Every month, all the major streaming services add a host of newly acquired (or just plain new) shows, movies, and documentaries into their ever-rotating libraries. So what’s a dedicated reader to watch? Well, whatever you want, of course, but the name of this website is Literary Hub, so we sort of have an angle. To that end, here’s a selection of the best (and most enjoyably bad) literary film and TV coming to streaming services this month. Have fun.

NEW:

The Good Mothers
Hulu, April 5

Literary bona fides: based on The Good Mothers: The True Story of the Women Who Took on the World’s Most Powerful Mafia by Alex Perry (2018)

This British-Italian crime drama, based on Perry’s nonfiction book, focuses on three women—ground down under the violent patriarchal system of the Calabrian Mafia (aka the ‘Ndrangheta)—who turned against the men in their family to protect themselves and their children, with the help of prosecutor Anna Colace.

Tiny Beautiful Things
Hulu, April 7

Literary bona fides: based on Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice from Dear Sugar by Cheryl Strayed (2012)

Kathryn Hahn stars as Clare (aka Cheryl Strayed) in this mini-series adaptation of Strayed’s 2012 best-of collection of her beloved advice columns—though at least according to the trailer, it seems to be largely about Strayed’s path to becoming Dear Sugar herself. Prepare for feels!

Transatlantic
Netflix, April 7

Literary bona fides: based on The Flight Portfolio by Julie Orringer (2019)

Gillian Jacobs heads up what looks like a pleasantly Wes Anderson-lite period drama based on Orringer’s take on the true story of the Emergency Rescue Committee, in which a small team of Americans helped writers and artist escape from German-occupied Marseille in 1940.

Obsession
Netflix, April 13

Literary bona fides: based on: Damage by Josephine Hart (1991)

Erotic thrillers are back, baby. In this adaptation of Hart’s bestselling 1991 novel, a surgeon (Richard Armitage) falls into a desperate affair with his son’s fiancée (Charlie Murphy). The trailer is giving murderous 50 Shades of Grey vibes, and I’m here for it.

The Last Thing He Told Me
Apple TV+, April 14

Literary bona fides: based on The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave (2021)

Hello Sunshine’s latest project is a thriller in which a woman (Jennifer Garner) is left to deal with her husband’s lies—and his daughter—when he mysteriously disappears. Laura Dave adapted her own bestselling book for this limited series—always a good sign!

Judy Blume Forever
Prime Video, April 21

Literary bona fides: based on Judy Blume herself!

It’s the Year of Judy Blume, and this is the Judy Blume documentary you never knew you always needed, featuring Judy herself as well as a host of Blume-ites, including Molly Ringwald, Tayari Jones, Lena Dunham, Samantha Bee, Mary H.K. Choi, Jacqueline Woodson, Jason Reynolds, and Cecily Von Ziegesar. Your childhood beckons.

Saint X
Hulu, April 26

Literary bona fides: based on Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin (2020)

In which multiple timelines help us examine the fallout when a young woman is murdered while vacationing with her family on a Caribbean island, leaving her younger sister with endless questions and a desperate need to discover the truth.

Peter Pan & Wendy
Disney+, April 28

Literary bona fides: based on Peter and Wendy by J. M. Barrie (1911)

David Lowery does Peter Pan! I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for an adventure. Bring me Jude Law in a frilly coat.

THROWBACK:

The Joy Luck Club (1993)
Prime Video, April 1

Literary bona fides: based on The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan (1989)

Nostalgia! Amy Tan co-wrote the adaptation of her beloved novel with Academy Award-winner Ronald Bass, which is a good thing, since I’m not sure anyone else would have been able to do it. In 2020, the boundary-breaking film was deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” and entered into the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

Forrest Gump (1994)
Prime Video, April 1

Literary bona fides: based on Forrest Gump by Winston Groom (1986)

The movie you all wanted to see on our list of adaptations better than the books they’re based on! Well, if like the Literary Hub staff, you haven’t watched it in a while, now’s your (our) chance.

Matilda (1996)
Netflix, April 1

Literary bona fides: based on Matilda by Roald Dahl (1988)

One thing they’ll never take away from us (er, probably): the original Matilda. I think I still have it on VHS somewhere…

Harriet the Spy (1996)
HBO Max, April 1

Literary bona fides: based on Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh (1964)

Another childhood classic for the Millennials in the back—it doesn’t approach the source material, but it’s still a pretty good time.

High Fidelity (2000)
Hulu, April 1

Literary bona fides: based on High Fidelity by Nick Hornby (1995)

For when you’re tired of listening to old sad bastard music and need a (very slight) change of pace. Peak John Cusack!

Ghost World (2001)
Paramount +, April 1

Literary bona fides: based on Ghost World by Daniel Clowes (1995)

As above, a cult classic that never gets old.

The Bourne Identity (2002)
Netflix, April 1

Literary bona fides: based on Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Identity (1980)

Ah, it’s always a good time. And if you really want to binge, Netflix is also offering The Bourne Supremacy (2004), The Bourne Ultimatum (2007), and The Bourne Legacy (2012) this month.

Friday Night Lights (2004)
Netflix, April 1

Literary bona fides: based on Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream by H.G. Bissinger (1990)

Another adaptation that probably belongs on this list…except for that one enormous and alarming plot point that absolutely never comes back. You know the one I mean.

Charlie Wilson’s War (2007)
Netflix, April 1

Literary bona fides: based on Charlie Wilson’s War: The Extraordinary Story of How the Wildest Man in Congress and a Rogue CIA Agent Changed the History of Our Times by George Crile (2003)

Come for the megawatt 2000s cast (Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Ned Beatty, Emily Blunt), stay for the script. Go down the street for the historical accuracy, though.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2012)
Prime Video, April 1

Literary bona fides: based on Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John le Carré (1974)

A very good adaptation of a top-notch spy novel.

The Sisters Brothers (2018)
Prime Video, April 1

Literary bona fides: based on The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt (2011)

This picaresque is not quite as good as the (deeply delightful) novel, but—thanks primarily to excellent performances by John C. Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix—an excellent way to spend an evening nonetheless.