What to watch in April 2023: best new TV shows on BBC, Channel 4, Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime, Sky and more

New month, new television: with the start of April comes a whole host of new offerings to look out for. 

Here’s your guide to what’s on TV across April 2023, with a look at all the highlights across both terrestrial channels and the major streaming networks. 

We’ve selected our top picks and the best of the rest to give you an idea of what to watch this month.

BBC 

Top Pick

Rain Dogs | Tuesday 4 April

It's normal to hate the people you love. A makeshift family bound by defiance, chaos, poverty and pain. A wild, swaggering tale of love and friendship starring Daisy May Cooper.

Best of the Rest

Magpie Murders | Saturday 1 April

Editor Susan Ryeland gets drawn into a web of intrigue and murder when she receives Alan Conway's unfinished manuscript of an Atticus Pünd mystery. Lesley Manville stars in the adaptation of Anthony Horowitz’s 2016 novel.

Masterchef | Tuesday 11 April

Nine new cooks face an intesne audition test, in which they must cook a family favourite dish – and increasingly challenging culinary concoctions each week after that.

Gossip Girl S2 | Tuesday 11 April

Nearly a decade after the conclusion of the original series, a new cast of Manhattan private schoolers takes the lead under the watchful eye of Gossip Girl, while demonstrating how much social media – and the landscape of New York City itself – has changed in the intervening years. The final episodes of the reboot, which was cancelled last year.

ITV & ITVX

Top Pick

The Hunt for Raoul Moat | Sunday 16 April

A true crime drama following Moat’s victims, the police officers who put themselves in the firing line in their quest to apprehend Moat, and the local journalist who sought to tell Moat’s real story in a landscape of sensationalist reporting and social media provocation. Lee Ingleby and Matt Stokoe star.

Malpractice | Sunday 23 April

Dr Lucinda Edwards is a smart, battle-hardened doctor, but we meet her on a nightmare shift that ends in the death of an opioid overdose victim. The patient's grieving father demands an inquiry into Lucinda’s actions on the fateful night, and as the pressure of the investigation intensifies Lucinda's calm exterior starts to crack - is she hiding something? Niamh Algar stars in a new medical thriller from Boiling Point director Philip Barantini and written by former doctor Grace Ofori-Attah.

Best of the Rest

In With a Shout | Saturday 8 April

Joel Dommett’s pacy new game show where two families shout at the telly to win a big cash prize. With an impressive prize of a whopping £20,000, the contestants will have to answer questions hidden within a montage of moving images.    Can they think fast and shout faster as the clips flash past? 

Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? | Sunday 9 April

A dying man's enigmatic last words send vicar's son, Bobby Jones, and his socialite friend, Lady Frankie Derwent, on a crime-solving adventure. Will Poulter (Dopesick, Black Mirror) stars in this Agatha Christie adaptation written and directed by Hugh Laurie (House, The Night Manager). 

Britain’s Got Talent | Saturday 15 April

You know exactly what this is. This year, Bruno Tonioli joins as new judge, replacing the departing David Walliams.

Channel 4

Top Pick

Showman | Sunday 23 April

Billed as Brown's most personal and emotional show to date, Showman centres on themes of how life's difficulties bring people together if you live life attentively. The famous mentalist last demonstrated his unique and uncanny abilities to misdirect, manipulate, and mesmerise on television in Channel 4’s Derren Brown, 20 Years of Mind Control: Live in 2020. 

Best of the Rest

Are You Scared of the Dark? | Sunday 16 April

Scared of The Dark follows the celebs – including Scarlett Moffatt, Chris Eubank, and Chris McCausland – who are living in The Bunker, a purpose-built living space designed to block out any light and rigged with 50 infrared cameras. Over five successive nights the show will follow the celebrities as they get to grips with living in the dark. Danny Dyer hosts.

Channel 5

Top Pick

Springtime on the Farm | Tuesday 11 April

A light entertainment show revealing what life is like for farmers at the busiest time of the agricultural calendar: the start of spring. Helen Skelton, Jules Hudson, Adam Henson, and JB Gill return to present this nightly series once again.

UKTV

Top Pick

Meet the Richardsons S3 | Thursday 6 April, Dave

Real life comedy couple Jon Richardson (8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown) and Lucy Beaumont (Hullraisers) offer a fictionalised insight into their marriage. Jon has a midlife crisis as his 40th birthday approaches, seeking help from Ben Elton and Adrian Chiles; Lucy, meanwhile, tries to make friends with comedians like Katherine Ryan to get better TV jobs.

Best of the Rest 

Miss Scarlet and the Duke S2 | Tuesday 11 April, Alibi

Miss Scarlet and the Duke follows Kate Phillips (Peaky Blinders, The Crown) as the fearless female detective Eliza Scarlet – the first such investigator in Victorian England – and Stuart Martin (Army of Thieves, Jamestown) as her childhood friend and will-they-won't-they love interest, Inspector William 'The Duke' Wellington.

Sky & NOW TV

Top Pick

Barry S4 | Sunday 16 April

Cousineau is hailed as a hero as Barry’s arrest has shocking consequences. Bill Hader, Henry Winkler, and Sally Goldberg star in the explosive and hilarious final chapter of Barry.

Best of the Rest

American Auto S2 | Friday 21 April

The corporate executives of Payne Motors are at a crossroads: adapt to the changing times or be sent to the junkyard. Shaking things up is new CEO Katherine Hastings (Ana Gesteyer), whose leadership, experience and savvy is only slightly offset by her complete lack of knowledge about cars. Workplace sitcom from the creator of Superstore.

Netflix

Top Pick

Beef | Thursday 6 April

In the aftermath of a road rage incident between two strangers, Danny Cho (Steven Yeun), a failing contractor with a chip on his shoulder, goes head-to-head with Amy Lau (Ali Wong), a self-made entrepreneur with a picturesque life. The increasing stakes of their feud unravel their lives and relationships in this darkly comedic and deeply moving series.

Transatlantic | Friday 7 April

Risking their lives to help more than 2000 refugees escape occupied France, including many artists on the Nazis’ most-wanted list, an international gang occupy a villa at the edge of the city, where the threat of mortal danger gives way to unexpected collaborations and intense love affairs. Inspired by the true story of Varian Fry, Mary Jayne Gold and the Emergency Rescue Committee.

Best of the Rest

John Mulaney: Baby J | Tuesday 25 April

Emmy-Award winning comedian, writer and actor John Mulaney is back with a brand new Netflix special.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always | Wednesday 19 April

Thirty years after the wise and powerful Zordon formed the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, the team comes face to face with a familiar threat from the past. In the midst of a global crisis, they are called on once again to be the heroes the world needs. 30th Anniversary Special reuniting former Power Rangers actors

Amazon Prime Video

Top Picks

Dead Ringers | Friday 21 April

Alice Birch (Succession, Normal People) reimagines David Cronenberg’s 1988 classic, with Rachel Weisz starring as two twins who are unapologetic in their efforts to push women’s healthcare to the forefront, even if it means crossing the boundaries of medical ethics.

The Marvellous Mrs Maisel S5 | Friday 14 April

In the fifth and final season, Midge finds herself closer than ever to the success she's dreamed of, only to discover that closer than ever is still so far away. Rachel Brosnahan, Alex Borstein, and Tony Shalhoub return as Dan Reid (Veep) joins the cast as a new character.

Best of the Rest

Jury Duty | Friday 7 April, Amazon Freevee

A documentary-style comedy series that chronicles the inner workings of an American jury trial through the eyes of one particular juror – the only person in the courtroom who thinks he’s participating in a real trial, and doesn’t realise he’s surrounded by actors.

Citadel | Friday 28 April

Global spy agency Citadel fell, and its agents had their memories erased and personalities suppressed. Now, as crime syndicate Manticore steps into the breach left behind by Citadel, the former agents must reclaim their past to protect the future. Spy drama from the Russo brothers, starring Richard Madden and Priyanka Chopra-Jonas.

Disney+

Top Pick

Tiny Beautiful Things | Friday 7 April

After reluctantly taking a job as an advice columnist, struggling writer Clare's life unfurls in a complex fabric of memory, exploring her most pivotal moments from childhood through present day, and excavating the beauty, struggle, and humor in her unhealed wounds. Clare forms a salve for her readers - and for herself - to show us that we are not beyond rescue, that our stories can ultimately save us. Kathryn Hahn stars in a series based on the best-selling collection by Cheryl Strayed.

Sam – A Saxon | Wednesday 26 April

Based on the incredible true story of Samuel Meffire, East Germany’s first Black policeman. The series will reveal Sam’s childhood as an outsider, shaped by the murder of his father, his meteoric rise as a symbolic figure and the media sensation of a new Germany, and his deep fall from grace and his escape as state enemy number one. From Jörg Winger, co-creator of Deutschland 83/86/89.

Best of the Rest

The Pope Answers | Wednesday 5 April

In June 2022, Pope Francis met with ten young people from around Rome to discuss feminism, the role of women in the Church, reproductive rights, loss of faith, the migration crisis, LGBTQIA+ rights, abuse within the Church, racism, and mental health. This is their conversation.

Rennervations | Wednesday 12 April

Jeremy Renner and his team of expert builders use their skills to reimagine decommissioned vehicles and rebuild them into mind-blowing creations that serve communities around the world. Of all the new series debuting on Disney+ this month, this one has probably the best title of them all.

Apple TV+

Top Pick

Ghosted | Friday 21 April

Cole (Chris Evans) falls head over heels for enigmatic Sadie (Ana de Armas), but then makes the shocking discovery that she's a secret agent. Before they can decide on a second date, Cole and Sadie are swept away on an international adventure to save the world. Directed by Dexter Fletcher (Press Gang).

Best of the Rest

Jane | Friday 14 April

Jane, a 9-year-old budding environmentalist on a quest to save endangered animals. Using her powerful imagination, Jane takes her best friends David and Greybeard the chimpanzee on epic adventures to help protect wild animals all around the world. Children’s series inspired by the work of Dr Jane Goodall.

The Last Thing He Told Me | Friday 14 April

Hannah (Jennifer Garner), a woman who must forge a relationship with her 16-year-old stepdaughter Bailey (Angourie Rice) in order to find the truth about why her husband (Nikolaj Coster-Waldua) has mysteriously disappeared. Based on the novel of the same name by Laura Dave and produced by Reese Witherspoon.

Paramount+

Top Pick

Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies | Friday 7 April

Four years before the events of Grease, a group of fed-up outcasts dare to have fun on their own terms, sparking a moral panic that will change Rydell High forever. 1950s-set teen musical comedy.

And keep an eye out for…

Mrs Davies, a new series from Damon Lindelof (Watchmen) and starring Betty Gilpin (Glow) as a nun fighting an evil AI, arrives on Peacock on Thursday 20 April. It doesn’t yet have a UK release date.