There are a handful of promising new shows premiering everywhere in April, from FX to Netflix to Showtime, and it’s also the month of our returning favorites on HBO (time for Game of Thrones to take over television and the Internet once again!). But let’s be honest, there’s only thing everyone will be talking about: the end of Mad Men. The second half of the seventh and final season begins this Sunday and, after only seven more episodes, the show will be off the air. Even if you’re not a Mad Men fan, April might be the year’s best month for TV.
April 4: Sexy Outlander is back with sexy Scottish sex
After a six-month hiatus, Outlander (and, more importantly, Sam Heughan) is back for the second half of its first season, which will expand its focus on Claire and Jamie’s marriage.
April 5: The beginning of the end of Mad Men
Is there any television event this month more important and more anticipated than Mad Men‘s final episodes? After seven seasons — it’s been on since 2007 — multiple affairs, countless drinks, a handful of midlife crises, and approximately ten cumulative hours of Don Draper holding a glass of whiskey while pensively staring out the window, Mad Men premieres this Sunday and ends on May 17.
April 5: We finally get a Lizzie Borden TV show
This month’s trashy TV pick: Lifetime’s The Lizzie Borden Chronicles. Following the “success” of its original movie Lizzie Borden Took an Ax, Christina Ricci reprises her role in this limited series. Chronicles is an “intense and fictionalized account” of Lizzie’s life after her acquittal — when people close to her begin to mysteriously disappear.
April 9: FX’s new comedy block includes The Comedians and Louie
After an inventive (and occasionally controversial) fourth season of Louie, the super-dark comedy returns for an eight-episode fifth season on FX. According to Louis CK, the season will be decidedly lighter and goofier — a welcome change for most viewers. Louie will be paired up with FX’s new comedy The Comedians, starring Billy Crystal and Josh Gad as fictional versions of themselves.
April 10: Season 1 of Daredevil premieres on Netflix
Don’t let the Ben Affleck movie turn you off from taking a chance on Netflix’s Daredevil, the first of the streaming site’s Marvel Universe programs. Charlie Cox steps in as blind lawyer/superhero Matt Murdock/Daredevil in this promising series that will also star Rosario Dawson and Vincent D’Onofrio. Like Netflix’s other originals, the entire first season will premiere at once for your binge-watching pleasure.
April 12: HBO takes control of your Sunday nights
Season 5 of Game of Thrones at 9 PM! Season 2 of Silicon Valley at 10! Veep at 10:30! All of our Sundays will belong to HBO for the next few weeks, but we’re not complaining.
April 18: Clones vs. clones on Orphan Black
Season 2 of Orphan Black destroyed us with an insane reveal when — spoiler — we learned that Sarah Manning and co. aren’t the only set of clones running around. Mark is also a clone, a result of Project Castor (the male version of Project Leda), and it looks like these two groups will go head-to-head in Season 3. The premiere will be simulcast on Sundance, AMC, IFC, and We TV.
April 21: Season 3 of Inside Amy Schumer
The third season of Amy Schumer’s hilarious, feminist, and original sketch comedy show will begin on Comedy Central on April 21, helping to fill the hole in our hearts while we wait for Broad City to return next season.
April 26: Happyish premieres on Showtime
Happyish originally starred Philip Seymour Hoffman (and a pilot was filmed prior to his death), but now Steve Coogan will play the lead role, a middle-aged executive forced to deal with his new, younger boss. Kathryn Hahn and Bradley Whitford also star. The series premieres on April 26, but a sneak preview will air after Shameless‘ season finale on Sunday, April 5.
April 29: J.K. Rowling returns with The Casual Vacancy
Rowling’s follow-up to the Harry Potter franchise is The Casual Vacancy, a novel about an eerie small town. The book was adapted into a miniseries for HBO; parts one and two premiere on April 29, with part three airing on April 30.