What to watch on streaming in May 2022
There are gritty crime dramas, chilling sci-fi shows and irreverent comedies to keep you very busy this month.
We won’t lie to you. There is a lot to watch this month. Like, a lot a lot.
From true crime dramas to irreverent comedies, you’re going to be busy, so you may as well cancel all your other plans now.
The Staircase (Binge and Foxtel, May 5): This splashy HBO drama has many things going for it, including a cast that includes Colin Firth, Toni Collette, Rosemarie DeWitt, Parker Posey and Juliette Binoche. But its biggest selling point may be the story at the centre of it, an infamous true crime case that has already been the subject of an acclaimed docuseries – in 2001, novelist Michael Peterson was accused of murdering his wife and to this day, people are still split on his guilt or innocence.
Stranger Things 4 Vol 1 (Netflix, May 27): The kids of Hawkins, Indiana aren’t really kids anymore but the threats remain as terrifying as ever. A new supernatural force emerges, maybe from the Upside Down, maybe not, and everyone’s lives are at risk. Also, how is Hopper going to escape the Russian gulag?
Hacks S2 (Stan, May 12): The incomparable Jean Smart returns as the sharp and biting stand-up comedian Deborah Vance, the role for which she won an Emmy last year. The story about an ageing comic butting heads with her young writer is so much more than a generational clash, it’s about finding redemption in the last person you’d expect to understand you.
The Time Traveler’s Wife (Binge and Foxtel, May 16): Audrey Niffenegger’s novel about a time traveller who pops in on his great love throughout different times in her life had previously been adapted into a film with Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams. This TV version will star Rose Leslie and Theo James with Sherlock and Doctor Who writer Steven Moffat behind the scripts.
Conversations With Friends (Amazon Prime Video, May 16): If you frothed over Normal People, then you’ll want a piece of Conversations With Friends, an adaptation of Irish novelist Sally Rooney’s other book. The story is about two young women who become involved with an older, more influential couple and features Jemima Kirke, Joe Alwyn, Sasha Lane and Alison Oliver.
Girls5Eva S2 (Stan, May 5): The premise – middle aged women once part of a ’90s pop group reunite for a second chance – would be enough, but what really makes this hilarious series sing is the talent involved. The cast includes Renee Elise Goldsberry, Busy Philipps, Paula Pell and Sara Bereilles while the show was created by Meredith Scardino, who wrote for 30 Rock. The second season follows the women as they try to record an album under a very tight deadline.
The Essex Serpent (Apple TV+, May 13): Starring Claire Danes and Tom Hiddleston, this Victorian-era drama is adapted from Sarah Perry’s award-winning novel about a widow who is investigating reports of a mythical serpent that is said to “take” people for their sins. There, her scientific mind encounters the local pastor, with whom she forms a deep connection.
Obi-Wan Kenobi (Disney+, May 27): Ewan McGregor reprises his role as the Jedi Master in this streaming series set 10 years after the events of Revenge Of The Sith. Hayden Christensen, Joel Edgerton and Bonnie Piesse will also return while newcomers include Rupert Friend, Sung Kang, Indira Varma and Moses Ingram.
Super Pumped (Paramount+, May 12): We’ve already had the WeWork and Theranos scandals, so are you ready for the boardroom coups of Uber? Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Uber founder Travis Kalanick and Kyle Chandler as investor Bill Gurley, Super Pumped delves into the corporate knuckle fight that dragged the tech giant through the headlines. The series is from the team behind Billions so you know it’s going to have scenes of super-rich men glaring at each other with menace.
Pistol (Disney+, May 31): Created by Australian writer and frequent Baz Luhrmann collaborator Craig Pearce, the six-part series is centred on the Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones. The cast includes Toby Wallace (Baby Teeth), Maisie Williams, Thomas Sangster-Brodie and Talulah Riley. It’s directed by Danny Boyle so expect it to capture the frenzy of the band’s heady rise.
The Wilds S2 (Amazon Prime, May 6): How do you up the ante after thrusting a group of teenage girls onto an island as unwitting and unknowing test subjects for a social experiment? By introducing an island full of boys. We’re not sure if there’s a pig’s head involved.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Paramount+, May 6): Anson Mount’s take on Captain Christopher Pike gets his own show set aboard the USS Enterprise. In the Star Trek timeline, the series is set in the decade before The Original Series.
The Pentaverate(Netflix, May 6): When a new Mike Myers series has largely escaped notice, you know there is a glut of TV and movies. A spin-off from his 1993 movie So I Married An Axe Murderer, Myers plays a journalist out to investigate a shadowy organisation called the Pentaverate. Of course, it being Myers, that’s not the only character he plays. It also stars Ken Jeong, Keegan-Michael Key and Jennifer Saunders.
Holding (SBS On Demand, May 12): Based on Graham Norton’s novel, this Irish comedy is set in a small village where the locals’ quiet lives are up-ended when a body is found. Confronted with proper police work for the first time, the local cop unearths more resentment and regret than anyone had cared to admit. The series stars Game of Thrones’ Conleth Hill.
Night Sky (Amazon Prime, May 20): This sci-fi drama features Sissy Spacek and J.K. Simmons as a couple who discover a portal in their backyard. Stepping through, it leads to an abandoned alien base on a deserted planet. The series also stars Australian actor Chai Hansen, Adam Bartley and Julieta Zylberberg.
Angelyne (Stan, May 20): Shameless’s Emmy Rossum dons the big blonde wig as Angelyne, an LA personality and hustler whose self-funded rise to notoriety is the stuff of legend. She was an influencer before there were influencers, bypassing the traditional gatekeepers of fame to craft her own story.
Now And Then (Apple TV+, May 20): When someone ends up dead after a weekend of celebratory good times, it’s never the end of the matter. Twenty years later, those same friends and their seemingly perfect lives are about to face a threat from the past. Now And Then is a bilingual series in English and Spanish and points to Apple’s ambitions to serve Spanish-speaking customers. The cast includes Roma’s Marina de Tavira while Homeland’s Gideon Raff is one of the producers.
The Lincoln Lawyer (Netflix, May 13): Based on Michael Connelly’s book, The Lincoln Lawyer had previously been adapted into a film starring Matthew McConaughey as a lawyer who works out of the back of his car. This TV version features Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Neve Campbell, Christopher Gorham and Angus Sampson.
Kick Like Tayla (Amazon Prime, May 27): A documentary that follows the day-to-day of AFLW and boxing athlete Tayla Harris. The filmmakers had access to Harris and her inner circle as they chart her challenges as a high-profile women in fields that are traditionally dominated by men, and if those attitudes are changing.
Signora Volpe (Acorn TV, May 2): Emilia Fox stars as a former MI6 agent who travels to Italy for a wedding and finds herself solving crimes among the tomato vines when her niece’s fiance is revealed to have a double identity.
The Takedown (Netflix, May 6): After Lupin, is there anyone who doesn’t love Omar Sy? The action comedy is a buddy cop movie, a follow-up to 2012 flick On The Other Side Of The Tracks. Sy and Laurent Lafitte reunite in a story that takes them across France, on the trail of some drug dealers. Louis Letterier directed.
Tokyo Vice (Paramount+, May 24): The first TV project for renowned playwright J.T. Rogers, Tokyo Vice features Ansel Elgort as a young American journalist who embeds himself with a veteran detective in Tokyo. Worlds away from home and what he knows, he discovers the dark underbelly of the Yakuza. The series also stars Ken Watanabe, Rinko Kikuchi and Rachel Keller.
Bosch: Legacy (Amazon Prime, May 6): Is it really a spin-off if it’s more or less just following the story of the original series? We’ll leave it up to you. Titus Welliver returns as the former cop now private investigator and his daughter has now joined the force.
From (Stan, May 27): After spending two years trapped in a sometimes very small circle, how about watching other people do it instead? From is a sci-fi series about people who are trapped within a town and unable to leave – and even if they could, the creatures in the surrounding forest are not things you want to face. It stars Harold Perrineau and Eion Bailey.
Tehran S2 (Apple TV+, May 6): The spy thriller is supercharged for its second season with the addition of Glenn Close as a Mossad agent assigned to lead character Tamar, who is on the run after her mission to infiltrate Iran’s nuclear program.
Clark (Netflix, May 6): Bill Skarsgard stars in this six-part biopic about real-life Swedish gangster Clark Olofsson, based on Olofsson’s autobiography. Billed as ultra-violent and witty, the series will chart his life as a jack-of-all-trades crim who dabbled in attempted murder, assault, drug trafficking and, of course, his involvement in the Norrmalmstorg robbery, the origin of the term Stockholm syndrome.
The Family Court Murders (ABC iview, May 10): This docuseries hosted by journalist Debi Marshall delves into the 1980s bombings and shootings known as the Family Court Murders. It took 30 years to secure a conviction and only did so in part due to Marshall’s dogged investigation over many years.
Redemption (Britbox, May 26): Paula Malcomson stars as a tough detective who transfers to Dublin when her estranged daughter is found dead. Now guardian to grandkids she didn’t even know about while trying to discover the truth of her daughter’s death, she must make a new life for herself.
Grand Designs Australia S10A (Foxtel, May 5): Sometimes where these brave souls build their homes are as remarkable as the ambitious architectural marvels themselves, and this season features episodes shot in the Snowy Mountains, Tasmania’s Chain Of Lagoons and Nimbin, NSW.
Gruen Nation (ABC iview, May 11): The Gruen spin-off returns to unspin the propaganda, campaign promises and political doublespeak of the election campaign. Wil Anderson is joined by his regular panellists Todd Sampson and Russel Howcroft, along with various political insiders.
RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars S7 (Stan, May 20): Welcome back, Yvie Oddly, The Vivienne, Jinkx Monsoon, Raja, Jaida Essence Hall, Monet X Change, Shea Coulee and Trinity the Tuck. This season’s All Stars contenders are all previous winners but only one can win the $200,000 and the title Queen of All Queens.
Dramaworld (SBS On Demand, May 12): This short-format series is getting its Australian premiere six years after its release and features Santa Clarita Diet’s Liv Hewson as an American college student who is sucked through her smartphone into the K-drama she’s obsessed with.
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