At the beginning of (and during) every month, Netflix adds new movies and TV shows to its library. We figure you might want to know about them. For more comprehensive coverage of the best titles available on Netflix and elsewhere, check out Vulture’s What to Stream Now hub, which is updated throughout the month.
Kubrick time: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Netflix has a slim back catalogue of films made before 1990, so there’s good reason to check out two of Stanley Kubrick’s more influential works when they arrive on the site. 2001 is full of the awestruck mythologizing that rarely makes it into action sci-fi films anymore, while A Clockwork Orange remains a brutal little treatise on violence. Stream one, stream both, lecture your friends with whatever you remember from that one film class. Available April 1.
Don’t forget the Busy Bee: Best in Show (2000)
One of Christopher Guest’s most acclaimed mockumentaries, Best in Show follows the competition in a top dog show — both the dogs and their more unpredictable owners. The actors get to revel in their absurd characters, from a man with two left feet to an older husband and his trophy wife, and in the most gleefully terrible pairing, Parker Posey and Michael Hitchcock’s controlling yuppie couple. They met at Starbucks, of course. Available April 1.
As you wish: The Princess Bride (1987)
Never start a land war in Asia. Mawwage is what brings us together. You killed my father, prepare to die. If you don’t know all the quotes from The Princess Bride already, you had a very different life in elementary school than I did (with probably more parties, but whatever). It’s not too late to catch up, or indoctrinate your friends, children, roommates, or even unsuspecting hookups who thought you were using “Netflix” as a euphemism. Available April 1.
It’s the pictures that got small: Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Aging star Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) traps a young, struggling screenwriter (William Holden) in a life of luxury in her decaying Hollywood mansion. Billy Wilder’s masterpiece blends noir, Bluebeard-like gothic horror, and a send-up of Hollywood superficiality. Swanson’s performance, as a former legend willing herself into stardom once again, is indelible. Available April 1.
See what the Germans are up to: Look Who’s Back (2015)
A fish-out-of-water comedy where the fish just happens to be Adolf Hitler, Look Who’s Back was a giant hit in Germany before Netflix purchased the worldwide distribution rights earlier this year. Is it terribly offensive? A knowing satire? Merely unsettling? Congratulations — soon, you’ll get to decide. Available April 9.
They’re alive, damn it! Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Season 2)
Tina Fey’s cotton-candy-plus-PCP look at life in New York returns with the promise of a season’s worth of well-crafted punchlines and also one slightly dated pizza rat joke. Best advice is to pace yourself through the episodes, but like an ex-cult member in a candy store, you’ll probably binge anyway. Available April 15.
TELEVISION
April 1
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown (Season 5)
Beat Bobby Flay (Season 1)
Bob’s Burgers (Season 5)
Cutthroat Kitchen (Seasons 3–4)
Fixer Upper (Season 2)
Giada at Home (Season 7)
The Great Food Truck Race (Seasons 1–2)
House Hunters Collection (Collection 3)
House Hunters International Collection (Collection 3)
House Hunters International Renovation (Season 1)
Kids Baking Championship (Season 1)
Lost & Found Music Studios (Season 1)
Love It or List It, Too (Season 4)
Property Brothers at Home (Season 1)
The Ranch (Part 1)
April 10
Girl Meets World (Season 2)
April 11
TURN: Washington’s Spies (Season 2)
April 12
Ajin (Season 1)
April 15
Cuckoo (Season 3)
Kong King of the Apes (Episodes 1–13)
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Season 2)
April 16
How to Get Away With Murder (Season 2)
April 17
Lost Girl (Season 5)
The Messengers (Season 1)
April 27
The Fosters (Season 3)
April 29
Danger Mouse (Season 1)
April 30
Sensitive Skin (Season 2)
MOVIES
April 1
16 Blocks (2006)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
The Ascent of Woman: A 10,000 Year Story (2015)
Best in Show (2000)
Boogie Nights (1997)
Breathe (2014)
Chaplin (1992)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)
Codegirl (2015)
Colegas (2012)
Cujo (1983)
Deep Impact (1998)
Dennis Rodman’s Big Bang in Pyongyang (2015)
Dolphin Tale (2011)
Erin Brockovich (2000)
Explorers (1985)
Frank and Cindy (2015)
Jeremy Scott: The People’s Designer (2015)
Looking for Richard (1996)
The Mask You Live In (2015)
Morituri (1965)
My Girl (1991)
Mystic River (2003)
The Next Best Thing (2000)
The Perfect Storm (2000)
The Phantom (1996)
The Princess Bride (1987)
Rev Run’s Sunday Suppers (2014)
The Right Stuff (1983)
Rising Sun (1993)
The Running Man (1987)
Say It Isn’t So (2001)
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Scrooged (1988)
Something’s Gotta Give (2003)
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Transporter 3 (2008)
Uncommon Valor (1983)
Under the Same Moon (2007)
V for Vendetta (2005)
April 5
Walt Before Mickey (2015)
April 8
God’s Pocket (2014)
Hush (2016)
April 9
Look Who’s Back (2015)
April 14
Moonwalkers (2015)
Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine (2015)
April 15
Belgica (2016)
April 22
Catching the Sun (2015)
Patton Oswalt: Talking for Clapping (2016)
April 24
Minions (2015)
April 27
Begin Again (2014)
April 29
Hellion (2014)
Special Correspondents (2016)
Team Foxcatcher (2016)
For more details on the best film and television available online, consult Vulture’s What to Stream Now hub.
