Everything That’s Streaming in May 2023

It’s the end of an era: HBO Max is rebooting with a new name, a revamped user interface and a bigger content library in May. The reworked platform called Max will house merged content from HBO Max and Discovery Plus. As a wave of hit shows come to a close, fresh new content is filling the gap: sci-fi mystery series Silo is premiering on Apple, Tim Robinson’s hit sketch show I Think You Should Leave sticks around for a third season, and Rainn Wilson explores the geography of happiness by visiting the happiest – and saddest – places on earth for Peacock. Amazon Prime is debuting Casa Grande, a bilingual series about class conflict in Northern California’s farmlands, and disco legend Donna Summer gets the documentary treatment on HBO Max, while creepy Australian cult tale The Clearing haunts Hulu. Read on to discover all the latest releases with our recently expanded list of streaming platforms:

Netflix

Blood & Gold (May 26) – A special Grindhouse style trailer for the WWII revenge/adventure (reventure?) film Blood & Gold is one of many stylistic nods to Quentin Tarantino in the latest action film from German director Peter Thorwarth (Blood Red Sky). The plot is Indiana Jones meets Inglorious Basterds: as Allied forces decimate Germany’s armies in the final days of the war, a Deutsch deserter is captured by a marauding SS troop hunting for a Jewish treasure hidden in a nearby village. He’s left for dead until a last-minute rescue from brave local farmer Elsa, and the pair get swept into a stunt-filled race to the gold, exacting vengeance on the greedy Nazis along the way. The explosive trailer is splattered with mud and gore offset by slapstick comedy and set to a rousing Czech cover of “Paint it Black.” Na zdraví!

Mulligan Season 1 (May 12) – A new adult animated comedy series from the team behind 30 Rock and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is invading Netflix with a tale of post-apocalyptic dysfunction. When an alien attack destroys most of the earth, the survivors have a chance to unite and start society over from scratch. Can they learn from humanity’s past mistakes, or is history doomed to repeat itself? Nat Faxon is blue collar bro Matty who becomes the de facto President after he saves the earth, Chrissy Teigen is beauty queen and new First Lady Lucy, Tina Fey is military scientist Dr. Farrah Braun, and Dana Carvey is scheming politician and self-appointed Vice President Cartwright LaMarr. Also featuring Sam Richardson, Phil LaMarr, Daniel Radcliffe as wealthy English aristocrat King Jeremy, and Ronny Chieng as Hong Kong billionaire Johnny Zhao.

FUBAR Season 1 (May 25) – Way back in the 90’s, Arnold Schwarzenegger starred in True Lies, a James Cameron joint which ushered in a terrible and lazy new offshoot of the romance thriller genre that centers around the narrative possibilities of spies working out personal issues on the job. Ghosted, The Mother, Lou, Duplicity, Mr. and Mrs. Smith: lethally trained humans living double lives as regular schlubs until the job bleeds into their relationships with children, parents or lovers. Schwarzenegger brings the wheel of misery full circle in his streaming television debut as a CIA operative tasked with bringing in a rogue agent who – surprise! – happens to be his daughter (Monica Barbaro, Top Gun: Maverick). The quippy family action series follows the duo as they’re forced to work together and re-engineer their relationship through a series of chases, fistfights and gunbattles. The series also features Fortune Feimster as comic relief baddie Roo, Andy Buckley and Gabriel Luna.

I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson Season 3 Premiere (May 30) – Buckle up for a fresh season of searingly uncomfortable sketch comedy with the critically-acclaimed show that’s taking cringe humor to new lows. Former SNL writer Tim Robinson won an Emmy for his flailing, painfully chaotic characters breaking down and blowing up in off-the-wall scenarios; it’s no coincidence that season three is debuting one day before the eligibility cutoff date for the 2023 Emmys. While footage of the new episodes remains elusive as no trailer exists online, fans can expect more shit-losing insanity over everyday nuisances and side-splitting commitment from a supporting cast who can sell Robinson’s most bonkers ideas.

Also playing:

Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (May 4)

A Man Called Otto (May 6)

Documentary Now! Season 4 (May 9)

The Mother (May 12)

Visit Netflix for a full list of releases.

Hulu

Taste the Nation With Padma Lakshmi Season 2 (May 5) – Follow cookbook author and host Padma Lakshmi as she travels across America visiting indigenous and immigrant communities to explore and discover rich, diverse cuisines that shaped the dishes we have today. From Pakistani-Appalachian food trucks to butchering hog heads to farm and ocean harvesting, the Emmy-nominated food expert meets the people and recipes behind beloved, time-tested cultural meals. The trailer carries flirty, sensual vibes: a model-gorgeous Lakshmi revs a red convertible, exults in spicy dishes as a so-called “kink,” and explains how to pronounce umami as “ooh, mami!”

The Clearing (May 24) – The Australian psychological thriller series is inspired by the haunting story of a real-life cult with a female leader, played by a quietly menacing Miranda Otto. Based on the best-selling book by J.P. Pomare, the eight-episode show follows a woman (Teresa Palmer) who is forced to confront her dark past to stop a cult from kidnapping children. The gripping trailer shows a gaggle of ice-blonde children a la Village of the Damned living under the iron fist of the wacko adults who control their lives as Palmer’s building anxiety drips through the screen. Clever camerawork mimics the psychological effects of coercive control with water submersions, reflections and lighting changes, blurring the lines between past and present, reality and nightmare.

Class of ‘09 (May 10) – As the potential effects of developing AI are dominating headlines, tech forums and trending lists, a new drama-thriller miniseries follows a class of FBI agents who deal with major changes as the criminal justice system is altered by AI. Spanning three decades and told across 3 interweaving timelines, the series follows the graduates from training to rising through the ranks and confronting the dilemmas of an ever-evolving system. As the class reunites following the death of a close friend, they’re forced to examine the nature of justice, humanity and the personal choices that define the future for all.

Also playing:

A Small Light (May 2)

The Great Season 3 (May 12)

The Secrets of Hillsong (May 20)

Visit Hulu for a full list of releases.

Amazon Prime

Jimmy O Yang: Guess How Much? (May 2) – Actor/comedian Jimmy O. Yang (Silicon Valley, Space Force) hits the stage in his first global special to discuss BTS, his loser friends, and negotiating with Asian parents. Yang is currently starring in the Taika Waititi-directed Hulu series Interior Chinatown; he plays a background actor in a police procedural who becomes the lead in his own reality crime show when he starts to unravel a criminal network in the neighborhood.

Primo Season 1 (May 19) – Based on creator Shea Serrano’s youth in south San Antonio, the coming-of-age comedy series follows Rafa (Ignacio Diaz-Silverio), a teen balancing his dreams, outside expectations, and a hectic home life with his single mom and five loving, overbearing uncles. Rafa juggles their well-intentioned but conflicting advice on the cusp of some big life moments: high school is almost over, he’s falling for his crush, and he has the chance to become the first in his family to go to college. The earnest teen learns that in his close-knit and hilariously dysfunctional home, the ups and downs of life are a family affair. Executive produced by Michael Schur (The Office, Parks and Rec, The Good Place) and also starring Christina Vidal, Henri Estevi, Efrain Villa, Johnny Rey Diaz, Jonathan Medina and Carlos Santos.

Casa Grande (May 1) – Amazon Freevee is unveiling a new bilingual limited series that examines the everyday realities and conflicts between California’s migrant workforce and the landowners who reap the profits. The five-episode series follows the intertwining lives of various families in the farmlands of Northern California and is described as an “upstairs/downstairs story transposed from turn-of-the century English countryside to rural America.” Co-creator and star Ali Afshar says, “We molded Casa Grande as a Hispanic-influenced Yellowstone and feel the story will resonate powerfully with audiences appreciating elevated western themes and cultures presented through a different prism.” Series stars include John Pyper-Ferguson (Suits), Christina Moore (That 70’s Show), Javier Bolaños (All American), Raquel Dominguez (Chicago Med), James Marsters (Buffy The Vampire Slayer) and Daniel Edward Mora (Coco).

Also playing:

Till (May 9)

Academy of Country Music Awards (May 11)

Three Thousand Years of Longing (May 23)

Hohlbeins’ The Gryphon (May 26)

Visit Amazon Prime for a full list of releases.

HBO Max

White House Plumbers Season 1 (May 1) – Justin Theroux (The Leftovers) and Woody Harrelson (True Detective) star in a satirical political drama that goes behind the scenes of the Watergate scandal, spotlighting the two men who accidentally overturned Nixon’s presidency while trying to protect it. The five-part miniseries revisits the debacle from the perspective of E. Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy, a pair of ex-spooks tasked with getting Nixon reelected and the masterminds behind Watergate. Director David Mandel says they wrote the playbook on getting away with political chicanery and set the tone for America’s current bureaucratic climate. As he recently shared with NPR, “This show will make you laugh, but they’re not jokes. It’s character and real-world things that you just find so shocking and horrible. This mix of, ‘oh my God, they were breaking in to try and basically undermine the will of the American people.’ These are guys that just are so desperate to be one step closer to power.”

SmartLess on the Road (May 23) – You’ve heard the podcast; now hear the podcast and watch the podcast at the same time! This docuseries follows SmartLess, the popular ear-show with hosts Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett (and their A-list guests) as it tours the nation. The three actually-very-smart dudes took their casual conversations to the airwaves and realized that glorying in the limits of human understanding was a panacea for an age of sophisticated takes and seemingly limitless access to knowledge. A black and white trailer shows the midwit trio jigging around the country, saying dumb stuff and cackling like high school freshmen on a field trip. “I’ve made a huge mistake,” Arnett drops his big line from Arrested Development as he surveys a massive empty theater before one event. The live stage shows will feature guests including David Letterman, Matt Damon, Kevin Hart, Will Farrell, and Conan O’Brien, among others.

Love to Love You, Donna Summer (May 23) – HBO hails a new documentary that takes an in-depth look at the adored artist as her ethereal voice takes her from the avant-garde music scene in Germany to the glitter and bright lights of the New York disco scene. A deeply personal portrait of Summer on and off stage, the film features photographs and never-before-seen home video footage often shot by Summer herself. “You’re looking at me, but what you see is not what I am,” she says in the film. “How many roles do I have to play in my own life?” A David Bowie-like performer, Summer cultivated a disconnected stage persona, and remained conflicted between her religious upbringing and her sex goddess status for much of her life. Through her astonishing artistic range, from songwriting to painting, Love to Love You, Donna Summer explores the highs and lows of a life lived on the global stage. The documentary is co-directed by Oscar and Emmy-winning filmmaker Roger Ross Williams and Summer’s own daughter Brooklyn Sudano.

Also playing:

The Other Two Season 3 (May 4)

Rick & Morty Season 6 (May 11)

Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai (May 23)

Visit HBO Max for a full list of releases.

Disney+

Star Wars: Visions – Volume 2 (May 4) – The Emmy-nominated animated show is upping the ante after a wildly successful first season showcasing Japanese anime tales from the Star Wars galaxy. Volume 2 brings nine new shorts from nine animation studios across the globe, featuring unique visual styles from a range of countries and cultures that depict each filmmaker’s vision of the space opera franchise. Executive producer James Waugh says he sees Star Wars: Visions as a “framework for celebratory expressions of the franchise from some of the best creators working today. Every short is incredible, full of heart, scope, imagination, and the values that make stories distinctly Star Wars — all while opening up bold new ways of seeing what a Star Wars story can be.” The trailer is frankly sensually staggering, layering incredible imagery and epic action over a soul-stirring instrumental soundtrack.

American Born Chinese (May 24) – An intersectional twist on the teen superhero tale brings a new film adaptation of Gene Luen Yang’s graphic novel that introduces Chinese mythology to western audiences. Jin Wang (Ben Wang) just wants to be an average high schooler: the earnest teen is struggling with school and home life when he befriends Wei-Chen (Jim Liu), the new Taiwanese exchange student at his school. But when Wei-Chen turns out to be a supernatural figure seeking sanctuary and guidance on earth, Jin becomes swept up in a celestial war between the gods of Chinese mythology. The movie also stars Stephanie Hsu, Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan and Chin Han.

The Muppets Mayhem (May 10) – The Electric Mayhem Band, the globally revered Muppets band, is reuniting on an epic musical journey to finally record their first studio album; now the old-school group must team up with their human wrangler Nora (Lilly Singh) and take on the modern music industry in their attempt to go platinum. Presented as a music documentary, the movie features more celebrities than Coachella including Tommy Lee, Deadmau5, Charlemagne Tha God, Ben Schwartz, Kesha, Weird Al Yankovic, Ziggy Marley, Cheech and Chong, Kevin Smith, Steve Aoki, Lil Nas X and Chris Stapleton.

Also playing:

Ed Sheeran: The Sum of It All (May 3)

Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures Season 1 (May 4)

Spider-Man: Homecoming (May 12)

Crater (May 12)

Visit Disney+ for a full list of releases.

Apple TV+

Silo (May 5) – In a ruined and toxic future, a community of thousands survives in a giant underground silo that plunges hundreds of stories deep; there, people live in a society full of regulations they believe are meant to protect them. They don’t know why they’re underground or who built the silo, but after its sheriff breaks a cardinal rule and residents die mysteriously, engineer Juliette (Rebecca Ferguson) begins to uncover shocking secrets that will lead to a horrifying truth. Ferguson, who also executive produces the series, stars with Rashida Jones, David Oyelowo, Iain Glen (The Rig) Common and Tim Robbins.

City on Fire (May 12) – Samantha (Chase Sui Wonders) is an NYU student who disappears from her friend’s Fourth of July band gig and is later found shot in Central Park. Investigators realize she’s the crucial connection between a series of citywide fires, the downtown music scene, and a wealthy uptown real estate family fraying under the strain of the many secrets they keep. Wyatt Oleff plays her friend Charlie, who is struggling to cope with the death of his father on 9/11 two years earlier. He stops at nothing to unravel the mystery of what happened. The eight-episode mystery thriller, written and executive produced from the creative team behind The O.C. and Gossip Girl, is a family power saga with an edgy urban vibe.

Platonic (May 24) – Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne are revisiting their wild dynamic from Neighbors in another unhinged comedy about adults behaving badly. Platonic follows Will and Sylvia, former best friends approaching midlife who reconnect after a long rift. The duo’s reignited friendship, which hasn’t moved beyond collegiate carousing, becomes all consuming–much to the disquiet of Sylvia‘s husband and saner friends. “Your friendship with Will is not built for this phase of life,” chides one. But she feels comfortable sharing her messiness with an even messier person, and her life hilariously destabilizes from family movie nights and sorting laundry to demolishing garages and snorting horse tranquilizers in a club bathroom. Can Sylvia find a balance between the expectations of her suburban life and her flawed but adventurous side?

Also playing:

Harriet the Spy Season 2 (May 5)

Stillwater (May 19)

Prehistoric Planet (May 22)

Visit Apple TV+ for a full list of releases.

Paramount+

Top Five (May 28) –Written, directed by and starring Chris Rock, Top Five tells the story of New York City comedian-turned-film star Andre Allen. With an upcoming wedding to a camera-obsessed reality star (Gabrielle Union) and at a professional crossroads, Allen is adrift in his own fame until an unexpected encounter with a journalist (Rosario Dawson) forces him to confront the comedy career—and the past—that he’s left behind. The rom-com, which Jay-Z and Kanye West co-produced, also features appearances by Kevin Hart, Tracy Morgan, Jerry Seinfeld, Adam Sandler and Cedric the Entertainer.

Afghan Dreamers (May 23) – The uplifting film tells the true story of an all-girl robotics team from Afghanistan who beat the odds to compete around the world, garnering global media attention and meeting international leaders. (Former President Donald Trump intervened to help several team members get visas for a robotics competition in Washington D.C.). Afghan tech entrepreneur Roya Mahboob launched the groundbreaking tech program in 2017 as a way to help young Afghan women develop their skills despite a highly patriarchal society and the chaotic and often dangerous backdrop of the country’s politics. The film focuses on three team members–Fatemah, Somaya, and Lida–all of whom are fiercely determined to follow their passions and become role models for the next generation.

WifeLike (May 30) – The gorgeous Elena Kampouris goes full silicone robot in WifeLike, another sinister tale of shifting technology ethics as AI develops in the hands of grubby humans. Artificial human Meredith becomes a companion to grieving widower William (Johnathan Rhys Meyers), designed to behave like his late wife. But in the fight to end AI exploitation, an underground anti-AI rebel organization attempts to sabotage Meredith’s programming as part of a plan to turn companions against their creators. Meredith soon begins to question reality as memories of a past life begin to resurface. Part Blade Runner, part Stepford Wives, Kampouris’s flat mannerisms and glassy gaze unsettle right up until the chilling surprise ending.

Also playing:

The Family Stallone (May 17)

Visit Paramount+ for a full list of releases.

Peacock

Bupkis (May 4) – Television’s favorite pasty slacker brings his own story to life in a raw, semi-autobiographical series starring Pete Davidson. The show described as a “heightened fictionalized version of Davidson’s life” is already drawing comparisons to Curb Your Enthusiasm, sharing a relatable, grounded narrative with the SNL alum’s absurdly unfiltered style. The show follows Pete’s attempts to work through sometimes painful family dynamics and the complexities of fame to form meaningful relationships and a nominally healthy worldview. Joe Pesci is appearing in his first television role in 37 years as Davidson’s grandfather, with Edie Falco stepping in to portray his mom.

Rainn Wilson and the Geography of Bliss (May 18) – Just in time for Mental Health Awareness Month, a new five-part docuseries follows host and adventurer Wilson as he travels across the globe searching for the secrets to the happiest societies on earth. Based on Eric Weiner’s bestselling book The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World, Wilson will explore some of the happiest and unhappiest locales– from Iceland to Ghana– to unpack the science of joy, and its role within diverse cultures, with humor and depth.

Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed (May 2) – A staggering new revelation in a high-profile murder case could be a game changer for the two men at the center of the crime saga that riveted the country for months. The documentary’s official synopsis reads, “Lyle and Erik Menendez infamously killed their parents in 1989. Menudo was the first mega-boy band to take the world by storm. In this explosive limited series, viewers will learn of the connection that links the two stories and could corroborate the brothers’ decades-old accusations against their father, Jose Menendez. One former Menudo member could be the key to changing how the public views the brothers’ case while simultaneously crusading for his own justice.”

Also playing:

Indianapolis 500 (May 28)

Intelligence: A Special Agent Special (May 11)

Visit Peacock for a full list of releases.

STARZ

Run the World Season 2 (May 26) –  The hit comedy  series is back after a two year hiatus to chronicle the highs and lows of 30-something best friends Whitney (Amber Stevens West), Renee (Bresha Webb) and Sondi (Corbin Reid) as they dream, face challenges and thrive together in Harlem. Starz says the show will continue to “focus on the bonds of friendship and power of Black sisterhood as the ladies fashionably navigate through the ups and downs of love and careers in their pursuit of world domination.” The new season will see the group making bold, self-affirming choices: as Whitney navigates her “road of self-discovery,” will she still walk down the aisle with fiancé Ola? Will Renee land a new job with L’Oréal and close the chapter on her marriage? How will Sondi and Matthew move forward after their relationship goes public? It also remains to be seen how writers will address the disappearance of the fourth group member Ella, after actress Andrea Bordeaux allegedly left the show over Covid vaccine mandates.

Also playing:

Blindspotting Season 2 Finale (May 26)

Powerbook II: Ghost Season 3 Finale (May 26)

Visit STARZ for a full list of releases.

Showtime

Ghosts of Beirut (May 19) – Limited drama series Ghosts of Beirut explores the inception of suicide bombers as a tool of terror during the turmoil of the Lebanese Civil War. Imad Mughniyeh, also known as “The Ghost,” masterminded the concept, becoming responsible for more American deaths that any other individual prior to 9/11.The series examines Mughniyeh’s emergence from obscurity and the intelligence community’s efforts to stop him through dramatizations and interviews with prominent officials from the CIA and the Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad.

Vice Season 4 (May 7) – The Emmy-winning investigative reporting series offers ten new episodes that pursue culturally relevant issues and tackle complex geopolitical stories from remote parts of the globe. Fearless, raw and immersive, the series has earned its accolades and viewers by sending newspeople to the heart of the wildest, most overlooked stories on earth. VICE’s stable of award-winning journalists (Suroosh Alvi, Seb Walker, Isobel Yeung, Paola Ramos, and Hind Hassan among others) cover diverse issues like the fight against terror group Boko Haram, gene editing, the right to die, the meat industry and the Africa-China relationship.

Also playing:

The Fabelmans (May 11)

Pearl (May 16)

Yellowjackets Season 2 Finale (May 26)

Visit Showtime for a full list of releases.

AMC+

Fear the Walking Dead Season 8 (May 14) – The eighth and final season of prequel series Fear the Walking Deadpicks up from the failed attempt of Morgan (Lennie James) and Madison (Kim Dickens) to rescue Morgan’s baby daughter Mo from PADRE. Now Morgan, Madison, and the others they brought to the supposed safe-haven island live under the cynical rule of PADRE, demoralized and hopeless. But reigniting the hope of a better world after the collapse of civilization still rests in the one Morgan and Madison had tried to rescue in the first place: Mo, the hope for the future.

But for fans mourning the end of the long-running show, The Walking Dead franchise will continue to find a home at AMC, with several spinoffs currently in development. One follows Daryl Dixon as he wakes up in Europe, encountering a whole host of fresh characters and a new breed of walkers. Maggie and Negan will star in their own series titled The Walking Dead: Dead City, taking the franchise to the Big Apple for the first time. And Michonne and Rick will return next year in a long-awaited mini-series that concludes the story of the main characters who started it all back in 2010.

The Last Drive-In Season 5 (continuing) – Iconic horror host and exploitation movie aficionado Joe Bob Briggs brings back a new season of his hit series that marries MST3K with cheesy horror films. Briggs, dubbed the world’s foremost drive-in movie critic, presents B-movies and cult horror double features while popping in to offer behind-the-scenes facts and tidbits about the films’ histories and significance to genre cinema. Cult movie fans can’t miss the spicy commentary, trivia, repartee with Yuki and the crew, and likely some very special surprise guests that drop in on Joe Bob and Darcy the Mail Girl!

Happy Valley Season 3 (May 22) – Seven years on from when we last saw her, Sergeant Cawood (Sarah Lancashire) is looking forward to her retirement when once again enters the orbit of psychopathic killer Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton). Cawood’s daughter was raped by Tommy and took her own life after she gave birth to their son Ryan; now 16, Ryan lives with Cawood, but Tommy’s imprisonment isn’t stopping him from manipulating the confused teen. While Cawood and Tommy’s primordial conflict continues to drive the narrative in the third and final season, a new storyline emerges involving a local chemist (Amit Shah), a bullying teacher (Mark Stanley) at Ryan’s school, and his pill-popping wife (Mollie Winnard). The brilliantly written British series tempers its relentlessly dark content with a sardonic sense of humor and a stark refusal to follow genre norms.

Visit AMC+ for a full list of releases.