The Best April Entertainment Offerings to Watch at Home

In the world of arts, entertainment and culture, what are the best offerings to watch from home this month? With so many of us confined at home due to the COVID-19 coronavirus, artists and arts organizations of all kinds have adapted. Our ace correspondent Jillian Tangen has rounded up our top picks of the new movies, podcasts, television shows, Broadway shows, live stream concerts, and online museum exhibits – there’s an amazing number of entertainment offerings all over the world to watch at home in April 2020. 

What’s the best in Entertainment, arts and culture to view from home this April?

Around the world, April events and activities have been put on pause as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Which is a total drag, but absolutely necessary.

And while nothing can replicate the swell of a live orchestra, the quiet murmur of an art gallery or the thrill of seeing a new film in IMAX, there are thankfully still ways of making your April an entertaining one.

On TVs and Tablets your favorite streaming services are forging on, bringing new titles like Mrs. America and #blackAF to your queues. 

Movie studios are transitioning their most recent releases from the big screen right to your homes.  So if you missed out on a chance at seeing  The Invisible Man,  Emma or even the Oscar-winning picture Parasite, now is your chance.

On the music front, you will find a slew of artists performing live from their homes and even a couple of new albums dropping. For example, the pianists at Marie’s Crisis Cafe are belting out show tune favorites on Facebook live. Diplo continues his Corona World Tour from his living room. 

And of course, there are plenty of new podcasts, exploring everything from body positivity to modern etiquette.

For those of you seeking something slightly more high culture, some of the world’s best museums, opera houses and orchestras are offering virtual experiences you can explore from the comfort of your couch. 

Among our favorites are the nightly streams of performances from the The Metropolitan Opera. And the twice-weekly performances from London Symphony Orchestra. 

In visual arts, you can see the Infinity Mirrors from Yayoi Kusama. And explore Korea’s National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art.

So charge up those phones, tablets and computers! And get ready for an entertaining April – from the safety of your home.

the best in home entertainment this April 2020

1. best new movies in April 2020

A slew of new releases including The Invisible Man, Birds of Prey, Bloodshot, Call of the Wild, The Way Back and Emma have all moved to On Demand given that many movie theaters have closed across the country.

The new film Uncorked on Netflix is getting strong reviews. Elijah (Mamoudou Athie) works with his father (Courtney B. Vance) at their family barbecue joint. The only problem? Instead of wanting to take over the business, the former harbours a secret ambition to become a master sommelier.

The latest Pixar adventure, Onward, moves from the big screen to Disney+ – Apr 3

Looking for a laugh?  Coffee & Kareem follow 12-year-old Kareem’s scheme to scare away his mom’s new boyfriend, police officer James Coffee – Apr 3

This year’s Best Picture Winner, Parasite, makes its streaming debut on Hulu – April 8

Les Miserables on Amazon Prime isn’t the musical version starring Hugh Jackman. In fact, it’s not even a take on the Victor Hugo novel. It’s a modern-day movie set in Montfermeil, France and was inspired by the Parisian riots in 2005 – April 10

DreamWorks Animation’s Trolls World Tour will be released On Demand in lieu of in theaters – April 10

The forthcoming James Bond film No Time to Die has been delayed until November due to the coronavirus. But Amazon is keeping fans of the spy franchise satisfied by adding 4K ultra-HD versions of every movie in the Bond franchise this month on Prime.

The Beastie Boys Story is a documentary about the rap legends, created by Spike Jonze and Beastie members Mike Diamond and Adam Horovitz. It drops on Apple TV+. The film had been scheduled to premiere at SXSW and be released in theaters. Until the coronavirus outbreak forced a change of plans – April 24

The ESPN 10-part Michael Jordan documentary “The Last Dance,” originally scheduled to air in June, has been pulled forward due to intense fan demand. The first episode will now air on ESPN on April 19. 

2. new television shows in april 2020

Amazon’s Tales From the Loop is a contemplative sci-fi drama inspired by the works of Swedish artist Simon Stålenhag. His art incorporates sci-fi elements into landscapes and portraits of everyday life – April 3

Quibi is a new streaming service (similar to Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime Video). But instead of hour or half-hour-long episodes, Quibi’s shows are 10 minutes and less. So users can watch them when they have some down time, or are on the go – April 6

Returning two weeks earlier than anticipated is season 3 of Killing Eve on AMC from BBC America – April 12

Before he hit the big time with the likes of Thor: Ragnarok and Jojo Rabbit, director Taika Waititi created the riotous 2014 mockumentary What We Do in the Shadows. Created with fellow New Zealander Jemaine Clement, the film chronicles a household of vampire roommates. Now, Clement has adapted the film to the small screen for FX on Hulu, following new plot lines and bringing new un-dead bloodsuckers into the fold – April 15

Also launching under the new FX on Hulu banner is the miniseries Mrs. America. It stars Cate Blanchett as Phyllis Schlafly, a conservative crusader and vocal opponent of the women’s liberation movement who was a key figure in the culture wars of the 1970’s – Apr 15

Kenya Barris and Rashida Jones star in #blackAF on Netflix.  The comedy was inspired by Barris’ real-life marriage and unorthodox approach to parenting, relationships, race and culture – April 17

Captain America himself, Chris Evans, will star in Defending Jacob on Apple TV+.  The limited series is a legal drama about an assistant district attorney who will do anything to defend his teenage son, who’s accused of murder – April 24

Based on the historical fiction books known as The Saxon Series by Bernard Cornwell, The Last Kingdom returns to Netflix with season 4 – April 26

Never Have I Ever on Netflix is a coming-of-age comedy series based on Mindy Kaling’s childhood – Apr 27

3. best new performing arts in april 2020

The Vancouver Symphony live streamed its final performance from their BeethovenFest on March 15th, and it’s available for your viewing and listening pleasure any time

The London Symphony Orchestra is live streaming concerts twice a week.  Highlights include Brahms Symphony No 1 featuring Janine Jansen on the violin – Apr 2

The Berlin Philharmonic offers concerts on their Digital Concert Hall website free of charge.

If you can’t be in Vienna, you can at least treat yourself to full streams of some of the Vienna State Opera’s latest performances including Peer Gynt – Apr 2

The Metropolitan Opera is putting on nightly opera streams. But you better not be late! They’re only available until 3:30 p.m. ET the next day.

Missing Broadway?  You can stream shows through BroadwayHD, a special streaming service that brings you the greatest from the Great White Way.

Want more live streamed arts? A theater artist has created The Social Distancing Festival, which gathers live streams and videos of all different types of performances in one place, on one calendar.

4. best online visual arts exhibits in april 2020

DC’s National Gallery of Art features two online exhibits through Google. The first is an exhibit of American fashion from 1740 to 1895 called Fashioning a Nation and the second is a collection of works from Dutch Baroque painter Johannes Vermeer titled Vermeer and the Masters of Genre Painting.

The Tate Galleries are offering downloadable exhibition guides, including for the recently opened Aubrey Beardsley and Andy Warhol exhibitions. Their online collection, featuring nearly 80k artworks is also available to view, from Salvador Dali to David Hockney as part of their Staying Inspired At Home initiative

Virtually walk through Paris’s Musée d’Orsay which houses dozens of famous works from French artists who worked and lived between 1848 and 1914

One of Korea’s popular museums, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art can be accessed from anywhere around the world.  Google’s virtual tour takes you through six floors of Contemporary art from Korea and all over the globe and four online exhibits

The Whitney Museum in New York City has opened its digital doors to a collection of more than 25,000 works, including videos of public programs and performances

Take a virtual walk through Florence’s Uffizi Gallery before stopping to admire some of the museum’s most famous inhabitants. Our suggestion: Sandro Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, of course. But also, in the tour, don’t forget to drag the screen and look up at the beautiful frescoes on the ceiling, painted by Alessandro Allori.

If you missed one of the hottest traveling museum exhibits of the past few years, ooh and ahh at a brisk room-by-room rundown of the hypnotic, multi-faceted work of Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama

Explore Van Gogh’s Starry Night up close at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City

5. best online and live stream pop music events in april 2020

New York City rock band The Strokes will drop their 6th album, The New Abnormal – April 10

The pianists of Marie’s Crisis Cafe are leading virtual sing-alongs through Facebook Live.  You can catch it each evening from 4 – 9:30 pm ET. The talented pianists of this currently shuttered New York staple are belting out favorite show tunes online.

The famed producer Diplo will continue his popular Corona World Tour this month, with weekly shows streaming live from his living room Thursday – Sunday featuring a rotation of guest artists.

Other artists offering regular live streaming concerts via social media in April 2020 include David Foster and wife Katharine McPhee, DJ Questlove, Melissa Ethridge and Christine and the Queens.

In addition to hosting daily live streams from his home throughout quarantine, Rufus Wainwright is releasing his latest album, Unfollow The Rules – Apr 24

6. best new podcasts in april 2020

What started as a social media movement is now a podcast.  In I Weigh, Jameela Jamil challenges society’s definition of worth through weight. By asking thought-leaders, performers, activists, influencers and friends about how they are working through their past shames to find where their value truly lies.

99% Invisible explores the ways design and architecture play in our everyday lives.  Topics range from how Las Vegas influenced modern architecture to the development of birth control pill packaging. And the ways that city planning influenced the growth of urban squirrel populations. Wow.

Like a thrilling true crime podcast – but without a single dead body or smoking gun – Fake Heiress dives into the rise and fall of Anna Delvey. She conned New York high society into believing that she was a multi-millionaire heiress.

As the great-great grandchildren of manners maven Emily Post, hosts Lizzie Post and Daniel Post Senning know a thing or two about proper etiquette.  In their new podcast Awesome Etiquette, the duo provide guidance on everything from classic quandaries like the proper way to word wedding invitations to modern conundrums like group texting faux pas

Every Little Thing goes behind the scenes on all of the small stuff you’ve wondered about over the years (like, where does the stuff that TSA confiscates go?) and all of the questions you’d never even thought to ask (like, why do auctioneers talk so fast?) and fills you in on all the tidbits you need to make your next Zoom happy hour a little more interesting

best entertainment to watch at home this April 

That’s it. Our picks for the best in entertainment, arts and culture. This April 2020, there’s a LOT to watch at home, including movies, TV shows, concerts, podcasts and online museum exhibits. Let’s get streaming.

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Jillian Tangen is the Head of Research at Dandelion Chandelier and a former Senior Research Analyst at McKinsey & Co and Analyst at Shearman & Sterling. She is an avid fan of Nordic design, having owned an independent lifestyle store and sales agency focused on emerging Scandinavian design. Jillian lives in New York and is married with three young children. She loves cross-country skiing, the New York Rangers, reading, travel and discovering new brands.

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