The 9 Best Shows of April, Hands-Down

Each month, I round up the five best shows from the previous 30-ish days. And usually, it's a pretty easy list to create.

For example, last month, there were clear winners, like Young Sherlock (which just got renewed for season two) and Bait (which was the funniest show I've seen in some time).

But as for April's top shows? Oof, this was a tough one. Not because there weren't good options, but because there were too many good options. My solution? Expand the list from five to nine, of course!

From BEEF season two (which was so good) to Love on the Spectrum season four (which was so sweet), here are the nine best shows of April, hands-down.

The sophomore season of BEEF is here, and it couldn't be more different from the last time around—not that that's a bad thing. In fact, I'm pretty obsessed with this latest iteration.

Season two stars Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan as a struggling married couple, and Charles Melton and Cailee Spaeny as a budding young Gen Z couple. When the younger duo witnesses a high-stakes altercation between the older couple, blackmail and a new beef are born.

Y'all, the acting is phenomenal (I mean...this cast!). The scenes between Mulligan and Isaac are alternately tense and tender, hate-filled and hopeful (and often hard to watch). Overall, this season is slower, but just as fabulous. I will hardly be surprised if the show sweeps the Emmys again this year.

It's always been true that I will watch anything Laurie Metcalf is in (The Conners, Getting On, Death of a Salesman on Broadway). She really knows how to scream a line just right in order to make me cackle. (Seriously, it gets me every time.) But after diving in to her new show, Big Mistakes on Netflix, I'm adding two more names to my "will watch them in anything" list: Dan Levy and Taylor Ortega.

Levy was iconic as David in Schitt's Creek and now he's giving us another iconic character with Nicky Dardano, a gay priest with a secret boyfriend who stumbles into a whole lot of trouble courtesy of his sister, played by Ortega. Levy, Ortega and Metcalf are phenomenal in this show. Their scenes together are so fast and funny and nuanced. The writing is whip-smart, but their delivery shows that the trio just gets comedy.

Nicky and his sister Morgan find themselves in a world of trouble after Morgan steals a necklace (as a gift to her dead grandma) from the wrong people. What ensues is a breezy, easy, entertaining watch.

Love on the Spectrum continues to be really, really great TV, and this fourth season may just be the best one yet. This American version is inspired by the original Australian series, and follows individuals on the autism spectrum as they navigate dating and relationships. 

I love having Connor, Madison and James back—along with their incredibly supportive families. Connor is a star to be sure, but his mom? Just the best! 

Newcomer Logan is a strong contender to be my favorite of the season. Just wait until you see what he wears—and how quickly he says the "L" word—on his very first date.

Full disclosure: I had to stop watching The Handmaid's Tale. The acting was excellent and the storyline was gripping, but it eventually just became too hard to watch. (Now, that's arguably the whole point of the show, but when things became borderline torture-porn, I had to bow out.) That said, I was curious and a bit excited in the lead-up to the sequel series, The Testaments. After all, the best part of the original series, Aunt Lydia (played by the unbelievably talented Ann Dowd), would be returning for more.

The new series, which takes place years after Handmaid's Tale, follows young Agnes (portrayed by a fabulous Chase Infiniti) as she attends Aunt Lydia's school for girls. Oh, did I not mention Aunt Lydia is a fabled hero now, with gold statues made in her likeness and schools named after her?

The show is very interesting, painting a new form of hierarchy to complement the one we're already familiar with (Commanders' daughters sorted into green and purple uniforms, with white outfits for the orphans). And, fortunately, the stakes feel high without things seeming too hard to watch. I'm super excited to see how the story continues to unfold.

My colleague wrote in her Margo review, "Elle Fanning's sexy new TV show is my only must-watch for the year." She and I certainly agree on one thing: Margo's Got Money Troubles is a must-watch series.

First of all, the cast is unbelievable. Fanning plays Margo, a college student whose future is propelled into chaos after an affair with her professor leaves her with a surprise baby. Michelle Pfeiffer plays her mom, a former Hooters waitress who is devastated to learn that her daughter won't be able to "make something of herself" (just wait for her screaming alone in her car in a Bloomingdale's parking lot). And Nick Offerman plays Margo's dad, a former pro wrestler famous for his Tarzan call.

Though it's being billed as a comedy, the show is much more dramedy, with plenty of serious plot points and scenes where characters have breakdowns (and the actors get to show off their major acting chops). It's hard not to root for everybody in this charming and heartfelt new show.

The fifth and final season of one of my favorite shows has finally arrived—and it doesn't disappoint. Jean Smart's Deborah Vance is back for one more hurrah, and I just hope she gets the last laugh. Her legacy is on the line (after her breakdown in Singapore and the mistaken "Deborah Vance Is Dead" headlines). Will she be able to fight the system and come out on top? (I'm confident she will.)

The season is already off to an exciting start with Deborah and Ava back to comedy writing together (finally!). Smart has already teased that things will come to a "beautiful" end. I'm sure that will include Smart winning one more Emmy for her iconic portrayal.

I don't know why it took me so long to dive into this Jon Hamm-led Apple TV dark comedy, but after I finally watched the first episode of season one on a flight earlier this year, I immediately dove into the subsequent episodes. Your Friends & Neighbors, which follows a divorced dad who loses his job and turns to petty theft (in his own neighborhood), is extremely bingable and fun to watch.

Season two is equally as good and introduces a new neighbor, played by James Marsden, who threatens to expose Hamm's character Coop. It's an exciting twist on the first season, giving us a new cat-and-mouse dynamic.

My favorite scenes are the ones between Hamm and the fabulous Amanda Peet, who plays his ex-wife. They are layered and nuanced, alternating between deep love and affection and perhaps even deeper resentment. Though season one of the show didn't break through during the 2025 Emmy season, I'm hopeful this sophomore edition will earn both Hamm and Peet acting nods.

Oof, this is a serious one, you guys. The show is at once violent, heartbreaking, heartwarming, tense and thrilling. The drama is real, the writing is complex and the relationships are very, very complicated.

Half Man is the follow-up series from Baby Reindeer creator Richard Gadd. It follows the story of two brothers (by love, not by blood) over the course of decades, from their high school years up through present day where one of them is getting married. Gadd's character (and his younger counterpart) is an explosive, rage-filled man, who only knows how to express himself through aggression and brute force. Meanwhile, his brother, played by Jamie Bell in the present day, is a "Bambi," doe-eyed, innocent and full of fear.

The series is hard to describe, but it's definitely a must-watch. It features incredible acting as it explores nontraditional relationships and family dynamics. The tension is quite high in this one, so you might want to watch with a glass of wine.

Perhaps the show I found most surprising this month? The incredible Widow's Bay starring Matthew Rhys (who plays a very different role than his turns in The Americans and The Beast in Me).

The series is a horror comedy (don't worry, the horror is on the very light and palatable side) about a small town that is trying to mount a comeback. Its only problem? It has a supernatural past that is also trying to mount a comeback. Rhys plays the bumbling town mayor who wants the locals to abandon their superstitions (but he's also slowly finding that the superstitions might not be total nonsense).

While the premise is a spooky one, the dialogue and the characters fall more on the comedy end of the spectrum. The writing is quippy and fun, with a great supporting cast surrounding Rhys to pull it off brilliantly. And while this may not be the buzziest streaming option, of the new shows I watched in April, this was the one I was most excited to keep watching after episode one.

And if the April, March and February selects aren't enough for you, check out the winning options from even earlier this year. Happy streaming!

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