If it’s April, it’s the season when streaming services rush to release what they see as their Emmy-worthy shows in time to qualify for this year’s awards (eligibility ends May 31). Steel yourself for an onslaught of premieres over the next seven weeks.
‘Hacks’
Max’s “Hacks” remains a comedy gem in its fourth season, streaming its first two episodes at 9 p.m. April 10.
From the start, there was always a worry that the love/loathe relationship between veteran comic Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) and her Gen Z writer Ava (Hannah Einbinder) would grow stale. But the gaps between seasons make it easier to forget all the permutations and combinations of discord from the past, which aids in keeping each season fresh.
There’s another key ingredient to the success of “Hacks” beyond smart writing and well-developed characters: The show is always specific and rooted in actual, factual minutiae of the moment, especially when it comes to the entertainment business.
As season four begins, Deborah finally achieves her long-stated goal of landing her own late-night talk show. But she comes to it at a time when the form is so diminished a network executive (Helen Hunt) tells her, “It wasn’t a choice between you and someone else; it was a choice between you and no one,” suggesting the network considered opting to give up on a late-night show due to the inexorable decline of linear TV viewing, which is a real thing. (See: CBS canceled “After Midnight” last month rather than hire a new host and won’t fill the time slot with a new show.)
Too often, shows set in the entertainment industry take liberties, but it’s rare for “Hacks” to cheat. (The only glaring error: late in the season the show suggests Television City is part of the Universal Studios backlot, which it is not.) Like Apple TV ’s “The Studio,” “Hacks” lives each season in the moment, reflecting the industry’s actual challenges.
When research suggests Deborah’s show does great with men but loses women viewers, she bends over backwards to seem more maternal, to a pathetic degree, in a futile attempt to conform rather than follow Ava’s directives to be more herself. Deborah’s desperation results in incorporating a cringeworthy viral video star, Canadian sensation “Dance Mom” (Julianne Nicholson), in her show.
“The only time I’ve been to the States was as a kid was when my whole family went to Pittsburgh to visit the Heinz pickle museum,” says Dance Mom, presumably referring to the Heinz History Center in episode five.
As always, the key driver in the series is the relationship between Deborah and Ava. At the end of season three, Ava blackmailed her way into becoming head writer for Deborah’s new show, which means this season Deborah is out for revenge, sabotaging Ava and ultimately hurting her own odds for success.
Their two-steps-forward-one-step-back relationship has always meant the show will risk repeating itself and a little of that vibe sets in this season. Producers have long said they envisioned five seasons, which feels right. Give “Hacks” one more great season and call it a day.
‘North of North’
One of the best aspects of the streaming era — beyond à la carte options the cable bundle never offered — is the growth in the diversity of programming. Netflix’s “North of North,” set and filmed in an Arctic town, is a comfort comedy in the “Schitt’s Creek” vein.
Now streaming all eight 30-minute episodes, “North of North” is predictable when it comes to characters and their relationships and how they will surely evolve. But the Arctic setting — the show filmed in Iqaluit, the capital of the Nunavut Canadian territory — is unique and the lead character is a likable mess.
Young Inuk mom Siaja (Anna Lambe) ditches her town golden boy husband (Kelly William) after he’s emotionally abusive to her. Siaja tries to land a job with community center boss Helen (Mary Lynn Rajskub, “24”) and she also meets town newcomer Kuuk (Braeden Clarke, a long-haired Milo Ventimiglia look-alike), who seems poised to become her new love interest.
Created by Stacey Aglok-MacDonald and Althea Arnaquq-Baril, “North of North” is an easy, entertaining watch that’s improved by its cultural specificity.
‘Your Friends & Neighbors’
Usually, Pretty Rich People with Problems shows focus on women (e.g. “Big Little Lies,” “The Undoing,” “The Perfect Couple”), but this time Apple TV turns the focus to a middle-aged man, Andrew “Coop” Cooper (Jon Hamm).
That basic premise may sound a lot like Hamm’s Don Draper character in “Mad Men,” but unlike emotionally constipated, man-of-few-words Draper, Coop never stops talking — to others and in voiceover narration.
“I misplaced my inner monologue and my wife right around the same time,” he tells a woman who takes note of Coop’s talkative nature post-divorce.
Another differentiator from Draper: Don created most of his own problems; initially Coop has problems thrust upon him by outside forces. Then he starts making bad choices.
Created by Jonathan Tropper (“Banshee”), “Your Friends & Neighbors” has already been renewed for a second season. Two episodes premiere April 11; then one episode releases weekly on Fridays through May 30.
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In the premiere, Coop gets fired from his job as a hedge fund manager not long after his wife (Amanda Peet) left him for his best friend. He’s annoyed by his wealthy neighbors. To make ends meet, he breaks into their homes and steals expensive trinkets they may never miss (e.g. expensive watches).
A chattier Hamm character is a differentiator. But in early episodes, it’s kind of a one-note story that didn’t inspire me to want to watch more.
‘Yellowjackets’
Paramount with Showtime’s mystery-drama recovered from a wobbly second season and proved more propulsive in its third season, which moved the story forward with new character introductions (as well as deaths).
The season finale, streaming April 11, takes another significant step toward the story’s conclusion.
Kept/ordered
Fox renewed “The Simpsons,” “Family Guy” and “Bob’s Burgers” for an additional four seasons that will keep the series in production through at least the 2028-29 TV season. Fox also ordered three new seasons of “American Dad!”, which returns to Fox after an 11-year stint on TBS.
“The Chicken Sisters” will return for a second season, moving from first-run on Hallmark to Hallmark Channel.
Paramount renewed “Colin From Accounts” for a third season.
CBS renewed daytime’s “The Bold and the Beautiful” through the 2027-28 TV season.
In addition to “Abbott Elementary” and “High Potential,” ABC renewed “9-1-1,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “The Rookie,” “Shifting Gears” and “Will Trent” for the 2025-26 TV season. Still no decision on “Doctor Odyssey.”
BBC ordered “Honey,” a “Killing Eve” prequel series set in 1982 about the early life of Carolyn Martens (played by Fiona Shaw in “Eve”); no word on where the show may air in America, per Deadline.com.
Ahead of Sunday’s season two premiere, HBO renewed “The Last of Us” for a third season.
Channel surfing
Deborah Norville will exit the host chair at “Inside Edition” after 30 years to host a new daytime game show in the fall, “The Perfect Line.” … Streaming service CNBC is now available for $15 per month via Roku and Apple TV. … Disney’s “Descendants/Zombies: Worlds Collide Tour” hits PPG Paints Arena Aug. 14. Tickets at disneynow.com/descendantszombiestour.