April in TV sees two top dramas coming to a close, the latest sure-to-be-hit teen drama and the return of Russian Doll. Our preview for the month guides you through each of them.

Slow Horses (1st April, Apple TV+)

Spying ain’t always glamorous. That’s the focus of Apple’s new espionage thriller Slow Horses, which stars Gary Oldman as the head of MI5’s least important unit, consigned to all the boring bureaucratic things nobody else wants to do. It wouldn’t be a story if it was all just filling out forms, though, so this ragteam team is inevitably drawn into a major conspiracy. Co-stars include Kristen Scott Thomas (Four Weddings and a Funeral), Jonathan Pryce (Game of Thrones), Olivia Cooke (Sound of Metal) and Jack Lowden (Dunkirk).

Doctor Who (Easter Sunday, BBC One)

The slow journey to Jodie Whittaker’s handover to whoever comes next in the TARDIS continues with the second of 2022’s three Doctor Who specials. This one follows up the Dalek-themed New Year’s adventure with a confrontation with old-old foes The Sea Devils, who have tangled themselves with a Chinese piratical conspiracy.

Better Call Saul (19th April, Netflix)

Over two years since it left off, the acclaimed Breaking Bad prequel is back for a final run that is set to wrap up Jimmy McGill’s transformation into Saul Goodman, and then Saul Goodman’s change into sadsack Cinnabon manager Gene. It’s more than just Saul to worry about, though - Better Call Saul has created a fleet of fascinating original characters whose fates we have to worry about, from concerningly corruptible Kim (Rhea Seehorn) to probably doomed criminal Nacho (Michael Mando). A lot of worry ahead, clearly.

Russian Doll (20th April, Netflix)

How do you follow up a story that seemingly tied off all its many loops as neatly as can be? We’ve been waiting three years for the answer to that particular question in the case of Netflix’s Russian Doll, whose time-bending first season stunned back in 2019. Season two jumps ahead several years to throw Nadia (Natasha Lyonne) and Alan (Charlie Barnett) back into another wacky metaphysical adventure. What a concept!

Heartstopper (22nd April, Netflix)

Alice Oseman’s beloved graphic novels make the leap to live-action in this month’s Netflix adaptation, Heartstopper. The story, which has acquired quite the fandom in print form, follows two teenage boys, Charlie (Joe Locke) and Nick (Sebastian Croft) as they navigate young love amidst all the pitfalls of adolescence. Think of it as the brighter and sunnier British skew on Euphoria, with LGBTQ+ representation that won’t make you wonder what the writers were thinking.

Gaslit (24th April, Starzplay)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQQSrbSw9M0

The Watergate scandal has been touched upon in numerous films and shows – most famously, while the papers were still barely warm, All The President’s Men did the definitive take upon the journalistic investigations into it – but it’s relatively rare that it is tackled head-on. The limited series Gaslit, based upon the first season of the Slow Burn podcast, aims to take on that challenge, focusing upon unexpected whistleblower Martha Mitchell, as played by Julia Roberts. Sean Penn plays her Republican husband John Mitchell, while Dan Stevens (Legion), Betty Gilpin (GLOW) and Shea Whigham (Fargo) fill out key roles from history.

Ozark (29th April, Netflix)

Four seasons of Ozark have tracked the grim and dangerous travails of semi-accidental criminal Marty Byrde (Jason Bateman), but all things must come to an end, especially Netflix original series that are past season two. Accordingly, Ozark wraps its journey at the end of the month with a final run of seven episodes that will, one can only presume, not provide a happy ending for most of the criminals involved. Maybe we’ll be surprised.

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