Amazon
The Underground Railroad
From Academy Award® winner Barry Jenkins and based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Colson Whitehead, The Underground Railroad chronicles Cora Randall’s desperate bid for freedom in the antebellum South. After escaping a Georgia plantation for the rumored Underground Railroad, Cora discovers no mere metaphor, but an actual railroad full of engineers and conductors, and a secret network of tracks and tunnels beneath the Southern soil. Over the course of her journey, Cora is pursued by Ridgeway, a bounty hunter who is fixated on bringing her back to the plantation she escaped; especially since her mother Mabel is the only one he has never caught. As she travels from state to state, Cora contends with the legacy of the mother that left her behind and her own struggles to realize a life she never thought was possible.
Starring: Thuso Mbedu, Chase W. Dillon, Aaron Pierre, Joel Edgerton, Justice Leak, Damon Herriman, William Jackson Harper, Amber Gray, Jim Klock, Lily Rabe, Lucius Baston, Fred Hechinger, Owen Harn, Bri Collins, Will Poulter, Peter Mullan, Sheila Atim, Peter De Jersey, Chukwudi Iwuji, Irone Singleton, Mychal-Bella Bowman, Marcus Gladney Jr.
Premieres May 14th
Solos
Solos is a seven-part anthology series that explores the strange, beautiful, heart-breaking, hilarious, wondrous truths of what it means to be human. Performed by eight of the finest actors of our time, this anthology series spans our present and future and grapples with time travel, A.I. bots, solo trips to the farthest reaches of the universe, scheming smart homes, a mysterious waiting room, near-future fertility treatments and illegal memory transplants, all to illuminate the deeper meaning of human connection. These character-driven stories contend that even during our most seemingly isolated moments, in the most disparate of circumstances, we are all connected through the human experience.
Starring: Uzo Aduba, Nicole Beharie, Morgan Freeman, Anne Hathaway, Anthony Mackie, Helen Mirren, Dan Stevens, Constance Wu
Premieres May 21st
Panic
The series takes place in a small Texas town, where every summer the graduating seniors compete in a series of challenges, winner takes all, which they believe is their one and only chance to escape their circumstances and make their lives better. But this year, the rules have changed — the pot of money is larger than ever and the game has become even more dangerous. The players will come face to face with their deepest, darkest fears and be forced to decide how much they are willing to risk in order to win
Starring: Olivia Welch, Mike Faist, Jessica Sula, Ray Nicholson, Enrique Murciano, Camron Jones, Jordan Elsass
Premieres May 28th
Apple TV+
1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything
An immersive, deep-dive rich with archival footage and interviews, “1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything,” will show how the musical icons of the time were influenced by the changing tides of history; and, in turn, how they used their music to inspire hope, change and the culture around them. The docuseries will examine the most iconic artists and songs that we still listen to 50 years later, including The Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin, Bob Marley, Marvin Gaye, The Who, Joni Mitchell, Lou Reed and more.
Premieres May 21st
Disney+
Star Wars: The Bad Batch
Star Wars: The Bad Batch follows the elite and experimental clones of the Bad Batch as they find their way in a rapidly changing galaxy in the immediate aftermath of the Clone War. Members of Bad Batch—a unique squad of clones who vary genetically from their brothers in the Clone Army—each possess a singular exceptional skill that makes them extraordinarily effective soldiers and a formidable crew.
Starring: Dee Bradley Baker, Ming-Na Wen, Stephen Stanton, Andrew Kishino
Premieres May 4th
Paramount+
From Cradle to Stage
Directed by Dave Grohl and inspired by his mother, Virginia Hanlon Grohl, and her critically-acclaimed book, From Cradle to Stage: Stories from the Mothers Who Rocked and Raised Rock Stars, the Live Nation Productions series is a dynamic personal exploration of the special relationship between successful musicians and their moms. Honest, humorous and emotional, each episode features a famous performer and their mother, alongside Dave and Virginia, as they take an impassioned journey home and explore each artists’ upbringing and the tools they received as a young talent to survive the turbulence of success.
Starring: Dave Grohl, Virginia Hanlon Grohl, Dan Reynolds, Christene Reynolds, Pharrell, Dr. Carolyn Williams, Miranda Lambert, Bev Lambert, Brandi Carlile, Teresa Carlile, Tom Morello, Mary Morello, Geddy Lee, Mary Weinrib
Premieres May 6th
Hulu
Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K.
In Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K., the megalomaniacal supervillain M.O.D.O.K. has long pursued his dream of one day conquering the world. But after years of setbacks and failures fighting the Earth’s mightiest heroes, M.O.D.O.K. has run his evil organization A.I.M. into the ground. Ousted as A.I.M.’s leader, while also dealing with his crumbling marriage and family life, the Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing is set to confront his greatest challenge yet!
Starring: Patton Oswalt, Melissa Fumero, Aimee Garcia, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Ben Schwartz, Beck Bennett, Jon Daly, Sam Richardson
Premieres May 21st
Peacock
Girls5eva
When a one-hit-wonder girl group from the 1990s gets sampled by a young rapper, its members reunite to give their pop star dreams one more shot — this time while balancing spouses, kids, jobs, debt, aging parents, and shoulder pain.
Starring: Sara Bareilles, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Paula Pell, Busy Philipps, Ashley Park, Daniel Breaker, Andrew Rannells
Premieres May 6th
HBO Max
That Damn Michael Che
This groundbreaking new original comedy series uses sketches and vignettes to illustrate what it feels like to experience various every-day situations including racial profiling, unemployment, falling in love and more, from Michael’s perspective.
Starring: Michael Che, Cecily Strong, Heidi Gardner, Colin Quinn, Ellen Cleghorne, Colin Jost
Premieres May 6th
Hacks
Hacks explores a dark mentorship that forms between Deborah Vance, a legendary Las Vegas comedian, and an entitled, outcast 25-year-old.
Starring: Jean Smart, Hannah Einbinder, Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Kaitlin Olson, Christopher McDonald, Paul W. Downs, Mark Indelicato, Poppy Liu, Johnny Sibilly, Meg Stalter, Rose Abdoo
Premieres May 13th
AMC+
Too Close
Too Close is a three-part drama that centers around forensic psychiatrist Emma Robinson, who must assess criminal suspect Connie – only to fall victim to Connie’s insightful, yet manipulative nature. Connie has a searing insight into Emma’s deepest insecurities and starts to brutally exploit them. Their sessions become a complex psychological game with confusing undercurrents. Ultimately, the sessions are meant to uncover what happened on the night of someone’s death. To do that, Emma must find out the truth around Connie’s complex relationship with her beautiful best friend, Ness, which seemingly triggered Connie’s heinous behavior.
Starring: Emily Watson, Denise Gough, Thalissa Teixeira, James Sives, Risteárd Cooper, Chizzy Akudolu, Karl Johnson, Eileen Davies, Nina Wadia, Paul Chahidi
Premieres May 20th
Discovery+
Queen of Meth
Meth didn’t start at our border, it started with Lori Arnold, sister of star Tom Arnold, in a cabin, in Iowa back in 1984. By 1986 she was at the center of the country’s meth boom – the Queen Pin of a multimillion-dollar enterprise, manufacturing and distributing the drug throughout the Midwest. Now, for the first time, she tells her whole story.
Premieres May 7th
Netflix
The Sons of Sam: Descent into Darkness
The hunt for the “Son of Sam” captivated the world in the late 1970s, but the story behind one of America’s most notorious serial murderers is all but forgotten — until now. While the arrest and conviction of David Berkowitz brought the nightmare to an end for many New Yorkers, for journalist and Ultimate Evil author Maury Terry, the real mystery was just beginning. Terry, convinced Berkowitz had not acted alone, would go on to spend decades attempting to prove that the web of darkness behind the murders went deeper than anyone imagined – and his pursuit of that elusive truth would eventually cost him everything. Filmmaker Joshua Zeman draws on archival news footage, conversations with the people closest to the investigation, and Terry’s own words and case files to tell a cautionary tale of a man who went down a rabbit hole and never came out. But was Maury Terry just chasing ghosts – or are the true Sons of Sam still out there…
Premieres May 5th
Jupiter’s Legacy
After nearly a century of keeping mankind safe, the world’s first generation of superheroes must look to their children to continue the legacy. But tensions rise as the young superheroes, hungry to prove their worth, struggle to live up to their parents’ legendary public reputations — and exacting personal standards. Based on the graphic novels by Mark Millar and Frank Quitely, Jupiter’s Legacy is an epic superhero drama that spans decades and navigates the complex dynamics of family, power, and loyalty.
Starring: Josh Duhamel, Leslie Bibb, Ben Daniels, Elena Kampouris, Andrew Horton, Mike Wade, Matt Lanter, Ian Quinlan
Quick Thoughts: I’m a little burnt out on superheroes but the first half of this is run by Steven DeKnight, who created Spartacus. I love the hell out of that bonkers ass show so I’ll watch a whole season of this trying to figure out what the creative difficulties were that caused him to leave after only four episodes.
Premieres May 7th
Money, Explained
Most people have a complicated relationship with money — anxious, reckless, avoidant, or obsessive. And because it’s taboo to talk about money, we might not realize how normal we are. But “Money, Explained” puts it all out into the open: the ways your credit card might be screwing you; how student loans became a crisis; why most of us won’t be able to save enough for retirement; and how we get tricked into bad gambles and even worse scams. The series breaks down the weaknesses we all share when it comes to money, the devious ways they’re exploited, and the best strategies out there to navigate it all.
Premieres May 11th
The Upshaws
Bennie Upshaw, the head of a Black working class family in Indianapolis, is a charming, well-intentioned mechanic and lifelong mess just trying his best to step up and care for his family — wife Regina, their two young daughters and firstborn son, the teenage son he fathered with another woman — and tolerate his sardonic sister-in-law, all without a blueprint for success. But the Upshaws are determined to make it work, and make it to the next level, together.
Starring: Mike Epps, Kim Fields, Khali Daniya-Renee Spraggins, Journey Christine, Jermelle Simon, Diamond Lyons, Gabrielle Dennis, Wanda Sykes
Premieres May 12th
Halston
he limited series Halston follows the legendary fashion designer, as he leverages his single, invented name into a worldwide fashion empire that’s synonymous with luxury, sex, status and fame, literally defining the era he lives in, 1970’s and ‘80’s New York — until a hostile takeover forces him to battle for control of his most precious asset… the name Halston itself.
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Krysta Rodriguez, Rebecca Dayan, Bill Pullman, Gian Franco Rodriguez, David Pittu, Sullivan Jones, Rory Culkin, Kelly Bishop, Vera Farmiga
Premieres May 14th
High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America
In the moving four-part docu-series High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America, food writer Stephen Satterfield embarks on a vibrant and powerful culinary journey alongside chefs, historians, and activists that celebrates the courage, artistry, and resourcefulness of the African American people.
Premieres May 26th
