Big month, March.
Spring sprung. Brackets busted. Reports dropped—and were promptly, frustratingly summated.
But this weekend, we prepare to leave all that behind, at least as much as leaving the past behind is possible, which it's not, not really (we're pretty sure the The Talented Mr. Ripley taught us that).
Anyway: here are 19 things to look forward to in April. The books. The movies. The Thrones, Game of.
Oh, right. That.
April 1st
The Twilight Zone
The reboot of the timeless anthology series seems like the perfect fit for Jordan Peele, the comedian-turned-director who's combination of sketch skills and feel for high-minded suspense should translate seamlessly to a format predicated on solving a new mystery every week. True to the original, Peele will serve as the show's presenter, while a revolving door of your favorite actors will appear in each episode, including Steven Yeun, Zazie Beetz, Seth Rogen, Kumail Nanjiani and Adam Scott (who stars in the premiere). The only bad news: it's on CBS All-Access, a subscription service relatively few people actually have (or have even heard of).
April 5th
High Life
It's a psycho-sexual thriller about a band of reject space refugees, starring Robert Pattinson, Juliette Binoche and André 3000 (yes, André 3000), from the unflinching French director, Claire Denis. At one point in the trailer, Pattinson blithely tells Binoche, "You're foxy and you know it." All of which is to say, this shit looks fucked up in the best possible way.
April 7th
Killing Eve, Season 2
The first season of Killing Eve, helmed by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, established a twisted tone unlike anything else on TV; equal-parts macabre and witty, violent and sexy, somber and fun, the cat-and-mouse (or mouse-and-cat) game between a rogue detective (Sandra Oh) and a hired assassin (Jodie Comer) reveled in the grey area where obsession and desire meet. How the show will proceed in its second season is unclear; in more ways than one, the first provided a brilliant natural conclusion. But we're more than happy to tune in to find out.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
The award-winning HBO show returns to irreverently rehash the politics-du-jour and dive deep into issues oft-overlooked in the inhospitable churn of our 24/7 news cycle.
April 9th
Fosse/Verdon
The much-ballyhooed FX mini-series starring Sam Rockwell as the real-life choreographer Bob Fosse and Michelle Williams as his dancer/lover, Gwen Verdon. This show has everything: jazz hands, dangling cigarettes, a bad hairpiece, meditations on the human cost of performance and plenty of Michelle Williams-led dance numbers.
Working by Robert Caro
Caro, famous for his almost unimaginably in-depth biographies of President Lyndon B. Johnson, gives readers a fascinating glimpse into his writing process. (Try this New Yorker excerpt first.)
Outside Looking In by T.C. Boyle
This work of historical fiction from the best-selling novelist takes LSD as it subject, following a grad student and his wife as they become enmeshed in the world of Harvard professor and acid evangelist, Timothy Leary.
April 11th
Double Shot at Love with DJ Pauly D and Vinny
Take the premise of The Bachelor. Then substitute some vanilla virgin for two tanned, vodka-loving guidos. Add some fist-pumping and "ya buddies" and a solid spray tan, and there you have it: a ridiculous new dating show starring the two most available cast members on the Jersey Shore, which managed to fling itself back into the cultural consciousness following a series of successful reunion shows. It's almost t-shirt time. Again.
The Masters
The first major tournament of the year returns to Augusta National. Will Tiger cap off his unlikely comeback? Will Phil become the oldest major championship winner ever? Will we inevitably lose too much money in our Masters pools? All will be revealed come the second weekend in April.
April 12th
Her Smell
Elisabeth Moss stars in prolific indie filmmaker Alex Ross Perry's drama about a punk-rocker struggling with her sobriety while trying to recapture the glory days of her career.
Begin Again
A new collection of eclectic singles from jazz-pop crooner Norah Jones, featuring the likes of Jeff Tweedy and Thomas Bartlett.
April 14th
Game of Thrones, season 8
The final season. Winter is coming. Etc...
April 16th
Best. Movie. Year. Ever: How 1999 Blew Up the Big Screen by Brian Raftery
Film writer Brian Raftery takes a look back at a transformative year in American cinema and the culture-at-large, breaking down the hits and misses and lasting relevance of 1999's most important movies, such as She's All That, The Blair Witch Project, American Pie, The Matrix and Fight Club. (Check out an excerpt on The Ringer.)
Normal People by Sally Rooney
Rooney, the young Irish writer who burst onto the scene with her emotionally acute and unputdownable debut novel, Conversations with Friends, has already been hailed the first great millennial novelist and the "Salinger of the Snapchat generation." Her second book, revolving around the strange yet undeniable connection between two teenagers, is easily one of the most-anticipated literary fiction releases of the year. It's got a lot to live up to. But we can't wait all the same.
April 19th
Under the Silver Lake
An offbeat L.A. noir in the tradition of The Long Goodbye, Mulholland Dr. and Inherent Vice, David Robert Mitchell's follow-up to the delicious teen horror-thriller, It Follows, stars Andrew Garfield as a young stoner-y dude investigating the disappearance of a girl he fell in love with by his apartment complex's pool.
April 24th
The Tribeca Film Festival
The annual celebrity-studded fest returns to New York with the controversial Zac Efron-Ted Bundy biopic, a new Margot Robbie movie, a documentary directed by Jared Leto and much more. (Check out our coverage of last year's fest here and here.)
April 26th
Avengers: Endgame
Three more hours of CGI superheros fighting for the fate of mankind and stuff. Whoop-dee-doo, Basil.
In the End
It's the final album from famed '90s Irish rock band, The Cranberries, whose lead singer Dolores O'Riordan passed away last year.
Violet Street
Local Natives, the California five-piece whose self-titled debut Gorilla Manor proved to be one of the most invigorating rock albums of the past decade, have lost their way a bit on the last few albums. But we're hopeful they'll find their way back on this one, if only because its first single has a music video starring Kate Mara.
