MW Here's what's worth streaming in April 2026 on Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max and more
By Mike Murphy
Prices are rising at Netflix and Amazon, while Hulu revives 'Malcolm in the Middle' and HBO Max has new seasons of 'Hacks' and 'Euphoria'
Zendaya stars in Season 3 of HBO's "Euphoria," coming April 12.
Are you ready to spend $20 a month for a streaming plan?
You soon may have to, as Netflix and Amazon's Prime Video are raising prices by up to $2 a month in April, putting Netflix's most popular ad-free tier at $19.99, and Prime Video's ad-free tier at $19.98.
Those price hikes are especially rough as gas prices are skyrocketing, along with the price of pretty much everything else.
But with a bit of strategic churning - that is, adding and dropping services month to month - you can still catch the best shows while keeping your monthly streaming budget around $50. Keep in mind that a billing cycle starts when you sign up, not necessarily at the beginning of the month. And it's always worth watching out for time-sensitive deals and money-saving bundles.
Each month, this column offers tips on how to maximize your streaming and your budget - rating the major services as "play," "pause" or "stop," similar to investment analysts' traditional ratings of buy, hold and sell - and picks the best shows to help you make your monthly decisions.
Here's a look at what's coming to the various streaming services in April 2026, and what's really worth the monthly subscription fee:
HBO Max ($10.99 a month with ads, $18.49 with no ads, or $22.99 'Ultimate' with no ads)
HBO has its eyes solidly on awards season with this month's prestige-ey lineup.
The Emmy-winning comedy "Hacks" (April 9) is back for its fifth and final season, with Deborah (Jean Smart) looking to seal her legacy in the wake of erroneous reports of her death, with the help of her right-hand woman Ava (Hannah Einbinder). "Hacks" has been one of the best comedies of the past decade, and it's nice to see it going out on its own terms, as the show's central Deborah-Ava conflicts can only be repeated so many times.
Meanwhile, after a four-year layoff, creator Sam Levinson's provocative and divisive coming-of-age drama "Euphoria" (April 12) is back for its long-awaited third season. The multiple Emmy winner will pick up with a time jump and its characters living as young adults, five years after high school, and things look completely out of control. In real life, the show's stars - Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney, Jacob Elordi - have become Hollywood superstars, and they'll be joined this season by top-notch guest stars including Sharon Stone, Natasha Lyonne and Marshawn Lynch. While definitely not for everyone, "Euphoria" may be the buzziest show of the spring.
Speaking of buzz, coming off the surprise success of Netflix's "Baby Reindeer" a couple of years back, creator Richard Gadd is back with a new miniseries, "Half Man" (April 23). Gadd co-stars with Jamie Bell as estranged friends in this drama exploring the fragility of male relationships. Expect a dark, deep and vaguely disturbing ride.
There's also the streaming premiere of Oscar nominee "Marty Supreme" (April 24) and "Alien: Romulus" (April 3); "The Dark Wizard" (April 14), a docuseries about the late extreme climber Dean Potter; and a yet-to-be-titled standup-comedy special by Ramy Youssef (date TBA). There'll also be new episodes of the weird but oddly compelling "DTF St. Louis" (season finale April 12), the affable campus comedy "Rooster," plus "The Comeback," "The Pitt" and "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver."
On the sports side, March Madness concludes with the men's Final Four and championship game (April 4 and 6). There's also a full slate of NHL games (including playoffs, starting April 19); Major League Baseball (every Tuesday night starting April 7); and a trio of U.S. women's soccer matches against Japan (April 11, 14 and 17).
Play, pause or stop? Play. Great comedies, great dramas, a deep library and a solid sports lineup. What more can you ask for?
Apple TV ($12.99 a month)
Apple's $(AAPL)$ gearing up for another busy month, at least by its standards.
Jon Hamm returns as a wealthy suburban cat burglar in Season 2 of "Your Friends and Neighbors" (April 3), facing a new foil, played by James Marsden. Season 1 was wildly uneven with mostly unsympathetic characters, but the cast (including Amanda Peet, Olivia Munn and Hoon Lee) is great, and you can see the bones of a good show in there somewhere - but it tends to take itself too seriously, when all it needs to be is a breezy heist comedy.
Keanu Reeves stars in "Outcome" (April 10), a dark comedy movie about a Hollywood star who gets blackmailed, and tries to make amends with those he's wronged in hopes of identifying his blackmailer. Cameron Diaz, Matt Bomer and Jonah Hill costar.
There are more big names in "Margo's Got Money Trouble" (April 15), a family dramedy series starring Elle Fanning as a young college dropout with a new baby who turns to OnlyFans to pay her mounting bills. Michelle Pfeiffer pays her mother, an ex-Hooters waitress, and Nick Offerman plays her dad, a former pro wrestler. There's a good bit of buzz around this one, coming from superproducer David E. Kelley and adapted from the novel by Rufi Thorpe.
And then there's "Widow's Bay" (April 29), a horror/comedy series starring Matthew Rhys as the new mayor of a small New England town that is supposedly cursed. And as he tries revitalizing it to draw tourists, very bad things start happening. Rhys is always good, and the show sounds promising. Finally, the British police drama "Criminal Record" (April 22), starring Peter Capaldi and Cush Jumbo, is back for its second season.
Apple's also got weekly episodes of "Shrinking" (season finale April 8), "The Last Thing He Told Me" (season finale April 10), "Imperfect Women" (season finale April 29), "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters" (season finale May 1) and "For All Mankind." And don't forget Formula 1 racing, Major League Baseball every Friday night, and a full slate of Major League Soccer.
Play, pause or stop? Play. Apple TV+ still feels like a luxury, not a necessity, but there are a lot of really good - and potentially good - shows here. Plus, it's a relative bargain these days.
Amazon's Prime Video ($14.99 a month with ads, $8.99 without Prime membership, both +$4.99 to avoid ads)
While other streamers offer a discount to see ads, Amazon (AMZN) makes you pay more to avoid them. And that consumer-unfriendly policy is getting even more off-putting, as Prime Video is raising the price of its ad-free tier - now called "Prime Video Ultra" - to an extra $4.99 a month, starting April 10.
Still, if you're already paying for Prime for the shipping, there's actually a lot to watch.
The hardcore superhero hit "The Boys" (April 8) returns for its fifth and final season. With all-powerful psychopath Homelander (Antony Starr) in control of the country and seeking literal immortality, Butcher (Karl Urban) reappears with a virus that can wipe out all Supes. Expect things to come to a very violent head.
There's also "Balls Up" (April 15), a raunchy comedy movie starring Mark Wahlberg and Paul Walter Hauser as marketing execs who push a condom sponsorship with the World Cup in Brazil; "Jerry West: The Logo" (April 16), a documentary about the iconic former Lakers superstar and executive; a new season of "American Gladiators" (April 17); "Kevin" (April 20), an animated comedy about a New York housecat who moves into a pet rescue and makes friends with the misfit pets there; and the Spanish-language miniseries "The House of the Spirits" (April 29), a sprawling family saga set in South America, based on the popular book by Isabel Allende.
Amazon's also got a full slate of NBA games, including the play-in games (starting April 14) and playoffs (starting April 18); NWSL; and bonus coverage of The Masters (April 9-10), including a special "Amen Corner" feed. Viewers in the New York metro area will also get Yankees games most Wednesday nights.
More: Want to watch all of the Yankees' games on TV this season? It'll cost you over $1,200.
There are also new episodes of "Jury Duty: Company Retreat" (season finale April 3) and "Invincible" (season finale April 22).
Catch up: The offbeat Australian comedy/mystery "Deadloch" is even sharper in its second season, as its "Odd Couple" detective duo investigate a murder in the country's tropical Top End, populated by rednecks, crocodiles and a Hemsworth (that would be Luke, playing a "Crocodile Hunter"-like nature-park mogul). It pulls off an amazing balancing act, with creatively profane, consistently laugh-out-loud banter that somehow never undermines the grisly crimes at the center of the action. Meanwhile, "Company Retreat" is a nice, light diversion, a solid follow-up to the surprise hit "Jury Duty," and "Bait," a surreal showbiz satire starring Riz Ahmed as an actor poised to win the role of the next James Bond, has drawn critical raves.
Play, pause or stop? Pause and think it over. It doesn't happen often, but Prime Video actually has a lot to offer this month. Skip the ad-free tier, though - it's still not worth $20.
Hulu ($11.99 a month with ads, or $18.99 with no ads)
First, the fun stuff. After a two-decade hiatus, America's second-favorite dysfunctional family (come on, the Simpsons are No. 1) are back with "Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair" (April 10), a four-episode revival that includes almost all the original cast (save Dewey's Erik Per Sullivan, who's out of acting and is reportedly off getting his master's at Harvard). The plot revolves around Malcolm (Frankie Muniz) - now a single dad and estranged from his family - getting roped into attending his parents' (Bryan Cranston and Jane Kaczmarek) 40th wedding anniversary. Hilarity presumably ensues. Revivals are always iffy, but with a simple story and just four episodes, this one seems primed for success, and a ton of fun.
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March 31, 2026 10:00 ET (14:00 GMT)
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