Winter may come again, but for now, it's firmly in the rearview as spring takes hold across the realm. And while flowers bloom and April showers do their thing, TV studios are wasting no time coming for viewing attention now that we've left the dreary months of the year behind. Yes, a new season has begun, and what better way to kick it off than with a new season of a fantasy or sci-fi show you love?
There have been plenty of good shows so far in 2026, but April feels like streamers and studios are really starting to step up their game, because there's a lot airing this month. From the big finale for one of the most subversive shows in recent TV history to an animated spinoff of a beloved franchise, ongoing sci-fi adventures and more, there's no shortage of viewing material to choose from in April. Let's hit on the highlights!
For All Mankind season 5 (Apple TV) — Currently airing
The fifth season of Apple TV's alt-history science fiction saga For All Mankind kicked off with a bang on March 27, which means that it's just now getting into the thick of its run. This series has come a long way since its first season, which imagined how different history might have been had the Soviet Union won the Space Race and reached the moon first instead of the United States. Now, Mars is in the process of becoming a thriving colony with its eye on independence, and the octogenarian Ed Baldwin is stuck there for good to help see it through.
For All Mankind is an excellent sci-fi show that has often flown under the radar. Considering that it's slated to end with its sixth season, and it has a Soviet-focused spinoff named Star City on the way next month, it's a very good time to get into this series and discover why Apple has had such overwhelming confidence to keep it running all these years, despite its relatively quiet word of mouth.
For All Mankind season 5 premieres new episodes Fridays on Apple TV.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season 2 (Apple TV) — Currently airing
Maybe you'd prefer some sci-fi that's a little less grounded, and with a few more kaiju? Well, Apple TV has you covered there as well. In addition to For All Mankind, the streamer is also deep into the second season of its MonsterVerse series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. Titans like Godzilla and Kong blow it up on the small screen, but they're only one facet to this story which is set in two timelines and features plenty of human drama besides. It's all about the founding and failures of the titular organization which monitors these creatures, and with a dual performance by Kurt and Wyatt Russell as the same character in two different eras, it's always got a compelling trick or two up its sleeve.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is about halfway through its second season as of this writing, with new episodes dropping on Fridays. It will have fresh installments all month, until its season finale on May 1.
Daredevil: Born Again season 2 (Disney+) — Currently airing
Another show deep into its season is Daredevil: Born Again, Marvel's latest superhero series on Disney+. Marvel Studios has had some hits and misses over the years on the television front, but the first season of Daredevil: Born Again did a great job of bringing Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock and Vincent D'Onofrio's Kingpin back to the small screen for a successful revival of the beloved Netflix series.
Season 2 picked up right where the first left off, with the Kingpin asserting authoritarian-style power of New York City thanks to his own secret police force which is dedicated to hunting down superheros. Daredevil will need help if he's going to expose and take down his old nemesis, and he'll get it in the form of some of the other Netflix Marvel characters, like Krysten Ritter's Jessica Jones.
Daredevil: Born Again drops new episodes every Tuesday during the month of April, up until its season finale on May 5.
Invincible season 4 (Prime Video) — Currently airing
Prime Video's big superhero show of the month may be The Boys, but that won't stop its gritty, animated superhero show Invincible from also leaving a bloody mark. Based on the comic by The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman, Invincible peels back the layers on its superhero characters to expose the dark tendencies at their core — and the alien threat which propels them. The Viltrumites are coming for Earth, and unless Mark Grayson a.k.a. Invincible and his allies can find a way to stave them off, there won't be an Earth for any of them to call home much longer.
Invincible season 4 premieres new episodes on Wednesdays, up until its season finale on April 22.
Outlander season 8 (Starz) — Currently airing
The last of our returning shows from March is Outlander, Starz's time-traveling romance series based on the books by Diana Gabaldon. The television series has had an exceptional run, winning fans over for more than a decade with its wonderful cast, solid writing, gorgeous costuming, lived-in sets, and sharp eye for storytelling. But all good things must come to an end, and that end draws nigh for Outlander.
How will things wrap up for former World War II nurse Claire Fraser and her husband, the 17th century Scotsman Jamie Fraser? Will they and their family survive the American Revolutionary War, or relocate back to the present day? These questions will finally get answers in the show's home stretch.
Outlander will air new episodes every Friday in April. Its series finale is slated to premiere on May 8.
Star Wars: Maul - Shadow Lord (Disney+) — April 6
The latest Star Wars animated series, Maul - Shadow Lord chronicles the rise of the titular Sith warrior after the Clone Wars. At this time in the Star Wars galaxy, the Empire holds sway and the Jedi are all but extinct. It's the perfect time for a former Sith to take out his frustrations on those he believes have wronged him when they should have had his back, and build a criminal empire in the process.
Darth Maul is one of those Star Wars characters who took such a strong hold of fans that the desire for more of him will pretty much spring eternal. This new series promises the most detailed and intense story featuring Maul yet, including a plotline originally dreamed up by George Lucas where he takes a young Jedi who's on the run from the Empire under his wing as a new apprentice. This show looks like it could be pretty intense; check out the trailer above and observe the chills you get.
Star Wars: Maul - Shadow Lord premieres its first two episodes April 6 on Disney+, with two new episodes debuting each following Monday for the rest of its 10-episode run.
The Boys season 5 (Prime Video) — April 8
The Boys premiered all the way back in 2019, and since then it's hit viewers time and again with its gritty black comedy, bloody superhero action, and storytelling so prescient that it's hard to believe the writers didn't have a crystal ball tucked away somewhere to see the future. It's been a long road for Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) and the rest of the Boys as they battle the psychopathic Supes of the Vought megacorp, and it's all led to this moment.
The Boys season 4 left off with Homelander (Antony Starr) effectively ruling the United States of America. He's never been more unstable or aware of his mortality, which makes him more dangerous than ever. The final showdown is going to be one for the books.
The Boys' final season premieres its first two episodes April 8 on Prime Video, with new installments following every Wednesday for the rest of its eight episode run.
The Testaments (Hulu) — April 8
The Testaments is Hulu's new spinoff for The Handmaid's Tale, based on the 2019 novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood. This story is set 15 years after The Handmaid's Tale, as the dystopian society of Gilead finally begins to come apart at the seams. This story is told from three different angles: Aunt Lydia, a cold proponent of Gilead's hierarchal society; Agnes, a young woman born into privilege who discovers just how horrific Gilead truly is; and Nicole, another young woman who seemingly escaped Gilead to Canada, only to return to help set its downfall into motion.
Considering how much more in-depth The Handmaid's Tale television show was across its five seasons than Atwood's original book, I'd expect even more connections between the mothership show and The Testaments than there was between the author's two novels.
The first three episodes of The Testaments drop on Hulu on April 8, with new episodes following weekly for the rest of its 10-episode season.
FROM season 4 (MGM+) — April 19
MGM+ may not be the most visible or popular streaming platform, but its mind-bending horror series FROM is staking out a place as the closest thing the streamer has had to a true breakout hit since its inception. Starring the always exceptional Harold Perrineau, FROM takes place in an eerie American town with a terrifying secret: once you enter, you can never leave. The reasons for this curse as well as the horrifying forces plaguing the town have been a slow, unraveling mystery over the past three seasons, and now in season 4, answers may finally come to light.
FROM is helmed in part by two producers who worked on Lost, so if you enjoyed that show's mystery box-style storytelling, this one will almost certainly be up your alley. Season 4 premieres on April 19. New episodes drop on MGM+ every Sunday for the rest of the 10-episode season.
Stranger Things: Tales From '85 (Netflix) — April 23
Stranger Things may have ended, but Netflix isn't going to let us forget our love for that crew of lovable misfits from Hawkins, Indiana anytime soon. The sci-fi horror franchise's first spinoff, Stranger Things: Tales From '85, arrives this month, so soon after the finale of the main series that it'll be like we never left.
Tales From '85 is an animated series that is meant to serve as something of a "lost season" of the main show. It's set between seasons 2 and 3, which is right at the height of the show's classic era. For those keeping track, that's after Eleven closed the Gate to the Upside Down, but before the Russians set up a secret base in the local mall and the fleshy version of the Mind Flayer started terrorizing the residents of Hawkins. This series includes a few new characters, such as Nikki Baxter, a rough-and-tumble punk teen who helps out the gang. How will it make this new character make sense in the overall mythos? Watch and see!
All 10 episodes of Stranger Things: Tales From '85 drop on Netflix on April 23.
Between shows that are still airing from March and shows that are debuting in April, this is easily the busiest month of 2026 yet for sci-fi and fantasy television. What will you be watching?