April showers bring May flowers — which means plenty of gloomy Sundays to stay in and catch up on your future favorite shows. Conveniently enough, the next 30 days are stuffed with returning seasons from some of TV’s hottest and most acclaimed series. We’ve rounded up the 11 you can’t miss below.
What it is: A farcical spoof of primetime’s most recognizable crime procedurals, Angie Tribeca stars Rashida Jones as the titular detective, who serves up justice with straight-faced irreverence and ineptitude. The TBS series comes from the comedic minds of husband-wife duo Steve and Nancy Carrell.
Why you should watch it: If you’re in the camp who thinks that The Office was never quite the same without Michael Scott’s goofily obtuse sense of humor, then Angie Tribeca may just be for you. The spoof series is unapologetically silly, stacking up the gags like bodies at a crime scene. Jones is pitch-perfect as Angie and is assisted by a capable cast of series regulars and an impressive who’s-who of guest spots. Watch a clip of Star Trek leading man Chris Pine’s Season 3 arc here.
Where to watch: Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Microsoft, PlayStation Video, Vudu
Commitment: About 10 hours
What it is: Even the sleekest of action-packed espionage thrillers have an air of cartoonish hyperbole to them (James Bond’s invisible car, anyone?), but FXX’s Archer does away with that suspension of belief by making the whole thing a cartoon to begin with. The half-hour comedy from creator Adam Reed can land a joke as deftly as its titular man-child spy can land a punch, so expect to be thrilled while laughing yourself silly and battling evil.
Why you should watch it: Over seven hit seasons, Archer has never shied away from genre experimentation. Season 8, which premieres April 5, takes its biggest risk yet with Archer Dreamland, a 1940s-style noir crime thriller set within its own Sterling Archer’s dream. That means entirely new characters for the series’ beloved ensemble of voice actors (though it’s all a beautiful spin on their defining characteristics). But to truly appreciate the new season, viewers need to have the emotional and intellectual foundation of the seasons before it. That’s where the payoff is. And don’t worry; enjoying Season 8 in full is just the cherry on top of binging one of the funniest and most astutely written genre series on TV today.
Where to watch: Amazon, FandangoNOW, Google Play, iTunes, Microsoft, Netflix, PlayStation Video, Vudu
Commitment: About 42.5 hours
What it is: Ever wonder how, exactly, Breaking Bad’s Saul Goodman got to be so darn slimy? AMC’s acclaimed spinoff, Better Call Saul, is here to help. The companion series satisfyingly builds on the original Vince Gilligan drama while also coherently etching an identity of its own for viewers of all proclivities.
Why you should watch it: Better Call Saul takes a character we think we already know and breaks him down to the nuts and bolts of who and what molded the man Breaking Bad‘s Walter White eventually meets in that Albuquerque, New Mexico strip mall. Played wonderfully by Bob Odenkirk in what could become his career-defining (certainly career-changing) role, Saul — still known as Jimmy Mcgill three seasons in — and his uneasy partnership with Jonathan Banks’ Mike Ehrmantraut are must-watch TV for any Breaking Bad die-hard.
Where to watch: Amazon, FandangoNOW, Google Play, iTunes, Microsoft, Netflix, PlayStation Video, Vudu
Commitment: About 15 hours
What it is: Titus Welliver stars as Harry Bosch, a steely, determined homicide detective keeping watch over the City of Angels in this Amazon original series. Each season follows one major case and strikes the perfect balance between contemporary crime grit and smooth, yesteryear noir.
Why you should watch it: Bosch may be the best crime series you’ve never heard of. Change that! With his roots firmly in the crime genre from Homicide: The Movie and Law & Order (both of which earned him Emmy nominations in 2000 and 2002, respectively), co-creator Eric Ellis Overmyer is a seasoned vet of the genre. He knows his way around the daily dramas of LAPD homicide and proves the perfect collaborator for the source material’s author, Michael Connelly.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime, iTunes
Commitment: About 15 hours
What it is: Here’s a romantic comedy squarely for adults. Amazon’s very funny Catastrophe shows what happens when a no-strings-attached week of sex between a visiting American businessman (Rob Delaney) and an Irish schoolteacher (Sharon Horgan) turns into an unexpected pregnancy, a move overseas, and a proposal. And that’s just in the first episode.
Why you should watch it: Co-creators and stars Horgan and Delaney perfectly blend comedy and heart in their utterly original spin on the classic sitcom. Plus, their airtight scripts full of rat-a-tat dialogue are about as joyously quippy and naturalistic as they come. (Judging from the pair’s now-famous Twitter accounts, that comes as little surprise.) And did we mention Carrie Fisher co-stars? Just watch it.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime, iTunes
Commitment: About 6 hours
What it is: This long-running sci-fi/fantasy series — one of the most imaginative twists on time-travel adventure ever — centers on an alien Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey who jumps time and space with various (usually human) companions while saving extraterrestrial civilizations from certain doom.
Why you should watch it: Tell any Doctor Who fan that you’re about to start the beloved Brit transplant series and they’re likely to turn green with envy; there’s only one first time with the Doctor, and it’s always a transporting experience. At the very least, binge from 2013’s seasons to now with Oscar winner Peter Capaldi as the eponymous time-traveler; premiering April 15, season 10 will be his final run.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime, Google Play, iTunes, Microsoft, PlayStation Video, Vudu
Commitment: The series spans several decades, but if you were to begin with the 2005 reboot, it’s about 92 hours.
What it is: Based on the Coen brothers film of the same name, FX’s anthological miniseries explores new characters, new crimes, and new eras tangentially related to the film each season, deftly adapting the trademark Coen brothers mix of violence, dark humor, and compelling characters for the small screen.
Why you should watch it: What do Kirsten Dunst, Billy Bob Thornton, Ewan McGregor, Jesse Plemons, Carrie Coon, Jean Smart, Bob Odenkirk, Martin Freeman, Patrick Wilson, and Jim Gaffigan all have in common? They’ve all starred (or come season 3, will star) in the small-screen adaptation of Fargo, and that impressive cast alone makes it worth watching. FX and Noah Hawley’s Fargo is at least in part to blame for the rise and saturation of prestige mini-series and limited series, and for good reason. An ingenious blend of humor — both silly and gallows — and enrapturing crime mystery, the series succeeds in translating its Oscar-winning source material into Emmy-winning must-see TV.
Where to watch: Amazon, FandangoNow, Google Play, iTunes, Microsoft, PlayStation Video, Vudu
Commitment: About 18 hours
What it is: Rose McIver stars in this graphic novel adaptation from co-creators Diane Ruggiero and Rob Thomas as Olivia, a medical student-turned-zombie who inexplicably begins reliving the memories of the cadavers whose brains she’s eating and utilizes this newfound power to pass herself off as a psychic and help police in the name of justice.
Why you should watch it: While a cognizant zombie girl humanely gorging on brains at the morgue and using information miraculously gathered there to aid police in unsolved murders sounds far-fetched at best, trust us here: the formula works. Never too off kilter to lose its bite (no pun intended), McIver is utterly watchable as our undead hero, and we can’t wait to see what she does in season 3.
Where to watch: Amazon, FandangoNow, Google Play, iTunes, Microsoft, Netflix, PlayStation Video, Vudu
Commitment: About 13 hours
What it is: Lead by Justin Theroux in the performance of his career, The Leftovers follows several characters trying to make sense of their lives after a rapture-like phenomenon claims 2 percent of the world’s population and leaves the rest of humanity behind.
Why you should watch it: Despite all the signs — literally — saying, “You are not welcome here,” HBO and showrunner Damon Lindelof’s adaptation of Tom Perrotta’s novel of the same name will suck you in and never let go, as you grapple with questions of morality and mortality in the best of ways. Catch up on the first 20 episodes before its third and final season premieres on April 16.
Where to watch: Amazon, FandangoNow, Google Play, iTunes, Microsoft, PlayStation Video, Vudu
Commitment: About 20 hours
What it is: Sentenced to death row for a murder he did not commit, an innocent man plans a daring prison escape with his brother, and the two soon find themselves embroiled in a vast conspiracy as they attempt to clear his name.
Why you should watch it: While it may seem like Prison Break is jumping on the bandwagon of reboots and sequels, it’s a series that’s earned a closing coda for Michael (Wentworth Miller), Lincoln (Dominic Purcell), and Sara (Sarah Wayne Callies). The first four seasons successfully expanded on the series’ high-concept premise and fleshed out a cast of memorable characters in dire circumstances, so it’s safe to say that creator Paul Scheuring won’t steer his audience wrong in the upcoming nine-episode revival. Catch up on the original run before the story comes full circle.
Where to watch: Amazon, FandangoNow, Google Play, iTunes, Microsoft, Netflix, PlayStation Video, Vudu
Commitment: About 61 hours
What it is: Selina Meyer is an anti-heroine for the ages as a former senator and now Vice President of the United States who curses like a sailor and handles the things her predecessor never bothered to attend to.
Why you should watch it: There are few comedic performances as decorated as Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ turn in HBO and creator Armando Iannucci’s Veep (a record-tying five Emmy wins for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, to be exact). That alone is reason enough to watch this series, but still, it seems to get better year after year. While Veep started out as a hilarious satire of the goings-on in our country’s capitol, it’s proven over the last year to be more of a premonitory look at what’s to come in the West Wing — making it as relevant and darkly funny as ever.
Where to watch: Amazon (S1, S2 on Prime), FandangoNow, Google Play, iTunes, Microsoft, PlayStation Video, Vudu
Commitment: About 24 hours
