If mysteries are your thing, April in streaming is for you. Apple TV+ has the detective noir series Sugar, Netflix has a new adaptation of The Talented Mr. Ripley, and CBS/Paramount+ has the unconventional attorney Elsbeth solving crimes. 

Plus theatre fans have a chance now to stream Alex Edelman: Just For Us following its summer Broadway run, and Disney's feature film Wish starring Ariana DeBose. 

Apple TV+

Manhunt focuses on U.S. Secretary of War Edwin Stanton’s 12-day search for John Wilkes Booth and his co-conspirators following the assassination of President Lincoln. The Crown Emmy winner Tobias Menzies, who recently appeared on stage stateside at St. Ann’s Warehouse in The Hunt, stars as Stanton opposite Olivier winner and Tony nominee Anthony Boyle, who originated the role of Scorpius Malfoy in The Cursed Child, as Booth. Shakespeare in the Park regular Hamish Linklater appears as Abraham Lincoln. The series was created by Monica Beletsky, based on the book Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson. The first episodes dropped in March and release weekly through April 19.

Apple TV+ also has Sugar, new modern noir twist on the private detective story. Complete with smoky voice-over narration by its lead private eye, the series stars Oscar nominee Colin Farrell as John Sugar, who is hired to solve the disappearance of the granddaughter of a wealthy Hollywood producer. Two-time Tony nominee and current star of Doubt, Amy Ryan, co-stars as Melanie Mackintosh, who Sugar enlists to help him on his search through the streets of Los Angeles as they uncover the long-held family secrets of his clients. The series also features Kirby, James Cromwell, Anna Gunn, Dennis Boutsikaris, and Nate Corddry. The first two episodes of the eight-episode season premieres April 5, followed by one new episode weekly every Friday.

Tune in for the second season of The Big Door Prize, starring Tony nominee and Emmy winner Chris O'Dowd as a small-town everyman experiencing an existential crisis. In Season 1, lives are upended when a mysterious machine appears in the town general store that gives players a card that reveals their true potential in life. In Season 2, everyone’s potentials are exchanged for visions. The series is created by & Juliet book writer David West Read, based on the novel by M.O. Walsh. The cast also includes Josh Segarra, Gabrielle Dennis, Djouliet Amara, and Crystal Fox. The first three episodes premiere April 24, followed by one new episode every Wednesday through June 12.

Disney+

Disney's 2023 animated feature film Wish will make its streaming premiere this month. Oscar winner and Tony nominee Ariana DeBose (who will be hosting the 2024 Tony Awards) stars as Asha, an idealist in the magical land of Rosas, who makes a wish so powerful that it is answered by a cosmic force: a little ball of boundless energy called Star. Together, the two must confront the evil King Magnifico to save Asha's community. The film also features the voice talents of Victor Garber, Chris Pine, Angelique Cabral, Natasha Rothwell, and Alan Tudyk. The score is by Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Julia Michaels and Grammy-winning producer-songwriter-musician Benjamin Rice, plus a score by composer Dave Metzger. The film hits the streamer April 3. 

HBO/Max

If you didn't catch Alex Edelman's Just For Us at the Hudson Theatre last summer, HBO is giving you the opportunity to still see the solo show. Filmed live over two nights during the Broadway run, the comedy special will premiere on the cable network and its streamer Max April 6. In the show, Edelman details the time he covertly attended a White Nationalists meeting in Queens, New York. Tony-winning director Alex Timbers directs the filmed special and executive produces alongside Mike Birbiglia, and Above Average’s Marc Lieberman and Ally Engelberg.

Netflix

Oliver winner Andrew Scott (a.k.a. Fleabag’s “hot priest”) will take on the title role in the new Netflix series adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s 1955 novel The Talented Mr. Ripley. In the eight-episode limited series, simply titled Ripley, Scott plays the titular grifter who is hired to travel from New York to Italy to convince a wealthy do-nothing to return home. He falls in with his mark, Dickie Greenleaf, and his girlfriend, Marge Sherwood, sparking a new life of obsession, fraud, and murder. Olivier nominee Johnny Flynn (Jerusalem, Hangmen) stars as Dickie and Dakota Fanning as Marge. All eight episodes, written and directed by Steven Zaillian (Oscar-winning scribe of Schindler’s List), are available for binging starting April 4.

Paramount+/CBS

Carrie Preston's character Elsbeth Tascioni gets her own series this spring when she moves from Chicago to New York as a special consultant for the NYPD in Elsbeth. Though the character appeared in both The Good Wife and The Good Fight, creators are not considering Elsbeth a spin-off. It will have a Columbo-like feel as each episode finds the quirky attorney helping police solve a new mystery. Wendell Pierce (last seen on Broadway in Death of a Salesman) costars as NYPD Captain C.W. Wagner. And with the move to New York, we're sure to see lots of stage actors in guest roles. Upcoming names include Jane Krakowski, Arian Moayed, Linda Lavin, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and Laura Benanti. The Elsbeth pilot episode aired February 29 and continues with the second episode April 4. (If you missed the pilot on CBS, find it on Paramount+!)