12 April 2017 TV Shows To Watch Instead Of Game Of Thrones

The annual trip to Westeros may be delayed, but there's still a lot of incredible TV this month.

American Gods Mr Wednesday Ian McShane
Starz

There's a big hole in TV schedule this spring. A massive, dragon-sized gap where Game of Thrones should be.

The series has dominated the April spot since its debut back in 2011, but this year - due to the arrival of winter in Westeros - it won't be getting here until July.

It makes the wait for the new season even more unbearable than usual, but thankfully the month ahead does have plenty to offer instead.

As in-part established by Thrones, April is nowadays the month for prestige TV; due to the Emmy nomination regulations, this is often when all the awards-worthy shows get rolled out, and 2017 is perhaps the best example yet.

There are some major returning favourites, and a few huge new series as well, many of which are likely to be competing at the Emmys and Golden Globes, and quite probably end up on most 'Best Of 2017' lists as well.

12. Genius - Season 1

Genius Albert Einstein Geoffrey Rush
National Geographic Channel

National Geographic are dipping their toes into the waters of scripted TV for the first time ever this month, and doing so with a series about Albert Einstein.

Based on the book Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson (whose biography of Steve Jobs was turned into the excellent Danny Boyle/Aaron Sorkin movie), it'll detail the life of the genius beyond academia.

Focusing on him as both a younger and older man, we'll see his family struggles as a husband and father, his early career as a man who couldn't get a teaching job or doctorate, trying to be a man of principle during a period of global unrest, and how his mind helped reshape the world.

Johnny Flynn (Lovesick) will play the young Einstein, with the great Geoffrey Rush as the older man.

Premiere Date: April 25

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Contributor

NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far. A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.