The 10 Most Anticipated Movies and Shows to Stream in April 2026

The 10 Most Anticipated Movies and Shows to Stream in April 2026


Streaming never really slows down in this day and age… We’re a far cry from the typical fall to spring broadcast schedule of yesteryear. But things are heating up significantly in April of 2026. And that’s all because of Emmys, baby!

Wait, what? Aren’t the annual TV awards in the fall? Yes, that’s true, but – not to get too in the weeds here – shows must broadcast at least six episodes by the end of May in order to be eligible, and submissions are due by the end of this month. That means the amount of Prestige TV is ramping up starting on the ol’ April Fool’s Day, and won’t stop until around Memorial Day.

Don’t worry, there are plenty of non-Emmys-bait shows that are hitting everything from Disney+ and Prime Video to Netflix and HBO Max throughout the month of April… It’s not all incredibly serious stuff that you must respect. But there are also some huge debuts, including the beginning of the end of The Boys, the long-awaited/dreaded return of Euphoria, and even the semi-surprise continuation of Stranger Things (hey, didn’t that just end)?

So with that in mind, let’s break down 10 of our most anticipated streaming shows and episodes coming throughout the month of April, and consider this your list of some of the best new TV shows to stream in April of 2026. Got a Top 10 pick of your own? You can let us know in the comments below.

(Note: This list is presented in release date order.)

Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord (April 6)

Other than the anthologies Visions and Tales, it’s been a minute since we got a legit, serialized Star Wars animated series. That all changes this month on Disney+ with Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord, which flips the script from The Bad Batch to bring on one of the baddest bad guys the franchise has ever seen.

Created by Dave Filoni, the new series finds Sam Witwer reprising his voice role as Maul after the end of the Clone Wars – and to be clear, after the end of the Clone Wars TV series, as well, since this is set in the same corner of the galaxy. As Maul begins to rebuild his criminal empire, he’s joined by a new potential Sith apprentice, Devon Izara (Gideon Adlon, who you may know from her role in Blockers, or as being yet another Pamela Adlon child alongside Odessa A’zion). Also in the series are Wagner Moura and Richard Ayoade as a detective and his droid partner who may come into conflict with Maul’s plans.

What’s perhaps most interesting about this series, and an unfair level of hype to throw on it, is that this is the first Star Wars TV show/movie from Filoni since he took the reins of Lucasfilm. Yes, it was created well before, and a lot more eyes will be on the theatrical release of The Mandalorian & Grogu (which is also probably not fair). But heavy is the head that wears the crown of Dathomirian bone horns.

See everything else coming to Disney+ in April.

The Boys (April 8)

Oh boy (pun intended), where to start? This is the fifth and final season of the massive hit Prime Video series, so there’s a lot of nervous anticipation around the ultimate showdown between Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) and Homelander (Antony Starr). When we pick up in The Boys Season 5, America is under fascist rule as superhuman rights are – according to Homelander – under attack, and he’s therefore suppressing the Starlighter resistance (led by, who else, Erin Moriarty’s Annie January) and throwing people in detention centers.

That’s just the tip of the Compound V-berg, though, as pretty much every actor who has been in the franchise, from the Gen V kids to Giancarlo Esposito’s machiavellian Stan Edgar and Jensen Ackles’ demented Captain America-esque Soldier Boy are back in the mix. Add in a Supernatural reunion with Ackles, Jared Padalecki, and Misha Collins (and maybe Jim Beaver?) and hype is through the roof.

Somewhat tempering that hype? Showrunner Eric Kripke has been careful to explain that the show won’t have Game of Thrones-level battles because of budgetary restrictions. Somewhat puncturing that protective bubble? Urban has teased big character deaths right from the start of the season.

Look, for five seasons (plus spin-offs), The Boys has been one of the most eerily prescient, profane, outrageous, and often heartfelt shows on TV. If Kripke and company can stick the landing here? It’ll be fucking diabolical.

The Testaments (April 8)

Lucy Halliday and Chase Infiniti.

First announced in 2019 (!!!), the upcoming sequel series to Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale is based on the Margaret Atwood novel of the same name. It’s set years after the end of the original series, and transports the action to a prep school for future wives.

Before you think this is The Handmaid’s Tale: The Teen Years, well… It sort of is, as it stars Chase Infiniti (hot off her turn in One Battle After Another) alongside Lucy Halliday, Rowan Blanchard and others at least initially living and sparring in this school. But it also features the return of Ann Dowd as the iconic Aunt Lydia. And it comes from original Handmaid’s Tale showrunner Bruce Miller, who stepped back from the OG show before the final season to focus on developing this spinoff.

While Handmaid’s Tale fever (please see your doctor if you are suffering from symptoms) may have cooled a bit over the past few years, the themes, ideas, and stark warnings presented by the now-franchise are as pressing as ever. Given Atwood’s novel was widely lauded and award-winning, and Miller has spent at least three years or more carefully developing The Testaments, this may just be the injection of relevance Hulu needed.

Euphoria (April 12)

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Zendaya as Rue.



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