A new month brings with it a new range to binge

Asterix and Obelix: The Big Fight

OK. This is a bit of cheating, as this one premieres on April 30, but I couldn’t help myself! I adore Asterix and Obelix stories; I grew up on them! When I saw that a new animated series would be released, based on one of the most beloved books of the franchise, I was so happy I could take a plunge into a cauldron full of magic potion and carry a menhir to the other side of France!

Asterix and Obelix: The Big Fight tells the story of the two plucky Gauls who find themselves needing to defend their village against the Romans without their greatest weapon. The magic potion brewed for them by their druid is no more, as the druid suffers an accident and is unable to prepare it. Seeing them in a moment of weakness, the almighty Julius Ceasar decides to call upon an ancient custom and challenge the village’s chief to a fight where the winner takes all.

The Four Seasons

Described by series creator Tina Fey as “a love letter to long-term relationships”, Four Seasons tells the story of three couples and the problems they face in long-term relationships over the span of four vacations in a year.

An adaptation of the 1981 rom-com film by Alan Alda (who also serves as an executive producer in the series), in The Four Seasons we see how the six, friends for decades, deal with problems of being in a relationship that feels stagnant.

The series opens with one of the couples announcing that they are getting a divorce, forcing the rest of the friends to re-evaluate their relationships and confront long-existing problems within them. Fey, who created the series, described it as “a cosy sweater” filled with laughs and unexpected moments.

Also starring the ever welcome and I think at this point requirement to shoot a dramedy, Steve Carell and Will Forte.

The Four Seasons premieres on May 1

Nonnas

Like many people, Joe Scaravella finds himself at a crossroads in life. Working a dead-end, unfulfilling job with no future and no goals in life, Joe is shocked when his beloved mother passes away.

Trying to deal with the grief, Joe can only find solace in food other Italian grandmothers (the titular Nonnas) bring him. The food, a reminder of happier times and childhood, sparks an idea: open a restaurant serving homemade Italian food prepared by real-life grandmothers.

Based on a true story, as Scaravella is a real person who owns the Enoteca Maria restaurant where grandmothers prepare traditional food each week. Nonnas is a tribute to the strong family bonds holding us together and a reminder that there is nothing in this world like a home-cooked Sunday meal lovingly prepared by your grandmother!

Nonnas premieres on May 9

Love, Death and Robots

Season 4 of the celebrated and multi-award-winning animated anthology series packed with 10 explosive episodes! Love, Death and Rοbots mixes sci-fi, cosmic horror and comedy with different animation styles to tell diverse, stand-alone stories.

Netflix released a trailer for the fourth season and it is every bit as irreverent, quirky and weird as we are accustomed to: a gang of boys fight in a post-apocalyptic nightmare, Rhys Darby is a priest joining a religious alien on a quest to find their saviour who was reborn as a dolphin, John Oliver joins a cat who is hell-bent on global domination and David Fincher imagines a Red Hot Chilli Peppers concert where everyone is a puppet.

Love Death and Robots premieres on May 15

Sirens

For me, it’s simple: if Kevin Bacon is in it, watch it. Sirens is a limited series described as a “dark comedy”, which to me sounds like John Gacey doing knock-knock jokes. This series though, executive produced by a company owned by Margot Robbie, promises to thrill as it explores themes of sisterhood, love and most importantly, cults and the supernatural!

The story centres on Devon, a young woman whose sister appears to have an unsettlingly close relationship with her domineering boss, charismatic philanthropist Michaella. Concerned that her sister might have fallen victim to a cult, Devon tries to stage an intervention and ends up in Michaella’s mansion for a weekend, where the series unfolds. Bacon stars as Michaella’s billionaire husband, a role I’m confident Bacon portrays brilliantly being the absolute diamond of a man and a shining example of the actor he is. No biases here.

Sirens premieres on May 22