By NOW staff

Hannah Gadsby: Douglas

When Hannah Gadsby released Nanette in 2018, Netflix billed it as a "comedy special." It proved to be much more: a memoir, cultural commentary and a reflection on trauma. It won her both a Peabody and an Emmy. Naturally, expectations for her second special, Douglas, are high. And she may even be returning on a lighter note, considering the name of her new show is that of one of her dogs. Still, this one touches on many of the themes in Nanette, namely, the patriarchy. And anti-vaxxers. Expect a punch in the gut.  May 26

Hollywood

The latest series from Ryan Murphy, the master of glitz and camp, follows a group of aspiring actors and filmmakers in postwar Tinseltown. If his previous series of this era, Feud: Bette And Joan, is anything to go by, Hollywood promises not only vintage eye candy but plenty of biting commentary on the inner workings of the film industry and its many biases when it comes to gender, sexuality and, this time, race. No one bats an eye at female directors or Black screenwriters—in fact, it's the norm, which sounds like much-needed revisionist history. The cast includes Murphy regulars Darren Criss, Patti Lupone and Dylan McDermott along with Laura Harrier and Jim Parsons.  May 1

The Half of It

Alice Wu’s high school romance is a teenage riff on Cyrano de Bergerac, starring Nancy Drew’s Leah Lewis as brainy misfit Ellie Chu, who’s enlisted to help lovelorn butcher’s son Paul Munsky (Daniel Diemer) woo his crush Aster Flores (Alexxis Lemire) through carefully crafted love letters and DMs. There’s just one little complication: Ellie is even more in love with Aster than Paul is. This is writer/director Wu’s first picture since her 2004 debut Saving Face—an indie charmer that became a touchstone of queer Asian cinema—so expectations are high.  May 1

Snowpiercer

This series is an adaptation of the 2013 film by recent Oscar winner Bong Joon-ho, which was adapted the film from a 1982 French comic book. It's hard to imagine this project living up to earlier versions but the dystopian premise leaves plenty of room for more storytelling. The story is about a perpetually moving train that contains what is left of humanity after the world freezes over. The good news: Bong is executive producing, the cast is led by Jennifer Connelly and it's already been renewed for season two. The bad news: It had a relatively troubled production, faced several delays, creative in-fighting spilled into the press and the show flip-flopped between networks. A train wreck worth witnessing?  Coming soon.

The Eddy

Netflix has spared no expense on this new limited series, a multilingual ensemble drama written by award-winning screenwriter and playwright Jack Thorne (The Fades, Harry Potter and The Cursed Child). Netflix has also revealed almost nothing about it, other than the fact that it’s set in and around a Paris jazz club and stars André Holland, Amandla Stenberg, Tahar Rahim and Cold War’s Joanna Kulig. The first two episodes are directed by La La Land Oscar-winner Damien Chazelle, so expect at least one speech per hour about the significance of jazz as the only truly American art form.  May 8

The Lovebirds

Kumail Nanjiani and Issa Rae are a New Orleans couple whose relationship is heavily tested when they’re framed for murder and forced to go on the run to clear their names. (Don’t worry, it’s a comedy—written by The Go-Getters’ Aaron Abrams and Brendan Gall!) Paramount Pictures had positioned this as its big April release until COVID-19 shuttered all the movie theatres, so now it’s premiering on Netflix, which is probably very happy to have yoinked Nanjiani’s reunion with The Big Sick director Michael Showalter away from Amazon Studios, which released the previous film.  May 22

Space Force

Fifteen years ago, Steve Carell and Greg Daniels helped redefine the American sitcom with The Office. Now they’ve co-created a new workplace comedy—this one focused on the poor saps who have to turn Donald Trump’s bold new military initiative into something workable. Carell is the four-star general trying to wrangle a base full of eccentrics—including cranky head astrophysicist John Malkovich and an obnoxious marketing dweeb Ben Schwartz—while also parenting his teenage daughter (Booksmart’s Diana Silvers), because that’s how sitcoms work.  May 29

Have A Good Trip: Adventures In Psychedelics 

Since none of us is taking a physical trip for the next little while, why not watch a movie about some awesome mind-bending inner trips? That's the premise of this documentary about celebs recounting their favourite drug-induced voyages, all thanks to psychedelics.  May 11

Patton Oswalt: I Love Everything

Oswalt is fine in his TV and film appearances (Young Adult, Ratatouille, BoJack Horseman), and he's extremely funny on Twitter, but as anyone who's seen his live stand-up act knows, the stage is where he rules. In his latest comedy special, he discusses things like attending his daughter's second-grade art show and the dangers of buying a house. Neither of those things sounds particularly funny, but Oswalt—a shrewd, self-effacing comic with impeccable timing—will make them so.  May 19

Ben Platt Live From Radio City Music Hall 

The Tony, Emmy and Grammy Award-winning star of Dear Evan Hansen and the Pitch Perfect movies (not to mention Run This Town and The Politician) performed a solo concert at Radio City Music Hall last September, the final spot on his big tour. Expect lots of big emoting, both from his Broadway career and his recent solo album debut.  May 20

Selling Sunset (season 2)

With Netflix churning out delectable reality rubbish seemingly by the day, the second season of Selling Sunset couldn't have better timing. Released quietly last summer, it was a bit of a sleeper hit, following the ferocious real estate world in Los Angeles. Featuring elite agency the Oppenheim Group (which only seems to hire tall, thin blonds) agents get cut-throat just because and makes for incredibly binge-worthy content. The prettiest part is the sprawling Hollywood Hills estates we're invited into. The second season promises "larger listings, mind-blowing mansions, shocking new romances and explosive truths." What could be more over-the-top? For reality buffs, this one's a must.  May 22

TV shows

Coming soon 

Blood & Water

Kenny Sebastian: The Most Interesting Person In The Room

Mystic Pop-up Bar

Snowpiercer

May 1

Almost Happy

Go! Go! Cory Carson: The Chrissy

Hollywood

Medici: The Magnificent (part 2)

Reckoning (season 1)

Masha And The Bear (season 4)

May 5

Jerry Seinfeld: 23 Hours To Kill

May 7

Scissor Seven (season 2)

May 8

Chico Bon Bon: Monkey With A Tool Belt

Dead To Me (season 2)

The Eddy

The Hollow (season 2)

Valeria

May 11

Bordertown (season 3)

Trial By Media

May 12

True: Terrific Tales

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy Vs. The Reverend

May 13

The Great Canadian Baking Show (season 3)

May 14

Knightfall (season 2)

May 15

Chichipatos

Inhuman Resources

Magic For Humans (season 3)

She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power (season 5)

White Lines

May 16

La reina de Indias y el conquistador

May 18

The Big Flower Fight

May 19

Patton Oswalt: I Love Everything

Sweet Magnolias

May 20

Ben Platt Live From Radio City Music Hall

May 22

Control Z

History 101

The 100 (season 7)

Selling Sunset (season 2)

Trailer Park Boys: The Animated Series (season 2)

May 23

Dynasty (season 3)

May 24

Heartland (season 13)

May 26

Hannah Gadsby: Douglas

May 28

Animal Kingdom (season 4)

Dorohedoro

May 29

Space Force

Movies

May 1

3 Ninjas: Kick Back

All Day And A Night

Back To The Future

Back To The Future Part II

Bad Boys

Balto

Barely Lethal

The Cold Light Of Day

Cracked Up, The Darrell Hammond Story

Dante’s Peak

Das Boot: Director’s Cut

Deadpool 2

The Devil’s Own

Fifty Shades Freed

Get In

Gravity

The Half Of It

Happy Feet

I Am Divine

The Interpreter

Into The Night

Mrs. Serial Killer

The New Adventures Of Pippi Longstocking

Non-Stop

Penguins Of Madagascar: The Movie

Rambo

The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants 2

Thoroughbreds

To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar

Tremors

Turbo

Underworld: Awakening

Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans

Warrior

May 6

The Adjustment Bureau

Ali G Indahouse

The Big Lebowski

Captains Courageous

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant

Love Actually

Scent Of A Woman

Smokin’ Aces

May 7

Iron Man 3

May 8

18 Regali

May 10

Gold

May 11

Have A Good Trip: Adventures In Psychedelics

May 13

The Wrong Missy

May 15

I Love You, Stupid

May 16

This Is The End

May 17

Pacific Rim: Uprising

May 19

Shrek

May 20

Rebelión de los Godinez

May 22

The Lovebirds

May 25

Ne Zha

May 27

I’m No Longer Here

May 28

La corazonada

May 29

Somebody Feed Phil (season 3)

May 31

High Strung Free Dance

Last Call

TV series and movies leaving Netflix this month.

May 4

The House Bunny

May 5

Erin Brockovich

May 23

Drop Dead Diva (season 1-6)

May 31

Center Stage