Our critics pick the best titles coming to Canadian streaming platform Crave in April 2021, including a stand-out Aubrey Plaza performance, Kate Winslet’s first major TV series since Mildred Pearce, and the series finale of Shameless.

What we can’t wait to watch

Mare Of Easttown

Created by Brad Ingelsby (The Way Back) and directed by Craig Zobel (The Hunt), HBO’s latest prestige project is a seven-part drama starring Kate Winslet—in her first cable series since she won a Golden Globe for Todd Haynes’s 2011 adaptation of Mildred Pierce—as a driven detective investigating a murder that threatens to pull her small Pennsylvania town apart…if it doesn’t destroy her own life first. Guy Pearce, David Denman, Julianne Nicholson, Evan Peters, Angourie Rice, and Jean Smart costar. Expect tension. New episodes weekly from April 18

Exterminate All The Brutes

I Am Not Your Negro and The Young Karl Marx director Raoul Peck returns to the essay documentary format with Exterminate All The Brutes, a four-part HBO series about genocidal European colonialism that mixes archival footage, animation, and scripted scenes starring Josh Hartnett. Based on three books (Sven Lindqvist’s Exterminate All The Brutes, Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz’s An Indigenous Peoples’ History Of The United States, and Michel-Rolph Trouillot’s Silencing The Past), the experimental series promises to challenge the audience by rethinking “the very notion of how history is being written.” April 7 to 8

The Nevers

Outlander’s Laura Donnelly and Vikings’ Ann Skelly star in HBO’s fantasy-mystery series as two women who are among the hundreds of “Touched”—people imbued with extraordinary abilities after an inexplicable incident upends the balance of power in 19^th century London. This was to be Joss Whedon’s first television series since Dollhouse, but the writer-director-producer departed the series last November, claiming exhaustion; Philippa Goslett replaced him as showrunner in January, shortly before cast members of Whedon’s previous projects came forward with accusations of abusive behaviour. So that’s an awkward way to launch a show. New episodes weekly from April 11.

Couples Therapy (Season 2)

What better way to forget your own troubles than to disappear into someone else’s? Three new couples hit the couch in New York psychoanalyst Dr. Orna Guralnik’s office in season two of the fly-on-the-wall docuseries. And if the second go around is like the first, it will be extremely hard to peg anyone as the villain in each relationship (almost). Just when you think you’ve got these couples figured out, Guralnik drops an analysis that reframes everything. April 18

Sasquatch

Fresh from screening at SXSW, director Joshua Rofé’s three-part Hulu true-crime series is about a triple homicide on a Northern Californian pot farm in 1993. The twist? Bigfoot did it—apparently. Investigative journalist David Holthouse guides viewers into the seedy underworld of the cinematically named town Spy Rock. We’re expecting twists, turns and perhaps some rearview social commentary, if Rofé’s previous doc series Bobbitt is anything to go on. April 20

The Handmaid’s Tale (Season 4)

Elisabeth Moss’s June squares off with Ann Dowd’s Aunt Lydia in the fourth go-around for the Toronto-shot dystopian drama. Producers are keeping a lid on the plot but it appears war is on the horizon, as June, having fled to Canada, “strikes back against Gilead as a fierce rebel leader”, according to the show’s typically vague description. “But the risks she takes bring unexpected and dangerous new challenges.” In a round of advance press, producers have said patient viewers will be “rewarded” in Season 4. April 28

Shameless: Series Finale 

Shameless is currently the longest-running original scripted show in Showtime history. But now, after 11 seasons, the comedy-drama about the impoverished and dysfunctional Gallagher clan—headed by William H. Macy—is coming to an end. Online sleuths have already pointed out that Emmy Rossum, whose maternal Fiona left at the end of season nine, is back for the finale, so expect some closure to this addictive show. April 11

Solid bets

Black Bear

Aubrey Plaza gave one of last year’s best performances in writer-director Lawrence Michael Levine’s Black Bear, a complex and scathing satire of privileged creative types facing existential crisis. Plaza plays an indie filmmaker who arrives at a lavish cabin to stay with a pair of aimless ex-Brooklynites (Christopher Abbott, Sarah Gadon). Her presence immediately stirs up insecurities in the couple’s tense relationship. Fireworks, messiness, and slapstick comedy ensue in this wildly unpredictable film. April 2

Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar

Written and produced by Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, who play the eponymous BFFs escaping their humdrum Midwestern lives with a trip to a Florida resort and almost immediately stumble into an elaborate revenge plot straight out of a Bond movie, Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar is one of the most gloriously ridiculous comedies in years. It’s even funnier on second viewing, once you’re no longer worried about whether Jamie Dornan might be miscast as a supervillain’s lovesick henchman (he isn’t!) or whether Wiig, Mumolo and director Josh Greenbaum can possibly bring all of this to a satisfying climax (they can!). Enjoy the ride. April 30

Assassins

Released on VOD earlier this year, Ryan White’s documentary tells the jaw-dropping story of two women who assassinated the brother of North Korean leader Kim Jon Un in Malaysia’s international airport in 2017—but somehow had no idea what they were doing. The brazen daylight killing made international headlines, but what happened next wasn’t covered as intensely. The story of how these women (originally from Vietnam and Indonesia) became ensnared in an elaborate murder plot encompasses economic disparity, exploitation and diplomatic intrigue. April 19

The Nest 

Early on in awards season—i.e., last fall—Sean Durkin’s drama set in the greedy '80s in Thatcher’s England was getting lots of buzz. But somehow that tapered off. A shame, because leads Carrie Coon and Jude Law are excellent as a couple whose entire existence is built on secrets and lies. April 16

The Blade Trilogy

Before the X-Men and Spider-Man movies launched the superhero renaissance of the 21^st century, the first Blade was there to point the way. A thrilling, ass-kicking hybrid of martial-arts action and horror elements, starring Wesley Snipes as Marvel’s surly, snarling vampire hunter, it was proof that comic-book concepts could be translated into something resembling the real world, and even spawned two wildly different sequels: Guillermo Del Toro’s Blade II is a swooning fever dream of zombie vamps and romantic sacrifice, while David S. Goyer’s Blade: Trinity attempts to make the franchise more commercial, teaming Snipes with sexy young heroes Jessica Biel and Ryan Reynolds to take down the actual Dracula (Dominic Purcell). It wound up killing the series, of course. April 16

The full list of new titles available on Crave in April 2021 by date is below. The + symbol indicates a TV show or movie that is only available on Crave+ . The * symbol indicates a TV show or movie that is only available with the Starz add-on.

TV shows

April 1

Genera+Ion (season 1, episode 8)+

April 2

Celebrity Ex In The City

RuPaul’s Drag Race (season 13, episode 13)

Step Up: High Water (season 1, episode 5)*

April 4

City On A Hill (season 2, episode 2)

The Gloaming (season 1, episode 3)*

Last Week Tonight With John Oliver (season 8, episode 7)+

Q: Into The Storm (season 1, episodes 5-6)+  

Shameless (season 11, episode 11)

April 5

Vice (season 2, episode 5)

April 6

The Bold And The Beautiful (season 34, episodes 124-128)

The Voice (season 20, episode 8)

April 8

Desus & Mero (season 3, episode 17)

April 9

Holmes 911

Real Time With Bill Maher (season 19, episode 11)+

RuPaul’s Drag Race (season 13, episode 14)

Step Up: High Water (season 1, episode 6)*

April 11

City On A Hill (season 2, episode 3)

Desus & Mero (season 3, episode 18)

The Gloaming (season 1, episode 4)*

Last Week Tonight With John Oliver (season 8, episode 8)+

The Nevers (season 1, episode 1)+

Shameless (season 11, episode 12)

Vice (season 2, episode 6)

April 13

The Voice (season 20, episode 9)

April 15

Desus & Mero (season 3, episode 19)

April 16

16 And Pregnant (season 4B)

Egypt’s Unexplained Files (season 1)

Lost Pyramids Of The Aztecs

Real Time With Bill Maher (season 19, episode 12)+

RuPaul’s Drag Race (season 13, episode 15)

Step Up: High Water (season 1, episode 7)*

Wynonna Earp (season 4B)

April 18

City On A Hill (season 2, episode 4)

Confronting A Serial Killer (season 1, episode 1)*

Couples Therapy (season 2)

Desus & Mero (season 3, episode 20)

The Gloaming (season 1, episode 5)*

Last Week Tonight With John Oliver (season 8, episode 9)+

Mare Of Easttown (season 1, episode 1)+

The Nevers (season 1, episode 2)+

Vice (season 2, episode 7)

April 20

Sasquatch (season 1)

The Voice (season 20, episode 10)

April 22

Desus & Mero (season 3, episode 21)

April 23

The Challenge (season 36)

Real Time With Bill Maher (season 19, episode 13)+

RuPaul’s Drag Race (season 13, episode 16)

Step Up: High Water (season 1, episode 8)*

Teen Mom Australia (seasons 1-2)

April 25

City On A Hill (season 2, episode 5)

Confronting A Serial Killer (season 1, episode 2)*

Desus & Mero (season 3, episode 22)

The Gloaming (season 1, episode 6)*

Mare Of Easttown (season 1, episode 2)+

The Nevers (season 1, episode 3)+

Vice (season 2, episode 8)

April 27

The Voice (season 20, episode 11)

April 28

Handmaid’s Tale (season 4, episodes 1-2)

April 29

Desus & Mero (season 3, episode 23)

April 30

Step Up: High Water (season 1, episode 9)*

Teen Mom OG (season 9)

Movies

April 2

The American President*

Black Bear+

The Family Man*

The Iron Giant*

Jackie*

The Life Of Pi*

Nanny McPhee*

Selena*

Stardust+

A United Kingdom*

April 7

Café De Flore*

April 9

Drugstore Cowboy*

Eighth Grade+

Half Baked*

La La Land*

Misbehaviour+

No Country For Old Men*  

Role Models*  

Secretary*

Tolkein*  

The Wiz*

April 12

McQueen

April 14

Dr. Cabbie*

Senna*

Things I Do For Money+

April 16

The Big Lebowski*

Blade*

Blade II*

Blade: Trinity*

Cabin Fever*

Crazy Heart*

The Nest+

Saw*

Save Yourselves!+

Scent Of A Woman*

April 19

Assassins

April 21

Stage Fright*

April 23

Above The Rim*

Champs*

The English Patient*

Girl+

Million Dollar Baby*

More Than A Game*

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri*

The Wolf Of Snow Hollow+

April 30

Barb And Star Go To Vista Del Mar+

Bridesmaids+

The Burnt Orange Heresy+

Last Chance

Movies and TV shows leaving Crave in April 2021.

April 9

The Detour (seasons 1-4)

Firecrackers

April 11

Ex On The Beach (season 11)

Unbanned: The Legend Of Aj1

April 12

Godzilla: King Of The Monsters  

Gun Fight  

April 13

Elvis Presley: The Searcher

The Intruder  

April 20

Family  

April 21

The Grizzlies

April 22

The Prodigy

April 25

Stronger Together, Tous Ensemble  

April 29

Fighting With My Family

April 30

About Last Night 

About Time 

The Abyss 

All I Wish 

American Gangster 

Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead 

Belle 

Big Miracle  

Bolden  

Burlesque  

Captive State  

Celeste And Jesse Forever  

The Clovehitch Killer 

The Damned United 

Dark Shadows 

Dolly Parton’s Coat Of Many Colors  

Dolores Claiborne  

Fast Color  

The Fault In Our Stars  

Fauve  

Glory

Good Girls Get High

Heaven Is For Real  

Homekilling Queen  

Howdytoons: Dinosaur Songs  

Howdytoons: Dinostory 

Howdytoons: Nursery Rhymes  

Howdytoons: Prehistorica

The Infiltrator  

La Bamba  

Little Women (1994)  

The Losers

Ma  

Mom’s Night Out  

Nanny McPhee Returns

Niagara Motel  

Oliver Sherman  

Om Nom Stories (seasons 1-5)

One Week  

The Lieutenant Ottoman

Please Speak Continuously To Describe Your Experience  

Sensitive Skin (season 2)

A Walk In The Woods  

The White Crow

White Oleander  

Wild Nights With Emily