12 of the best TV shows you can watch in April

Half Man premieres April 23 on HBO and HBO Max in the US and April 24 on BBC iPlayer in the UK.

Apple TV+

11. Widow’s Bay

Matthew Rhys (The Americans, The Beast in Me) shows off his deft comic timing in this horror spoof, in which he plays Tom Loftis, the mayor of Widow’s Bay, a small island town in New England. He hopes to make the community, which has cute spots like a restaurant called The Salty Whale, a tourist destination even though locals are convinced the place is haunted by everything from fog to a deadly creature called the Sea Hag. The show includes nods to classic horror including The Shining. Like the seaside mayor of Gauss, Tom is willing to overlook some serious omens so as not to scare off tourists. Katie Dippold, who wrote the very funny film The Heat, starring Melissa McCarthy and Sandra Bullock, created the series and said, “I think it captures what it’s like to go to a haunted house on the boardwalk in the summer.” The sharp direction comes from some experts, including Hiro Murai (Atlanta) and T-West (X-Film Trilogy).

Widow’s Bay premieres April 29 on Apple TV globally

Netflix

12. Man on fire

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II proved his mettle as the lead character in Marvel’s latest sharp-witted film Wonder Man, in which he plays an aspiring actor who’s also a superhero. He moves into the drama in this thriller as John Creasy, a mercenary and former US Army Special Forces soldier, an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran who now suffers from PTSD. He becomes the protector of a young girl named Bo, who was the only surviving witness to a tragic accident in Brazil. Alice Braga plays the driver hired by Chrissy, who becomes his partner in trying to protect the girl and track down the terrorists who threaten her. The show is based on the 1980 novel of the same name by AJ Quinnell, which was also the basis for the 2004 film starring Denzel Washington, so there seems to be something about the role that attracts the best.

Man on Fire premieres April 30 on Netflix globally

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