14 new films and TV series streaming in the UAE this April: From 'Thunder Force' to 'The Handmaid's Tale'

True crime shows and a superhero film with a twist are all coming to the small screen

From left: 'The Handmaid's Tale', 'Thunder Force' and 'Shadow and Bone'. OSN, Netflix

With news that the average Netflix user in the UAE has spent a total of 37 days, or 53,357 minutes, streaming television shows and films on the platform since they set up their account, we have no doubt the country's couch potatoes are eagerly waiting for their next binge-worthy series or hit film.

Some of the highlights across streamers this month include the final season of Keeping Up With The Kardashians and the much-awaited fourth instalment of The Handmaid's Tale, plus Netflix's new fantasy adventure Shadow and Bone, as well as Melissa McCarthy's new comedy Thunder Force and Tom Clancy's Without Remorse.

Here are just a few of the new shows and movies coming to the main streaming platforms available in the Middle East.

'The Serpent'

Release date: Friday

Streamer: Netflix

After airing on BBC One earlier this year, this true-crime dramatisation is coming to Netflix. It tells the story of merciless killer and notorious conman Charles Sobhraj (played by Tahar Rahim), who, in the 1970s, preyed on travellers exploring the so-called Hippie Trail of South Asia.

The eight-episode series follows Sobhraj and his girlfriend (Jenna Coleman) as they pose as gem dealers and commit crimes across Thailand, Nepal and India, and then become chief suspects in a series of murders.

'Why Did You Kill Me?'

Release date: Saturday

Streamer: Netflix

Crystal Theobald, left, who was killed at age 24 in 2006, with her mother, who helped track down her killers 10 years later. Courtesy Netflix

True crime fans will want to make sure they tune in to this new documentary about Crystal Theobald, whose family used social media to track down her killers, blurring the line between justice and revenge.

In February 2006, aged 24, Theobald was shot by gang members. Her mother, Belinda Lane, spent a decade tracking down potential suspects on MySpace, a mission that finally paid off in 2016, when the information she found helped the police find her daughter's murderers.

'The Way of the Househusband'

Release date: Thursday, April 8

Streamer: Netflix

The long-awaited anime adaptation of the hugely popular gangster comedy manga is here and its trailer has already garnered more than one million views on Netflix in a few weeks.

After disappearing from the underworld, the legendary yakuza boss Tatsu, also known as the Immortal Dragon, resurfaces – but now he's a fiercely devoted stay-at-home husband.

'The Wedding Coach'

Release date: Wednesday

Streamer: Netflix

Perhaps picking up where the hugely popular Netflix series Say I Do left off, comedian Jamie Lee, who barely made it down the aisle for her own wedding, is on a mission to help six engaged couples overcome their stress and challenges to have the perfect Big Day.

'This Is a Robbery: The World's Biggest Art Heist'

Release date: Wednesday

Streamer: Netflix

In March 1990, two men pulled off an art heist worth $500 million at Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. The story of the theft and the investigation around it are the focus of this new Netflix true crime documentary series, which is broken down into four parts.

Thirty years on, the crime remains unsolved. What is known, however, is how the works of art were stolen.

The show’s title comes from a line uttered by one of the thieves to the guards: “Gentlemen, this is a robbery.”

'Them'

Release date: Friday, April 9

Streamer: Amazon Prime Video

This new 10-episode terror anthology series centres on a black family who move from North Carolina to an all-white Los Angeles neighbourhood in the 1950s. As they attempt to settle in, their idyllic home becomes a hub for malevolent forces, both otherworldly and those next door, which threaten to "taunt, ravage and destroy them".

'Thunder Force'

Release date: Friday, April 9

Streamer: Netflix

Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer team up for this new superhero film with a twist. Two estranged childhood best friends (McCarthy and Spencer) reunite after one creates a treatment that gives ordinary people superpowers, so they can protect their city against all the supervillains who are running rife.

It also stars Jason Bateman, Ben Falcone and Bobby Cannavale, among others.

'Earth Moods'

Release date: Saturday, April 17

Streamer: OSN Streaming

Calming, soothing episodes that capture the beauty of our planet are what make up this new show, which is part of Disney's National Geographic. The relaxing series has five instalments, each covering a different theme. These are titled Frozen Calm, Night Lights, Tropical Serenity, Desert Solitude and Peaceful Patterns.

There's no narration, just stunning drone footage of glaciers, beaches and snow-capped mountain tops, as well as glittering cityscapes and impressive architecture, with relaxing tunes in the background.

It's as the trailer states: "This is Earth, set to a natural beat."

'Shadow and Bone'

Release date: Friday, April 23

Streamer: Netflix

In Shadow and Bone, a fantasy series adaptation based on Leigh Bardugo's bestselling Grishaverse novels, we're taken to a war-torn world where soldier and orphan Alina Starkov unleashes a power that could set her country free.

The threat of the Shadow Fold looms large, as Starkov is taken away from everything she knows to train as part of an elite army of magical soldiers known as Grisha. As she struggles to hone her powers, it doesn't take long before she realises nothing in this world is what it seems and that it'll take more than magic to survive.

'Headspace Guide to Sleep'

Release date: Wednesday, April 28

Streamer: Netflix

A follow-up to Headspace Guide to Meditation (trailer above), this new series, a collaboration between Netflix and the popular meditation app, aims to teach us how to sleep better. Each short episode unpacks misconceptions, offers tips and finishes off with a guided wind-down that'll help you drift off.

This is part of a deal for three new shows, all launching in 2021, with an interactive experience to follow later in the year.

'The Handmaid's Tale'

Release date: Thursday, April 29

Streamer: OSN Streaming

Season four of The Handmaid's Tale, for which the trailer dropped within the last 24 hours, premieres on Wednesday, April 28 on Hulu, but we can watch it on OSN the very next day.

Adapted from Margaret Atwood's classic novel of the same name, the show tells the dystopian tale of Gilead, a totalitarian society where women have become a tool for reproductivity.

The new season picks up with June, or Offred (played by Elisabeth Moss), who is back in Gilead determined to seek revenge against those who hurt her.

'Without Remorse'

Release date: Friday, April 30

Streamer: Amazon Prime Video

Michael B Jordan stars in and produces this new American action thriller that will launch globally in more than 240 countries at the same time. Directed by Stefano Sollima, the feature is based on the 1993 novel of the same name by Tom Clancy.

It follows an elite Navy Seal, who uncovers an international conspiracy while seeking justice for the murder of his pregnant wife, and the mission unwittingly exposes a covert plot that threatens to engulf the US and Russia in an all-out war.

It's the origin story of action hero John Clark, one of the most popular characters in Clancy's Jack Ryan universe.

'The Mitchells vs The Machines'

Release date: Friday, April 30

Streamer: Netflix

The Mitchell family goes on a road trip only to find themselves in a technology war when their devices take over the world. This is the premise of this new animated science-fiction comedy, previously titled Connected, which stars the voices of Abbi Jacobson, Danny McBride and Maya Rudolph.

'Keeping Up With The Kardashians'

Release date: Weekly episodes every Sunday

Streamer: OSN Streaming

The 20th and final season, which premiered in March, of this beloved reality series will be available in the Middle East in April.

The show, which became a worldwide success after it first aired in 2007, focuses mainly on matriarch and momager Kris, and sisters Kim, Kourtney, and Khloe and their half-sisters Kendall and Kylie.

Get ready for a roller-coaster ride of emotions, as they sign off for the finale.

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