Chris O’Dowd is back for season two of this easy-to-love yet surprisingly existential comedy. He plays Dusty, who discovers a machine called Morpho that promises to reveal your true potential. The series picks up with his small town grappling with how Morpho is impacting both individuals and the community generally. Meanwhile, Dusty’s own relationship with his wife, Cass, is in a difficult place. Wednesday 24 April; Apple TV+

In 2013, influencer Belle Gibson launched an Instagram account and an app to both share the food she claimed healed her brain cancer and to raise money for charity. But people become suspicious of her diagnosis and discovered she never shared the money and that her cancer diagnosis might also be fake. This documentary – which has already found huge success on ITVX – investigates what she did, how she did it and hopefully helps viewers understand why. 9pm, Thursday 25 April; ITV1

Even if you’ve never watched a game of tennis in your life, you’ll be seduced by this new film directed by Call Me By Your Name’s Luca Guadagnino. Zendaya plays Tashi, a former superstar tennis player and now coach to her husband, Art (Mike Faist), who aims to reinvigorate his career by entering him into a low-level competition. Only his former best friend Patrick (Josh O’Connor) will also be playing, and the two fell out when Tashi came between them. Friday 26 April; UK cinemas

“I know what you’re thinking: thrillers belong squarely in the murky shadows of autumn and winter,” says Kayleigh. “Here’s the thing, though. Our TV schedules (and the stream of pacey beach reads) well and truly disagree with us, as we’ve a host of nerve-jangling shows to choose from this spring.

“Whether it’s Red Eye (21 April; ITVX), The Red King (24 April; Alibi), Deliver Me (24 April; Netflix), Dead Boy Detectives (25 April; Netflix), Them: The Scare (25 April; Prime Video), Dark Matter (8 May; Apple TV+), Eric (30 May; Netflix), The Gathering (May; Channel 4), Insomnia (springtime; Paramount+), Rebus (springtime; BBC One) or The Sympathiser (May; Sky Atlantic and NOW), the TV gods have decided that now is the time to send shivers rattling up and down our spines. And via almost every streaming platform going, too.

“So, what gives? Why, when the sun is shining its very hardest – amid rainstorms and blustery winds, mind you – are we being treated to so many dark and twisty tales? Well, I suspect it’s for a multitude of reasons: awards season, for starters, is over, so we can get back to the very important business of guzzling up entertainment for entertainment’s sake (begone, lofty and confusing dramas).

“Then there’s the fact that we’re all in holiday mode, whether we realise it or not. An intense thriller is a brilliant way to escape the real world and dive head first into a life completely unlike our own. We can live vicariously through our protagonists, without ever having to experience the danger for ourselves.

“Thirdly, the thriller genre – much like the world of romance – is a predictable one, even if the exciting stories it weaves are not. You can embrace it with your eyes wide open, knowing it’ll do exactly what it says on the tin. No small thing, in a world with far too many titles to choose from on the never-ending buffet of streaming content.

“Last, but by no means least, we’ve all been hibernating for a while now. If anything’s going to drive us from our cosy homes and back into the sunshine-filled world outside, it’s a thriller that sets out to remind us there’s safety in numbers… and natural daylight.

“Then again, we were once promised that there was nothing to fear so long as the camera stayed in the light. With so many titles choosing to break that promise, I suspect the thrills and chills will only get bigger and better, quite frankly. Bring it on.”