In April, BBC Studios and ITV revealed what content is coming to BritBox, a British programming-focused streaming service.
BritBox, which costs $9.99/month (or $99.99 per year), offers access to series like Doctor Who, Emmerdale and Five by Five. In April, the service will add content like Antiques Roadshow, Jesus of Nazareth, Saltwater and more.
Check out everything coming to the streaming platform next month below:
Antiques Roadshow: Season 42 (April 1st)
Sister Boniface Mysteries: Season 2 — BritBox Original (April 4th)
Jesus of Nazareth (April 6th)
An Interview with Brian Cox — BritBox Original (April 11th)
Bob Servant Independent (April 11th)
Saltwater (April 11th)
Blue/Orange (April 11th)
BritBox is available on Roku, Amazon Fire TV stick, Apple TV 4th Gen, iOS and Android.
For many, it was just about the perfect action movie, a culmination of nearly 10 years of top-notch work from director Chad Stahelski and Canadian star Keanu Reeves. However, the power duo haven’t yet committed to a fifth movie, so we may have to wait a while — or even forever — for more of our favourite hitman.
For now, though, there are always other action movies (to try) to fill that void. Here are a bunch:
Atomic Blonde
Helmed by original John Wick co-director David Leitch, Atomic Blonde follows an MI6 agent (Charlize Theron) who hunts down a priceless dossier amid the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Based on Robert Ludlum’s popular novels, the acclaimed Bourne action-thriller series stars Matt Damon as the eponymous CIA assassin.
All five movies — the four starring Damon (Identity, Supremacy, Ultimatum and Jason Bourne) and Jeremy Renner-led Legacy — are streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Crave and Netflix.
Bullet Train
Another post-Wick Leitch movie, Bullet Train sees a hitman named Ladybug (Brad Pitt) fight to survive other assassins on a Japanese train.
After Training Day, Antoine Fuqua and star Denzel Washington reunite for this series a former U.S. Marine turned DIA intelligence officer who begrudgingly gets back into action.
Chris Hemsworth teams up with Marvel stuntman-turned-director Sam Hargrave in this action-thriller about a black ops mercenary tasked with rescuing a crime lord’s son in India.
Stream Extraction on Netflix. Note that a sequel, simply titled Extraction 2, is set to premiere on June 16th, 2023.
Ip Man series
One of the biggest players in John Wick: Chapter 4, Caine, is played by legendary Hong Kong action star, Donnie Yen.
Of his many roles, Yen is best known for Ip Man, a series of martial arts films based on the Wing Chun master of the same name.
Arguably Reeves’ most iconic role pre-Wick saw him kung fu his way through the digital world to save humanity from an AI. Fun fact: Chad Stahelski was a stunt double for Reeves n the series, which no doubt helped paved the way for their killer collaborative efforts years later with John Wick.
Unfortunately, only 2021’s The Matrix Resurrections — which saw Reeves reunite with fellow Canadian Carrie-Anne Moss — is on a subscription streaming service: Crave. The original trilogy — The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions — are only available to rent or purchase on platforms like iTunes and Google Play, starting at $4.99 CAD.
Nobody
From Derek Kolstad, creator of the John Wick series, comes Nobody, which sees Better Call Saul star Bob Odenkirk play a former assassin who seeks revenge against the people who broke into his home. It’s worth noting that the movie was filmed in Winnipeg.
No list like this would be complete with Gareth Evans’ two The Raid movies, widely regarded to be some of the best modern action movies alongside the John Wick series.
The Indonesian movies star Iko Uwais as a special forces member deep in the Jakarta underworld.
The Raid can be streamed on Prime Video and Crave (Starz required for both), while The Raid 2 is available on Prime Video (base membership) and Crave (Starz required).
Taken series
The series that helped kick off Liam Neeson’s current long-running stint of action movies follows the international exploits of a retired CIA operative.
Every week, MobileSyrup outlines some of the most notable movies and TV shows that recently hit Canadian streaming platforms.
Our ‘Streaming in Canada’ column typically focuses on new content from Amazon Prime Video, Crave and Netflix, but other services like Apple TV+ and Disney+ are mentioned when relevant. Premium video-on-demand (PVOD) platforms are also fair game as movies continue to come to digital early.
Finally, we’ll highlight shows or movies that are made by Canadian companies, involve notable Canadian cast or crew and/or are filmed in Canada.
Amazon Prime Video
Perfect Addiction [Amazon Original]
Amazon Prime Video Canada premiere date: March 24th, 2023 Genre: Sports drama Runtime: 1 hour, 37 minutes
After discovering that her fighting champion boyfriend has been cheating on her with her sister, an MMA trainer seeks revenge by coaching the one person who can beat him.
Perfect Addiction was directed by Castille Landon (After We Fell) and stars Mississauga, Ontario’s Kiana Madeira (Fear Street trilogy), Matthew Noszka (Let It Snow) and Ross Butler (13 Reasons Why).
An Amazon Prime Video subscription is included at no additional cost with an Amazon Prime membership, which is priced at $99/year.
The full list of movies and shows hitting Amazon Prime Video Canada this month can be found here.
Apple TV+
My Kind of Country [Apple Original]
Apple TV+ Canada premiere date: March 24th, 2023 (first three episodes, new episodes every Friday) Genre: Reality competition Runtime: Eight episodes (around 45 minutes each)
From Reese Witherspoon (The Morning Show) and Kasey Musgraves (Golden Hour) comes this new reality competition series about up-and-coming country artists vying for a $100,000 prize and Apple Music support. Jimmie Allen (“Best Shot”), Mickey Guyton (“Black Like Me”) and Vancouver’s Orville Peck (Pony) serve as talent scouts.
Original theatrical release date: September 13th, 2022 (limited release) Crave release date: March 24th, 2023 Genre: Comedy Runtime: 1 hour, 40 minutes
After surviving a massive heart attack, Randal Graves teams up with fellow clerks to make a movie about the Quick Stop Convenience store.
Clerks III was written and directed by Kevin Smith (Clerks) and features returning Clerks stars Brian O’Halloran (Dante), Jeff Anderson (Randal), Trevor Fehrman (Elias), Rosario Dawson (Becky), Jason Mewes (Jay) and Smith (Silent Bob).
Crave release date: March 26th, 2023 (first episode at 9pm ET, new episodes every Sunday at 9pm ET) Genre: Comedy-drama Runtime: 10 episodes (around one hour each)
In the series’ final season, the looming sale of Waystar Royco leaves the Roy family to confront a future where their culture and political weight is severely curtailed.
Succession was created by Jesse Armstrong (Fresh Meat) and features an ensemble cast that includes Brian Cox (Manhunter), Jeremy Strong (Masters of Sex), Sarah Snook (Pieces of a Woman) and Kieran Culkin (Igby Goes Down).
Crave release date: March 24th, 2023 (first episode, new episodes every Friday) Genre: Thriller Runtime: Eight episodes (around one hour each)
After barely surviving the summer, the Yellowjackets have to contend with hunger and desperation in the winter.
Yellowjackets was created by Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson (The Originals) and features an ensemble cast that includes Melanie Lynskey (Two and a Half Men), Juliette Lewis (Cape Fear), Christina Ricci (The Addams Family) and Lauren Ambrose (Servant). It’s worth noting that the series is filmed in Vancouver.
A standard Crave subscription is priced at $19.99/month, with Starz costing an additional $5.99/month. A mobile-only subscription is also available for $9.99/month.
The full list of movies and shows hitting Crave this month can be found here.
Netflix
Love is Blind (Season 4) [Netflix Original]
Netflix Canada release date: March 24th, 2023 (first five episodes, new episodes every Friday) Genre: Reality Runtime: 12 episodes (around one hour each)
A new group of singles looks for love and engagement before actually meeting in person.
Nick Lachey (98 Degrees) and spouse Vanessa (NCIS: Hawaiʻi) co-host the series.
Netflix Canada release date: March 23rd, 2023 Genre: Action-thriller Runtime: 10 episodes (45 to 56 minutes each)
An FBI agent gets pulled into a deadly conspiracy involving a mole at the White House.
Based on Matthew Kirk’s novel of the same name, The Night Agent was created by Shawn Ryan (The Shield) and stars Gabriel Basso (Super 8), Luciane Buchanan (Filthy Rich) and Hong Chau (The Whale).
Netflix Canada release date: March 21st, 2023 Genre: Interactive comedy special Runtime: 1 hour, 43 minutes
From the creators of Pinky Malinky comes this interactive animated special that tasks viewers with helping pet siblings Pud (Parks and Recreation‘s Ben Schwartz) and Ham (Big Mouth‘s Ayo Edibiri) travel the multiverse to save humanity.
The full list of movies and shows hitting Netflix Canada this month can be found here.
Paramount+
Rabbit Hole [Paramount+ Original]
Paramount+ Canada release date: March 26th, 2023 (first two episodes, new episodes every Sunday) Genre: Spy thriller Runtime: Eight episodes (around one hour each)
Toronto’s Keifer Sutherland (24) returns to the spy world as a corporate agent who finds himself framed for murder by mysterious forces.
Rabbit Hole was created by John Requa and Glenn Ficarra (Focus) and co-stars Rob Yang (Succession), Charles Dance (Game of Thrones) and Meta Golding (The Hunger Games series). It’s also worth noting that the series was filmed in Toronto.
Apple is planning to spend $1 billion USD (about $1.36 billion CAD) per year on theatrical movies, according to Bloomberg.
The goal, says the outlet, is for Apple to grow its presence in Hollywood and bring in more subscribers to Apple TV+.
To date, Apple has reportedly spent billions on original programming, but it’s primarily been focused on streaming TV shows for Apple TV+. This includes buzzworthy series like Ted Lasso, The Morning Show and Severance. The service’s catalogue offers a handful of original films, like Greyhound, Finch and the Oscar-winning CODA, but otherwise, it’s all about shows.
Apple has also only given some of these films a small, limited theatrical release — just long enough to make them eligible for awards like the Oscars, which require movies to play in cinemas. As part of this new $1 billion annual investment, Apple will seek distributors to bring its original films to thousands of theatres. So far, these plans include Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon and Argyle from Kingsman director Matthew Vaughn.
Bloomberg notes that Apple is spending hundreds of millions on Killers of the Flower Moon, in particular, so it wants to turn that into a “cultural event.” The company’s film ambitions have also reportedly only expanded after CODA won Best Picture last year, beating out Netflix to become the first streamer to take home the Oscars’ top honour.
Currently, Apple is said to only be having discussions with distributors, as it still needs to work out fees and other specifics. As Bloomberg points out, these distributors will all have their own cuts to take; for instance, Paramount will release Killers of the Flower Moon in theatres for a 10 percent fee. Apple will also have to spend on promoting these movies, since theatrical releases require more expansive marketing strategies than smaller, streaming-only titles.
Apple’s expanded theatrical approach would be quite distinct from Netflix, which has historically only released select movies in cinemas for a limited time. Last year, the company made the rare move to play Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery in a small number of theatres one month before it came to Netflix, but that was the exception rather than the rule.
“There [are] all kinds of debates all the time, back-and-forth, but there’s no question internally that we make our movies for our members and we really want them to watch them on Netflix,” he added.
It remains to be seen how, exactly, Apple will approach theatrical movies. The company hasn’t yet commented on this report, and we also don’t yet know when films like Killers of the Flower Moon will even release.
In April 2023, Netflix Canada is set to stream several new TV shows, films and documentaries, Sweet Tooth: Season 2, Beef, Transatlantic, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always and more.
Coming Soon
Ex-Addicts Club — Netflix Series
Welcome to Eden: Season 2
April 1st
10,000 B.C.
Catwoman
Click
Crash
Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax
Girls Trip
How to Train Your Dragon 2
Jurassic Park
Laurence Anyways
Lego Ninjago: Season 4 Crystallized – Part 2
Louis Cyr, l’homme le plus fort du monde
The Many Saints of Newark
Miracles from Heaven
Mission: Impossible – Fallout
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation
New York Minute
Shark Tale
Something’s Gotta Give
Superbad
Wild Wild West
You Got Served
Zathura: A Space Adventure
Weather — Netflix Film
April 2nd
War Sailor: Limited Series — Netflix Series
April 4th
My Name is Mo’Nique — Netflix Series
The Signing — Netflix Series
April 5th
Lewis Capaldi: How I’m Feeling Now — Netflix Documentary
April 6th
Beef — Netflix Series
Reminiscence
April 7th
Chupa — Netflix Film
Into the Storm
Kings of Mulberry Street: Let Love Reign — Netflix Film
Oh Belinda — Netflix Film
Thicker Than Water — Netflix Series
Transatlantic — Netflix Series
April 8th
Hunger — Netflix Film
Spiral: From the Book of Saw
April 10th
CoComelon: Season 8 — Netflix Family
April 11th
Leanne Morgan: I’m Every Woman — Netflix Comedy
April 12th
American Manhunt: The Boston Marathon Bombing — Netflix Documentary
Celeste Barber Fine, thanks — Netflix Comedy
Operation: Nation — Netflix Film
Smother-in-Law: Season 2 — Netflix Series
April 13th
The Boss Baby: Back in the Crib: Season 2 — Netflix Family
Florida Man — Netflix Series
Obsession — Netflix Film
April 14th
Phenomena — Netflix Film
Queenmaker — Netflix Series
Queens on the Run — Netflix Film
Seven Kings Must Die — Netflix Film
April 15th
Bolduc, La
Doctor Cha — Netflix Series
Le mirage
April 16th
The Nutty Boy Part 2 — Netflix Family
April 17th
Oggy Oggy: Season 2 — Netflix Family
April 18th
Better Call Saul: Season 6
How to Get Rich — Netflix Documentary
Longest Third Date — Netflix Documentary
April 19th
Chimp Empire — Netflix Documentary
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always — Netflix Film
April 20th
42
The Diplomat — Netflix Series
Tooth Pari: When Love Bites — Netflix Series
April 21st
8 Mile
A Tourist’s Guide to Love — Netflix Film
Chokehold — Netflix Film
Erin Brockovich
Indian Matchmaking: Season 3
One More Time — Netflix Film
Rough Diamonds — Netflix Series
April 22nd
Ada Twist, Scientist: Season 4
Stowaway
April 25th
John Mulaney: Baby J — Netflix Comedy
April 26th
The Good Bad Mother — Netflix Series
Kiss, Kiss — Netflix Film
Love After Music — Netflix Series
April 27th
Firefly Lane: Season 2 Part 2 — Netflix Series
The Matchmaker — Netflix Film
The Nurse — Netflix Series
Sharkdog: Season 3 — Netflix Family
Sweet Tooth: Season 2 — Netflix Series
April 28th
AKA — Netflix Film
InuYasha: Season 6
King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch — Netflix Series
It’s been just over a week since HBO’s The Last of Us concluded its nine-episode run. The adaptation of Naughty Dog’s critically acclaimed game received similar praise for its storytelling. Though, fans awaiting the sophomore season may want to strap in.
The Last of Us Season 2 may not arrive until late 2024 — at the earliest.
In a recent interview with The Independent, Bella Ramsey, who plays Ellie Williams, discussed that production will likely begin towards the end of the year. Based on her rough timeline, Ramsey doesn’t expect The Last of Us Season 2 to debut until the end of next year. “It will be a while. I think we’ll probably shoot at the end of this year, beginning of next,” Ramsey states. “So it’ll probably be the end of 2024, early 2025.”
Ramsey’s sentiments regarding this year’s production schedule are also echoed by co-star Pedro Pascal. In a separate interview, Pascal stated that the second season would begin production in late 2023.
None of this should come as a surprise, given historically, HBO doesn’t rush the production of its premier programming. This has been the case with Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon, Westworld and more. While the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic impacted the production of The Last of Us’ debut season, the series did shoot for nearly a year in Alberta, Canada.
It’s difficult to say whether production will be as strenuous this time around or even if The Last of Us will return to shoot in Alberta. That said, showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann both strive to use as many practical effects and locations as possible.
Druckmann has already confirmed that the adaptation of The Last of Us Part 2 will be “more than one season.” This past weekend, the co-creator of the game and series posted a teaser for Season 2 and the introduction of Abby, a prominent character from The Last of Us Part II. This all but confirms the trajectory of the series and the direction Season 2 will take.
All episodes of The Last of Us Season 1 are available to stream on Crave in Canada.
Just a few days ago, Pedro Pascal raved once again about Canada on the Oscars’ red carpet.
Now, we’re seeing that love in action. After TMZ snagged some shots of The Last of Us star leaving a Starbucks in Hollywood, people were naturally examining his fit. Some eagle-eyed viewers soon noticed that Pascal was wearing none other than Canadian socks — specifically, a pair repping Calgary.
Friday Sock Co., the Calgary-based company behind the socks, even took to Instagram to give Pascal a shoutout:
Taking a closer look at the deliberately mismatched socks, one features Calgary Tower while the other sports the Scotiabank Saddledome. They’re available in both men’s and women’s variants for $16.95 on Friday Sock Co’s website so you, too, can be stylish like Pascal.
Over the course of The Last of Us promotional tour, Pascal made no secret of his love for Canada. After all, he spent an entire year in Alberta shooting the series. Speaking to MobileSyrup, Pascal even said it was “essential” to film there, praising the province for its landscapes and crew members. He also gave a special shoutout to Canmore, a “magical little town” that stood in for Jackson, Wyoming in the series’ sixth episode.
Disney has revealed the full list of movies and shows that are coming to its Disney+ streaming service in Canada in April.
While it’s a light month overall, the main highlight is David Lowery’s Peter Pan & Wendy, which was filmed in Vancouver and Newfoundland and Labrador’s Bonavista Peninsula and co-stars Cree Canadian-Indigenous actress Alyssa Wapanatâhk as Tiger Lilly.
See below for the full April breakdown:
April 3rd
American Dad (Season 19) [Star]
April 5th
Area21 — Live on Planet Earth (Special) [Star]
The Crossover
The Good Mothers [Star]
The Pope Answers [Star]
Predator: Bloodlines (Season 1)
Susah Sinyal (Bad Signal) The Series (Season 1) [Star]
April 7th
Tiny Beautiful Things [Star]
April 12th
Atomu No Ko (Season 1) [Star]
Cesar Milan: Better Human Better Dog
The First Responders (Season 1) [Star]
Justified (Seasons 1-6) [Star]
Little Mosque on the Prairie (Seasons 1-6) [Star]
Pandora: Beneath the Paradise (Season 1)
Rennervations
Tá Tudo Certo
April 14th
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (short)
Ozur Dilerim [Star]
April 19th
Alone (Season 6) [Star]
Doctor Lawyer (Season 1) [Star]
The Owl House (Season 3, all episodes)
My Family: S1 (New Episode)
Mascara Contra Caballero (Season 1) [Star]
Mr. Mercedes (Seasons 1-3) [Star]
Yang Hilang Dalam Cinta/What We Lose to Love (Season 1) [Star]
April 20th
Quasi [Star]
April 26th
Matildas: The World at Our Feet
Saint X [Star]
Sam: Ein Sachse/Sam: A Saxon (Season 1) [Star]
The 1619 Project [Star]
Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures (Season 1, shorts)
In the meantime, though, we’ve rounded up where you can stream other shows in Canada — primarily those with similar post-apocalyptic themes, but also some that share key talent and/or story beats.
Amazon Prime Video
Y: The Last Man
Adapted from an acclaimed comic series, Y: The Last Man explores a world in which a mysterious event has caused the deaths of all but one male.
It should be noted, however, that it was cancelled after one season, despite fairly positive reviews.
A key reason for the success of The Last of Us is that original game writer/co-director Neil Druckmann spearheaded the series with Craig Mazin, the creator of HBO’s Chernobyl.
Starring Jared Harris (Mad Men) and Stellan Skarsgård (Andor), the miniseries is based on the true story of a catastrophic nuclear accident in Chernobyl and the sacrifices of the brave men and women who worked to mitigate the disaster.
In a rare move for post-apocalyptic media, Station Eleven offers a more uplifting look at survivors in a pandemic-ravaged world.
What’s more, it’s really Canadian: the miniseries is based on the eponymous novel from Merville, B.C.’s Emily St. John Mandel, it stars Vancouver’s Mackenzie Davis (Halt and Catch Fire) and it was filmed in Mississauga, Ontario.
Sure, it’s not a post-apocalyptic drama, but it’s also perhaps the most obvious choice on this list, given that it also stars Pedro Pascal as a badass protecting a child. And unlike The Last of Us, this Star Wars series is appropriate for all ages.
Stream The Mandalorian here. A list of where to stream other Pedro Pascal shows and movies can be found here.
Netflix
The Walking Dead
At this point, everyone knows TV’s quintessential post-apocalyptic zombie drama.
But the popular AMC series just wrapped its 11-season run in November 2022, which makes it especially worth including for those who fell off in recent years and maybe want to catch up.
Based on Kass Morgan’s young adult novels of the same name, The 100 follows space habitants who return to Earth after a nuclear apocalypse and encounter descendants of the planet’s survivors.
Good for all ages, this well-received post-apocalyptic fantasy-drama is about a human-deer boy who goes on a journey to find family and home with a gruff protector.
Notably, it’s based on the eponymous comic from Essex County, Ontario’s Jeff Lemire and has a second season coming on April 27th, 2023.
