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May 2023 TV Preview – Network & Cable

Fox

Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars

Culinary titan Gordon Ramsay sets aside his razor-sharp knives for the cutthroat business world in FOX’s all-new competition series Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars. The series puts food industry entrepreneurs through a multitude of challenges designed to showcase their business skills, test their drive and convince Ramsay they have what it takes to earn his personal investment of $250,000.

Quick Thoughts: I’m not gonna do the math but has Fox made it so that Gordon Ramsay never leaves our screens?

Premieres May 24th

ABC

Jeopardy! Masters

Hosted by “GOAT” Ken Jennings, the primetime series will feature the six highest-ranked, current “Jeopardy!” contestants, who will face off in a Champions League style event to win the coveted title of “Jeopardy! Masters” Champion.

Premieres May 8th

The Game Show Show

Spin the wheel, beat the clock, guess the answer and play along through 80 years of game show history! Reflecting on the changing face of America, the series explores the contestants, hosts, visionary creators, and industry scandals that encapsulate iconic game shows.

Premieres May 10th

NBC

Hot Wheels: The Ultimate Challenge

Inspired by the best-selling toy car collection of the same name, Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge is a 10-episode car makeover competition series. The premise is this: Each episode will invite two passionate car fans and Hot Wheels lovers into the Chrome Zone, where they will face off in each transforming an ordinary vehicle into an extraordinary Hot Wheels showstopper, inspired by personal stories and pop culture touchstones. Working alongside a team of automotive magicians known as ‘The Car Pool,’ the two Superfans will manufacture their designs in high-tech, decked-out garages. Raising the stakes of the competition is the Inspirationator 5000, a larger-than-life vending machine that will rev up in each episode to present the Superfans with a twist in the road.

Starring: Rutledge Wood

Premieres May 30th

CW

The Rising

The Rising is the story of Neve Kelly, who discovers that she is dead. She’s scared and confused by this new existence. But, when she realizes she has been murdered, she’s furious. She’s determined to find her killer and get justice, believing that it was someone she knew.

Starring: Clara Rugaard, Nicholas Gleaves, William Ash, Matthew McNulty, Rebecca Root, Emily Taaffe as Maria Kelly Alex Lanipekun, Ann Ogbomo, Nenda Neururer, Robyn Cara, Solly McLeod, Cameron Howitt

Premieres May 29th

Barons

Barons is set at a time of sexual liberation, social disruption, protest and war. The eight-part series captures a unique moment of upheaval and opportunity as a new surfing counterculture collides with the realities of enterprise. Two best friends, inspired by their love for the Australian beach, create what will become rival iconic surf brands. Little do they know that their success will tear them – and their worlds – apart. When their businesses go mainstream, the young rebels and their friends find themselves pulled deep into a world of corporate politics, jealousy, homophobia and racial tension. In selling their dream to the world, they create bitter, lasting rivalries.

Starring: Sean Keenan, Ben O’Toole, Jillian Nguyen

Premieres May 29th

Bravo

Summer House: Martha’s Vineyard

For more than 100 years, Black vacationers have flocked to Martha’s Vineyard, an island south of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and one of the first beach destinations where African Americans could vacation and purchase property. Known for its natural beauty with pristine beaches, romantic sailboats, colorful gingerbread cottages, and cultural identity, this summertime sanctuary has become a favorite escape for the rich, famous, and politically connected. “Summer House: Martha’s Vineyard” follows a group of 12 friends as they enjoy their island getaway. With beach parties, decadent dinners, and summer hookups, both fun and drama are in store for these young Black professionals and entrepreneurs. In “Summer House: Martha’s Vineyard,” the friends have known one another for years and are excited to let loose this summer, indulging in cultural experiences and exclusive island activities while learning to overcome their personal obstacles.

Premieres May 7th

Dancing Queens

Passion and glamour meet the rigorous demands of the ballroom dance competition world as a group of dancer friends juggle the realities of their personal lives with their dedication to dance. In the end, “all is fair in war and ballroom.”

Premieres May 9th

FX

The Secrets of Hillsong

The Secrets of Hillsong is a four-part documentary series based on the explosive original reporting on the megachurch’s scandals by Vanity Fair journalists Alex French and Dan Adler. The Secrets of Hillsong goes beyond the sensational headlines and behind the velvet rope to examine the church’s long pattern of covering up misconduct to protect itself.

Premieres May 19th

National Geographic

A Small Light

A Small Light tells the remarkable true story of secretary Miep Gies, who was a young, carefree and opinionated woman – at a time when opinions got you killed – when her boss, Otto Frank, asked her to help hide his family from the Nazis during WWII. Without hesitation, Miep agreed. For the next two years, she and her daring and devoted husband Jan, with several other everyday heroes, watched over the Frank, van Pels and Pfeffer families hiding in the secret annex. A life once filled with parties and pints, the series details how Miep’s life changed the moment she said “yes.” From daily food runs to scrounging for ration coupons to selling beloved heirlooms, it took countless selfless sacrifices. In the end, it was Miep who found Anne Frank’s diary and preserved it so that she and Otto could later share it with the world to ensure it served as a testament for generations to come.

Starring: Bel Powley, Liev Schreiber, Joe Cole, Amira Casar, Billie Boullet, Ashley Brooke, Andy Nyman, Caroline Catz, Rudi Goodman, Noah Taylor, Eleanor Tomlinson, Sally Messham, Ian McElhinney, Nicholas Burns, Liza Sadovy, Laurie Kynaston, Sebastian Armesto

Premieres May 1st

Food Network

Summer Baking Championship

On the newest addition of the fan-favorite Baking Championship franchise, ten talented bakers from around the country tackle unique summer-themed baking challenges featuring the flavors, ingredients, and celebrations of the season for a chance to take home a $25,000 grand prize. Host Jesse Palmer puts the bakers’ skills to the test to prove they can create the most delectable desserts to impress judges Duff Goldman, Carla Hall, and Damaris Phillips. The one baker with the best summertime creations will rise to the top, earning the grand prize and the title of Summer Baking Champion.

Premieres May 15th

Adult Swim

Unicorn: Warriors Eternal

Created by five-time Emmy(R) Award-winning Genndy Tartakovsky, Unicorn: Warriors Eternal is a supernatural animated-action series that follows a team of heroes who reawaken to fight an ominous force throughout eternity. When the reawakening of our heroes manifests in the bodies of new unsuspecting hosts, they must find a way to protect the world against the prevailing darkness.

Premieres May 4th

TBS

I Survived Bear Grylls

Bear Grylls has spent his entire career rescuing himself – and others – from death in some of the most dangerous parts of the world. Now, instead of sacrificing himself in the wild to teach survival skills, he’s turning the tables to America’s armchair adventurers by creating wilderness simulated challenges that will test the contestants’ smarts, physicality and their ability to adapt and do whatever it takes to survive – including having to eat and drink some truly gnarly survival food. The final contestant standing at the end of each episode can proudly claim I Survived Bear Grylls and win a cash prize.

Premieres May 18th

Showtime

Ghosts of Beirut

A four-part spy drama based on one of the greatest espionage stories of modern times: the manhunt for Imad Mughniyeh, the elusive Lebanese terrorist who outwitted his adversaries in the CIA and Mossad for over two decades. The limited series features an innovative narrative approach augmented by deep journalistic research and documentary elements.

Starring: Dina Shihabi, Dermot Mulroney, Garrett Dillahunt, Iddo Goldberg, Hisham Suleiman, Amir Khoury, Rafi Gavron

Premieres May 19th

HBO

White House Plumbers

White House Plumbers takes the audience behind-the-scenes of the Watergate scandal as Nixon’s political saboteurs, E. Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy, accidentally topple the presidency they were zealously trying to protect… and their families along with it. Chronicling actions on the ground, this satirical drama begins in 1971 when the White House hires Hunt and Liddy, former CIA and FBI, respectively, to investigate the Pentagon Papers leak. After failing upward, the unlikely pair lands on the Committee to Re-Elect the President, plotting several unbelievable covert ops – including bugging the Democratic National Committee offices at the Watergate complex. Proving that history can sometimes be stranger than fiction, White House Plumbers sheds light on the lesser-known series of events that led to one of America’s greatest political crimes.

Starring: Woody Harrelson, Justin Theroux, Domhnall Gleeson, Toby Huss, Ike Barinholtz, Kathleen Turner, Kim Coates, Yul Vazquez, Alexis Valdés, Nelson Ascencio, Tony Plana, Zoe Levin, Liam James, Kiernan Shipka, Tre Ryder, David Krumholtz, F. Murray Abraham, Rich Sommer, John Carroll Lynch

Premieres May 1st