What’s New on HBO Max in April 2021
“Never,” HBO’s next bid for television dominance, will take place on April 11, hoping it will spark, if not a Game of Thrones -level pop culture influence, then at least a Lovecraft- level buzz. Unfortunately, the network was unable to generate any buzz due to its creative team’s pedigree, given that the show was created (and the first season ran) by a completely canceled Joss Whedon, who was fired, leaving the production peacefully the last. year .The trailer looks attractive enough-digging that production of lush Victorian-era designs and promises a storyline filled with deep mythology and women stamping things more tad reminiscent of numerous flashback heavy episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but I think it has a good chance of capturing the plot eye given the warm welcome other recent TV shows have greeted in vaguely similar veins (persecuted outsiders with magical powers), from Netflix’s Umbrella Academy and Irregular Soldiers to the aforementioned Lovecraft Country .
HBO is also still trying to win your monthly pay by adding new movies to the service for a month even as they hit theaters, and in April they are offeringMortal Kombat (April 16), a second hit (ahem) at launching a movie franchise based on a series of ultra bloody fighting games. This one looks extremely true to the source material, meaning it looks like it’s about a combat tournament populated by a bunch of grotesque-looking cartoons with supernatural powers and silly nicknames to match that will stand around pretending to be before they start killing each other. It may sound like I am assuming this is bad, but it is not. This is Mortal Kombat.
If you’re looking for something a little more overt, Kate Winslet stars in the 7 -episode limited series Mare of Easttown (April 18), a small-town murder mystery from Brad Ingelsby, a highly admired screenwriter Ben Affleck. sports drama “The Way Back” . That’s all for the rest of the service this month. Headlines marked with (HBO) are available on all HBO platforms; everything else is exclusive to HBO Max.