Max’s flagship scripted streaming series in April is The Sympathizer, an ambitious dark comedy starring Robert Downey Jr., overseen by Park Chan-wook, and based on the award-winning novel, but the real Max-action is on the unscripted side. The Jinx-Part 2 completes the dark story of Robert Durst, Conan Must Go lightens the mood with inspired unscripted travel comedy, and fans of cults will find a feast in The Synanon Fix.
There’s a ton more, too. Just read on to discover the best things streaming on Max this month.
The Sympathizer
Legendary filmmaker Park Chan-wook (Old Boy, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance) teams up with actor and co-producer Robert Downey Jr. on this sweeping historical black comedy series. Based on the Pulitzer Prize winning debut novel by Viet Thanh Nguyen, The Sympathizer tells the story of a Vietnam-era spy with conflicting loyalties. When the war ends, the North Vietnamese agent, who goes by the moniker “The Captain,” is forced to flee to America, but he’s not finished his job, and reports on his neighbors to the Viet Cong.
Starts streaming April 14
The Jinx – Part Two
Andrew Jarecki’s Emmy-winning series The Jinx caught lightning in a bottle when it came out in 2015—how often does a guy confess to multiple murders while mic’ed up for a true crime documentary, right? The Jinx—Part 2 completes the story of weird-rich-dude-turned murderer Robert Durst, and promises shocking new revelations. Durst is dead, so he won’t be confessing to any more murders, but it’s a fascinating story nonetheless.
Start streaming April 21
Conan O’Brien Must Go
Conan O’Brien is the funniest person alive, maybe, and this series puts him in situations designed to draw out his supernatural ability to be spontaneously hilarious. The premise: Conan visits fans in Norway, Thailand, Argentina, and Ireland, interacts with locals, and creates inspired, impromptu comedy. It’s a formula that worked great on his late night shows, but HBO money means Conan O’Brien Must Go will feature better production values—they even got Werner Herzog to narrate.
Starts streaming April 18
The Synanon Fix
Synanon is hands-down my favorite cult of all time, so I’m psyched HBO is giving proper cinematic treatment to the off-the-chains crazy story of how a drug rehab center devolved into a heavily armed, post-hippie nightmare cult. Told through glorious insider film footage and interviews with ex cult-members and others who were there, The Synanon Fix‘s highlight include dead-eyed cultists with shaved heads wearing matching overalls and wielding axe-handles, attempted-murder-by-rattlesnake, and music from Synanon’s in-house band that featured jazz immortals Joe Pass and Art Pepper among many others. There are not enough thumbs in existence for the number of thumbs-up this series deserves.
Starts streaming April 1
The Zone of Interest (2024)
Winner of the Best International Feature at this year’s Oscars, The Zone of Interest examines the chilling banality of evil by telling the story of concentration camp commandant Rudolf Höss and his wife Hedwig raising their children in a charming little house next to Auschwitz. A searing, intense masterpiece, The Zone of Interest will stay with you long after the last frame.
Starts streaming April 5
We’re Here, Season 4
Season four of HBO’s Emmy-winning reality show features some big changes: Original cohosts Bob the Drag Queen, Shangela, and Eureka have been replaced with RuPaul’s Drag Race franchise winners Sasha Velour, Jaida Essence Hall, Priyanka, and Latrice Royale. The essence of We’re Here will remain the same though; the quartet of drag queens will travel to small communities around Murfreesboro, Tennessee., and Tulsa, Oklahoma, to spread the good word that drag is actually fun and maybe you should loosen up?
Starts streaming April 26
Brandy Hellville & The Cult of Fast Fashion
I don’t know if you’re aware, but there is a dark side to the fashion industry. Brandy Hellville & The Cult of Fast Fashion tells the story of a fun, flashy fashion brand that was once extremely popular with teen and tween girls, taking viewers behind-the-scenes at the Brandy Mellville company, which turns out to be a scummy cesspit of racism and sexual exploitation. The doc then goes deeper and broader with commentary on the environmental and societal devastation that fast fashion factories can bring to the places where they’re located.
Starts streaming April 9
Take My Tumor
The success of shows like Dr. Pimple Popper and Botched proves a lot of people enjoy reality shows about often grotesque medical conditions. If you’re among them, I bet you’ll like Take My Tumor, a show about extreme tumors, the people who have them, and the dedicated medical professionals who remove them. It’s from TLC, formerly The Learning Channel, who seem to have cornered the market on this kind of programming.
Starts streaming April 3
An American Bombing: The Road to April 19th
This documentary digs into the story of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, detailing not just the tragic explosion on April 19, but the massive FBI investigation that followed, and the seething underground of anti-government conspiracy theorists and hate-mongers who inspired Timothy McVeigh to commit mass murder.
Starts streaming April 16
Men (2022)
The monster in this “elevated horror” film is men—not a particular group of men, but men in general. From this provocative premise, director Alex Garland builds a creepy, disturbing narrative that explores the cultural and historical roots of misogyny through the victimization of the film’s main character, Harper Marlowe (played by Jessie Buckley). In a stroke of genius, all the men in the movie (but one) are played by the incredibly talented Rory Kinnear, because men are all basically the same.
Starts streaming on April 18
Last month’s picks
The Regime
Kate Winslet stars in this black comedy series that takes us inside the palace walls of an authoritarian regime. Winslet plays Elena Vernham, the reclusive leader of a fictional European totalitarian state. As Vernham grows more paranoid, her attempts to retain and grow her power fracture the palace and the nation. The Regime also stars Matthias Schoenaerts as Elena’s “personal water diviner” who becomes her closest advisor and Guillaume Gallienne as her poetry-loving husband.
Starts streaming March 3.
The Girls on the Bus
Inspired by the novel Chasing Hilary by Amy Chozick, this series tells the story of four female journalists on the campaign trail during a turbulent political season. Each represents a different style of news gathering, from print journalism to TikTok—and although the “girls” begin as rivals, life in the foxholes of reporting turns the foursome into a found family. The Girls on the Bus stars Melissa Benoist, Carla Gugino, Natasha Behnam, and Christina Elmore.
Starts streaming March 14.
A Revolution on Canvas
Part political thriller and part arts documentary, A Revolution on Canvas examines the controversy and upheaval surrounding the painting of Iranian modern artist Nicky Nodjoumi. After moving to Iran to help overthrow the Shah in 1980, Nodjoumi quickly ruffled the feathers of the new regime with his solo exhibition “Report on the Revolution.” He was forced to flee, and over 100 of his paintings went missing. A Revolution on Canvas details the artist and his family’s attempt to get the paintings back, or at least learn what became of them.
Starts streaming on March 5.
Wonka (2023)
Timothée Chalamet plays the title character in this prequel/re-imagining of Roald Dahl’s famous chocolate maker. Pulling off the oh-how-totally-delightful tone without becoming syrupy and mawkish is no easy feat, but Wonka manages to hit the mark thanks to its talented cast, great writing, catchy songs, and lavish production design. In other words, against all odds, Wonka is pretty good.
Starts streaming March 8.
The Lionheart
In 2011, two-time Indy 500 champion Dan Wheldon died in a one of the worst accidents in racing history. The Lionheart details his career and death, but also his legacy, both personal and professional. Wheldon left behind a wife and two children, and she’s helping the sons walk in their father’s footsteps in the racing world, despite his tragic death.
Starts streaming on March 12.
Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives
Guy Fieri’s endless, Quixotic quest for bangin’ flavors continues with season 47 of this popular eating-things show. This season, Fieri eats barbecue in Macon, oxtail in Memphis, and rib-tips in Denver, among other bad-for-you-but-so-good treats. Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives is best served in a single sitting, and Max has made all the episodes of the new season available for you to gorge.
Starts streaming March 1.
Justice, USA
Justice, USA takes a look at the criminal justice system in Nashville through the eyes of inmates, lawyers, administrators, and legislators. Over its six episodes, this powerful documentary brings viewers from inside men’s, women’s, and juvenile jails, to the halls of power where the laws are made to examine how justice works in America, circa 2024.
Starts streaming March 14.
Dream Scenario (2023)
The great Nicolas Cage stars in this surreal comedy that takes a darkly satirical look at fame in the always-connected age. Paul Matthews (Cage, playing against type) is a boring, schlubby college professor who secretly longs for academic notoriety. He gets famous, but instead of people talking about his research, everyone in the world suddenly starts dreaming about Matthews.
Starts streaming March 15.
The Green Knight (2021)
We’re all familiar with the swords-and-wizards tropes Hollywood has attached to the King Arthur legends, but The Green Knight aims to tell the Arthurian tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight as it was written in the poem in the 14th century. There’s no Excalibur or Merlin here. Instead, The Green Knight presents a stream of dreamlike, symbolic imagery and scenarios that sometimes don’t make logical sense but hold a strange, primal power nonetheless.
Starts streaming March 1.
