Every month, we’ll tell you about new comedies and dramas to hit terrestrial and cable channels, as well as streaming sites in Singapore. We’ll also highlight the television shows that you’ve got to be home (or on your phone) to catch every month.
Overview of April’s shows
April finally seems some beloved remakes hitting the screen, like Cartoon Network’s ThunderCats Roar! and Netflix’s Ghost in the Shell SAC_2045. Korean drama addicts can rest assured that they’ll get their fix with assorted dramas like Viu’s Good Casting and When My Love Blooms, as well as Oh!K’s My Daughter, Geum Sa-Wol. However, the most exciting offering this month isn’t a full series – it’s meWATCH’s Adulting, a humble pilot episode for an interactive romantic comedy. All this makes staying home this April a little bit easier.
Adulting (pilot) (1 Apr)
meWATCH
In this interactive romantic comedy, viewers control the fate of scatterbrained but well-meaning Clarissa, a 20-something-year-old who is just trying to figure her life out. Juggling relationships with her boss, best friend and potential dates is tough — but if you don’t believe that, you can control her fate for yourself and see if you can do better.
The first interactive drama to come from Mediacorp, akin to Black Mirror’s Bandersnatch episode, Adulting breaks new ground by finally making full use of the streaming platform that is meWATCH (formerly Toggle) with its Choose-Your-Own-Adventure style storytelling. Other shows may have given viewers the ability to choose the ending, but Adulting lets viewers (or should that be players) watch multiple permutations of the same episode — with 9 different possible endings depending on the choices made.
ThunderCats Roar! (10 Apr, Fridays 9am)
Cartoon Network (Starhub Ch 316, Singtel Ch 226)
When their home planet of Thundera is destroyed, Lion-O and the ThunderCats flee to Third Earth for refuge. They find new friends and foes on this mysterious new planet, but none more dangerous than the fiendish Mumm-Ra! This is the second remake of Thundercats, which takes on a more light-hearted tone as compared to the first remake in 2011.
ThunderCats Roar! has been plagued with criticisms ever since the first trailer was revealed, mainly for its CalArts style of animation and seemingly flippant attitude. However, other shows with less realistic proportions, such as She-Ra and the Princesses of Power or Transformers: Animated also started off being heavily derided by critics, only to win over fans later with their storytelling and themes. So let’s give ThunderCats Roar! a chance to show us what it’s worth, before we pass judgment on it.
Ghost in the Shell: SAC_ 2045 (23 Apr)
Netflix
This series marks the first time the Ghost in the Shell franchise has been rendered as a 3D-animated series, and takes place in 2045. It follows the adventures of former Public Security 9 Major Motoko Kusanagi after an economic disaster hits the planet. Now a mercenary, Kusanagi and her team must deal with the rise of super-powered post humans, who pose a grave threat to humanity.
While motion capture technology has been used in animating some sequences of this 3D animated series (predominantly the fights), the fact is that the animation looks somewhat dated. Hopefully, the actual anime will feature more polished and detailed animation (the trailer may be using unfinished footage) which matches the artwork we’ve seen so far. May this make up for 2017’s live action Ghost in the Shell movie!
Good Casting (28 Apr)
Viu
When South Korea’s largest conglomerate finds that plans for its cutting edge technology has been stolen, former black agent legend Baek Chan-Mi (Choi Kang Hee) is sent undercover to find out what happened. However, Baek hides a secret herself — her former subordinate died under her watch, and she was demoted for that incident. Can she redeem herself in this case, or will even more people suffer for her misdeeds?
Also titled as Miscasting in some regions, this series is actually a dramedy (bet you couldn’t tell from the trailer, right?) with pretty obvious set-ups. As unbelievable as it is, the aforementioned conglomerate (a chaebol?) is probably linked to Baek’s former colleague’s death. Since tech is involved, we’ll probably see some good special effects in the series.
Terrestrial
Channel 8
My Guardian Angels (6 Apr, Mondays – Fridays 9pm)
Suria
Detik (1 Apr, Wednesdays 8pm)
Jejak Janayah (1 Apr, Wednesdays 9pm)
Cable
Cartoon Network (Starhub Ch 316, Singtel Ch 226)
ThunderCats Roar! (10 Apr, Fridays 9am)
Monster Beach (24 Apr, Saturdays and Sundays 6.30pm)
Warner TV (Starhub Ch 515, Singtel Ch 306)
Impractical Jokers (Season 9) (14 Apr, Tuesdays to Thursdays 8.35pm)
Oh!K (Starhub Ch 816, Singtel Ch 525)
My Daughter, Geum Sa-Wol (28 Apr, Mondays to Fridays 11pm)
HBO (Starhub Ch 601, Singtel Ch 420)
The Extractors (11 Apr, Saturdays 9pm)
Run (13 Apr, Mondays 10am and 11pm)
Insecure (Season 4) (13 Apr, Mondays 10.35am and 11.35pm)
I Know This Much is True (28 Apr, Tuesdays 9am)
Hub Drama First (StarHub Ch 860)
Wu Xin The Monster Killer (Season 3) (9 Apr)
The World of the Married (4 Apr)
Hub E City (StarHub Ch 825)
Meeting Mr. Right (Season 2) (26 Apr, Sundays 8pm)
Streaming
Viu
When My Love Blooms (26 Apr)
Good Casting (28 Apr)
Netflix
Money Heist (La casa de papel) (Part 4) (3 Apr)
Chris D’Elia: No Pain (4 Apr)
The Main Event (movie) (10 Apr)
Tigertail (movie) (10 Apr)
The Willoughbys (22 Apr)
Time to Hunt (23 Apr)
Ghost in the Shell: SAC_ 2045 (23 Apr)
After Life (Season 2) (24 Apr)
Extraction (24 Apr)
Never Have I Ever (27 Apr)
The Victims’ Game (Apr 30)
The Forest of Love: Deep Cut (movie) (Apr 30)
meWATCH
Adulting (pilot) (1 Apr)
Best Friends Forever (Eps 1-6: 10 Apr, Eps 7-13: 17 Apr)
This article was first published on and written for Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore.
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I’m an independent scriptwriter who’s written for popular shows like Lion Mums, Crimewatch, Police & Thief, and Incredible Tales. I’m also a Transformers enthusiast and avid pop culture scholar. You can find me on social media as Optimarcus and on my site.
Send me an email if you want to get in touch!
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