What are you going to be watching in May? The Spinoff rounds up everything that’s coming to streaming services this month, including Netflix, Lightbox, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, Neon and TVNZ OnDemand.
Click here to read our listings from April.
The biggies
Dead to Me (season 2 on Netflix, binge from May 8)
When you’re scrolling through Netflix looking for a new series to binge, so much depends on the title. Dead to Me isn’t a great one, sounding both supernatural-themed and forgettable. In fact Dead to Me, the show, is neither: it’s a black comedy about two women who bond at a grief support group – and also a Single White Female-esque thriller with plenty of twists to keep the suspense high. Christina Applegate as grieving widow Jen scored the Emmy nomination last year, but it’s Linda Cardellini who has arguably the more compelling role as her flaky, possibly psychotic friend Judy. In the season one finale Judy was faced with her second unexpected death to cover up, this time with Jen’s help. It’ll be good to have the two of them back on our screens. / Catherine McGregor
Normal People (limited series on TVNZ on Demand, binge now)
From our full review: “Rather than a film, which might be more fitting for the book’s fairly short length, Normal People has been adapted into a 12-part series by the BBC and Hulu, headed up by writers Alice Birch and Mark O’Lowe. It’s a risk to take for a story that is this insular; it’s far more attuned to the internal rhythms of its characters than it is any external plot. The obstacles here are interpersonal, sometimes structural (hey class system!), and not necessarily suited to episodic storytelling. There’s every chance the translation could’ve lost what made the book special by adding unnecessary narrative, say a twist here or a character there, and be another in a long line of adaptations made solely for people who didn’t read the book.” You can read the rest of the review here. / Sam Brooks
I Know This Much is True (limited series on Neon, from May 11)
No, it’s not an adaptation of the Spandau Ballet song. It’s instead an adaptation of the popular Wally Lamb novel from the late 90s, about two twins who live, frankly, quite miserable lives due to their various illnesses and social situation. Mark Ruffalo plays both twins, Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine) directs and they’re supported by a stonkingly good cast, including Juliette Lewis, Archie Panjabi and Rosie O’Donnell. Expect tears. / SB
Hannah Gadsby: Douglas (special on Netflix, from May 26)
Hannah Gadsby is back with another stand-up special, despite famously swearing off the form in 2018’s Nanette, the comedy special that everybody watched and had an opinion on. Surprisingly, almost every opinion was insufferable, mine included, which is a shame, because Nanette was miles better than the discussion around it. Gadsby toured Douglas around the world in the past year, refining the show, and after seeing a 90-minute version in January, I’m keen to see how much the comedian/not-comedian has honed it for Netflix. / SB
The notables
The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs The Reverend (interactive special on Netflix, from May 12)
If you watched the interactive episode of Black Mirror and thought what it really needed was a spunky heroine, a melodramatic best friend, a shallow socialite and a purple backpack, then Netflix’s new comedy interactive is all your dreams come true. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is back for one last episode, but this time it’s up to us idiots at home to decide how the series ends. We’ve got the power to choose what happens as Kimmy sets off on a mission to free another group of mole women kept captive in a bunker by Reverend Wayne, right before she’s supposed to marry Harry Potter. Goshdarn it all to heck, this is going to be good./ Tara Ward
Space Force (season 1 on Netflix, binge from May 29)
Steve Carrell returns to TV comedy in a show created by Greg Daniels, the guy who created The Office (US). That’s it. That’s the blurb. But seriously: Space Force is a live action comedy that follows Mark Naird (Carrell), an air force general who believes he’s nabbed his dream job when he’s appointed head of the titular force. Because this is a sitcom, and not a nice drama, he finds that it’s actually his nightmare job. Wacky characters abound. It sounds a little bit similar to Avenue 5, or even the latest sci-fi season of Archer. But hey, more of Carrell x Daniels can’t be a bad thing, and the rest of the cast (Ben Schwartz, Tawny Newsome, John Malkovich) is enough to make this appointment bingeing. / SB
Homecoming (season 2 on Amazon Prime, binge from May 22)
The first season of Homecoming is one of the underrated watches on Amazon Prime, a taut thriller based on the podcast of the same name, featuring a late-career highlight performance from Julia Roberts. The second season stars Janelle Monae, who is almost frustratingly great as an actress. The first season took place on a secret government compound, revealing a conspiracy around PTSD therapy and American soldiers. Intrigue! The second season continues to explore that mystery, as Monae’s character wakes up in a rowboat on a lake with no memory of who she is, or how she got there. Intrigue! Thriller! Monae! I’m sold. / SB
My Life is Murder (season 1 on TVNZ OnDemand, binge from May 1)
Nineties fashions are back, going outside is back, and best of all, Lucy Lawless is back, starring in this new mystery-crime drama series set in the exotic metropolis of Melbourne. Lawless plays Alexa Crowe, a retired detective who’s so talented at her job that she keeps getting pulled back into the force to solve tricky crimes. Alexa is brilliant and fearless, a determined heroine who’ll do whatever it takes to fight the good fight in both her professional and personal life. You could even say she’s a modern-day warrior princess. My Life is Murder promises some lighthearted, quick-witted fun and your parents will probably bloody love it. / TW
The Movies
Bad Education (on Neon from May 3)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVffM3OZkH8
It’s the late 90s and Frank Tassone is in charge of one of the most successful schools in America. Roslyn High School in Long Island is both high-achieving and prosperous, its student population drawn from wealthy families who expect only the best for their children. Tassone, the man deemed responsible for all this success, is treated like a god by both students and parents – until a student journalist gets interested in Tassone’s latest extravagant school improvement and the truth is revealed. Written by a former Roslyn student who attended the school at the time of the real-life Tassone investigation, and featuring an acclaimed lead performance by a near-unrecognisable Hugh Jackman, Bad Education is the school-set true crime romp to tide you over until the inevitable Felicity Huffman/Lori Loughlin college admissions scandal movie arrives. / CM
Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker (on Disney+ from May 4)
If you’re unfamiliar with the series: Star Wars is about a golden mannequin and a sassy trashcan getting mixed up in intergalactic economic disputes. Anyway, the latest films in the series are coming to Disney+ on May 4, because of course they are. Did you know that “May the fourth be with you” comes from a Thatcher campaign way back in 1979? Margaret Thatcher, ruining the lives of miners and nerds since forever. / SB
Edge of Tomorrow (on Neon from May 20)
At heart, Edge of Tomorrow is basically a movie about slick and slimy superstar Tom Cruise being bumped down to the status of an average Joe, and then having a lot of bad days at work in a row. If you watch it with the mindset that Cruise is basically playing himself, then the whole alien invasion premise becomes a lot more plausible. Cruise is probably who humanity would send to the frontlines for a PR win. The film itself is a tense action thriller, which does an excellent job of getting through a complicated plot, showing flashes of genuine humour along the way. / Alex Braae
The rest
Netflix
May 1
Casi Feliz
Into the Night
Hollywood
The Half of It
All Day and a Night
Clash of the Titans
The Edge of Seventeen
Eight Crazy Nights
Mrs. Serial Killer
Go! Go! Cory Carson
The Hunt for Red October
Osmosis Jones
The Rainmaker
The Color Purple
Cracked Up: The Darrell Hammond Story
May 5
Jerry Seinfeld: 23 Hours to Kill
May 6
Rick and Morty: Season 4
Workin’ Moms: Season 4
May 7
Scissor Seven: Season 2
May 8
The Eddy
Valeria
18 regali
Whitestar
Chico Bon Bon: Monkey with a Tool Belt
The Hollow: Season 2
Restaurants on the Edge: Season 2
Rust Valley Restorers: Season 2
May 11
Bordertown: Season 3
Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics
Trial by Media
Breaking In
May 12
True: Terrific Tales
May 13
The Wrong Missy
May 15
Chichipatos
White Lines
Magic for Humans: Season 3
Dérapages
Te quiero, imbécil
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power
The Butterfly Effect
Human Nature
Kangaroo Jack
National Lampoon’s Vacation
May 16
La reina de Indias y el conquistador
Night School
May 18
The Big Flower Fight
First Reformed
May 19
Sweet Magnolias
Patton Oswalt: I Love Everything
May 20
Ben Platt Live From Radio City Music Hall
May 22
History 101
Selling Sunset: Season 2
Trailer Park Boys: The Animated Series: Season 2
Control Z
The Lovebirds
The Little Rascals
May 23
Dynasty: Season 3
First Man
May 27
I’m No Longer Here
May 28
Dorohedoro
The Meg
May 29
Somebody Feed Phil: Season 3
May 30
Free Fire
Halloween
Neon
May 2
Betty: Season 2
May 4
Billions: Season 5
Blue Planet: Season 2
Frozen Planet: Season 2
Natural World: Attenborough’s Wonder of Eggs
Humpback Whales: A Detective Story
Natural World: Nature’s Miniature Miracles
8 Days to the Moon and Back
Rituals
Snow Wolf Family and Me
Spy in the Snow
Zoo Quest
Earth’s Great Rivers
Earth’s Sacred Wonders
From Ice to Fire – The Incredible Science of Temperature
Seinfeld: Seasons 1-10
Baby Riki Day Routine: Seasons 1-2
Cloudbabies
Cutie Pugs
America’s Icons
Animals Builders
Asteroid Belt Discovery
Big World in a Small Garden
Bitcoin Big Bang
Building the Sun: The 250 Million Degree Problem
Butterfly Effect: Season 1
Castle Siege Defense
Conversations with Dolphins
Creating an Ocean
Curious Minds: Deepak Chopra
Curious World: Season 1
Destination: Jupiter
Destination: Moon
Drilling for Marsquakes: Mars In Sight
Earliest Americans
Exoplanets
Expedition: Black Sea Wrecks
First Man
Gravitational Waves
Gravitational Waves: Rewinding Time
Homo Naledi
How to Build a Castle
Kingdom: How Fungi Made Our World
Leonardo: The Mystery of the Lost Portrait
Many Worlds of Quantum Mechanics
Marie Tussaud: A Legend in Wax
Mars in Sight: Seven Minutes to Touchdown
Miami Beach Underwater
Mysteries of Paris
Mystery of the Longest Living Vertebrate
Plate Resurrection
Return to the Moon
Reversing Alzheimers
Sherlock Holmes against Conan Doyle
Size Matters
Song of the Sperm Whale
Space Probes!
Spies of War
Spying Game: Tales from the Cold War
Storm Chaser’s Guide
VITAMANIA
What is CRISPR
World’s Best Dinosaur Fossil
May 5
iZombie: Season 5
May 6
Shaun of the Dead
May 7
Free Birds
May 9
Six Feet Under: Season 1-5
Canadian Strain
The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir
May 11
I Know This Much Is True: Season 1
Curfew: Season 1
Deadman Standing
May 13
Jurassic World
Midsommar: Director’s Cut
May 14
Late Night
May 17
Looking: Seasons 1-2
Looking: The Movie
Acquainted
May 18
The Great: Season 1
May 19
Don’t Kill It
Mr. Bean’s Holiday
May 22
Trading Paint
May 23
Mike Judge Presents: Tales from the Tour Bus: Seasons 1-2
Dwight in Shining Armour: Season 1
Running with the Devil
May 24
An Affair to Die For
Angel Has Fallen
Trainwreck
The Humanity Bureau
May 26
Snakes on a Plane
Spy Kids 4
May 27
Minions
May 28
Crashing: Seasons 1-3
Anna
May 31
Earth to Echo
The Stolen Princess
TVNZ on Demand
May 1
From The Vault: Kiwi Music Flashbacks
My Life is Murder: Season 1
North Korea – Voices From The Secret State
Original Copy
Smart Drugs
Sugar Sisters
May 14
The Split: Season 2
May 21
Snort: Live: Season 1
The 100: Season 7
May 28
Survive the 80s: Season 1
The Sex Clinic
Amazon Prime
May 1
Upload: Season 1
Lano & Woodley: Fly
Tom Walker: Very Very
Battlestar Galactica: Season 1-4
May 8
Tom Gleeson: Joy
Anne Edmonds: What’s Wrong With You
Dispatches from Elsewhere
May 15
Paatal Lok
The Last Narc
May 22
Homecoming: Season 2
Lightbox
May 1
Blindspot
May 4
The Arrangement: Season 2
May 6
Evil: Season 1
Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love
The Kill Team
Lucky Day
May 7
Rebecka Martinsson: Season 2
May 8
Tommy: Season 1
May 13
The Peanut Butter Falcon
Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge
Line of Duty
Black and Blue
The Grudge
Seberg
May 20
Emma
(Impractical) Jokers: The Movie
Motherless Brooklyn
Run This Town
Horrible Histories: The Movie
May 27
The Song of Names
Dark Waters
Justice League: Apokolips War
The Lighthouse
Disney+
May 1
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
101 Dalmatian Street: Season 1
America’s Funniest Home Videos: Season 13
Awesome Animals: Season 1
Birth of Europe: Season 1
Bride of Boogedy: Season 1
Buried Secrets of the Bible with Albert Lin: Season 1
Car SOS: Season 1-6
How to Play Baseball
In Beaver Valley
Kirby Buckets: Season 1-3
Lost Treasures of Egypt: Season 1
Love & Vets: Season 1
Nature’s Half Acre
Primal Survivor: Season 1-4
Prowlers of the Everglades
Running Wild with Bear Grylls: Season 5
Secrets of the Zoo: Season 1-2
United States of Animals: Season 1
Unlikely Animal Friends: Season 3
Water Birds
May 4
Star Wars: Resistance: Season 2
May 8
Time Scanners: Season 1
May 12
Coco
May 15
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
It’s A Dog’s Life with Bill Farmer
Fury Files
May 22
The Big Fib
Disneyland Goes to the World’s Fair
Doc McStuffins: Season 5
Hello, Dolly!
Marvel’s Future Avengers: Season 2
Mech-X4: Seasons 1-2
T.O.T.S.: Season 1
May 29
Mickey and the Seal
The Evermoor Chronicles: Season 1-2
The Moon-Spinners
Violetta: Season 2
Apple TV+
May 1
Trying
May 29
Central Park
Acorn TV
May 4
Good Karma Hospital: Season 1-2
The Hands of a Murderer: A Sherlock Holmes Murder Mystery
May 11
A Woman of Substance
Midsomer Murders: Seasons 5-6
May 18
The Crimson Field
May 25
A Difficult Woman
Agatha Raisin: Season 2