Release date: April 4

Nope, this is not an Alien spin-off. It’s a stylish TV series starring Andrew Scott, who recently earned mega-plaudits for his role in All of Us Strangers. He plays Ripley, a somewhat dodgy dude who is sent to Italy with orders to bring back the son of a rich businessman. But, as these stories tend to, nothing is quite as simple as it seems and he ends up tangled in a plot of murder and mayhem. It’s an 8-episode series, written by Steve Zaillian, who wrote The Irishman, Moneyball and Schindler’s List. Big hopes for this one.

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4. Baby Reindeer

What is it? A dark comedy show about a real-life stalking case

Release date: April 11

Richard Gadd is a comedian, a real-life one. His 2019 show was Baby Reindeer, which was about his own experiences of being stalked over almost a decade. It made its way to West End London theatres in 2020, and now it’s a Netflix TV show. “How a single act of kindness leads down a twisty road paved with hundreds of hours of voice messages and north of 40,000 emails,” is the official blurb. It’s split over eight roughly 30-minute episodes. This show probably cost peanuts compared with the average Netflix production, but could be the most interesting watch of the month. Given this one is is produced by Andy Baker and Petra Fried (The End of the F***ing World), we have high hopes.

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5. What Jennifer Did

What is it? The latest true crime documentary from Netflix

Release date: April 10

Spoiler alert! What Jennifer Did is a documentary recounting the story of Jennifer Pan, and her plot to kill her parents for the inheritance she’d receive. She hires hitmen to break into her folks’ home. Her mother is shot and killed, but her father survives the attack. This documentary looks at the years that led up to this eye-opening case, and Jennifer’s attempt to cover up the crime. Unusually, this isn’t a multi-part TV series but a snappy (just under) 90 minute feature-length doc.

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