April TV promises star-powered premieres of The First Lady, Roar, and Outer Range

Get ready for yet another barrage of your favorite film stars reigning over the small screen. April comes packed with new TV led by some big names, kicking off with Gary Oldman in Apple TV+ drama Slow Horses, and Ken Watanabe and Ansel Elgort in HBO Max’s Tokyo Vice (with a pilot directed by none other than Michael Mann).

As the month continues, Showtime and Apple TV+ also soar with exciting slates: Showtime launches anthology drama The First Lady starring Viola Davis, Gillian Anderson, and Michelle Pfeiffer, stepping into the shoes of former first ladies Michelle Obama, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Betty Ford, respectively. The cabler also adds its adaptation of The Man Who Fell To Earth and Vanessa Bayer’s I Love That For You to its lineup. Apple TV+’s Roar tells eight feminist stories led by Nicole Kidman, Cynthia Erivo, and Issa Rae, among others. Additionally, the streamer debuts a four-part Magic Johnson docuseries and Shining Girls, a metaphysical thriller with Elisabeth Moss.

Other anticipated shows include Paramount+’s The Offer, about the making of The Godfather (we love to get meta), and Andrew Garfield swings onto his next adventure as a detective in FX murder mystery Under The Banner Of Heaven. Rest easy on the returning TV front, because the highly anticipated new seasons for Better Call Saul, Russian Doll, and Barry finally commence.

Slow Horses (Apple TV+): Premieres April 1

Based on author Mick Herron’s impossible-to-put-down novel of the same name, Apple TV+’s Slow Horses is a high-stakes spy thriller with a cheeky underdog twist. When MI5 agent River Cartwright (Jack Lowden) flubs an important mission, he’s reassigned to work at Slough House, an administrative-heavy purgatory run by the cynical Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman). Relegated to push paper for the rest of their careers, Cartwright and fellow service rejects, including Sid Baker (Olivia Cooke) and Louisa Guy (Rosalind Eleazar), don’t expect to return to MI5 duty. But when they’re enlisted to help solve a high-profile kidnapping, these teasingly named “slow horses” have a chance at redemption by working with Regent’s Park headquarters and the steely Diana Taverner (Kristin Scott Thomas). Season one will include just six episodes. However, there are eight Slough House books to adapt in total–so, if it’s renewed, you can trust there’s plenty of perilous excitement to come. [Alison Foreman]