Look at these faces looking at you! They’re what you’ll be watching in May. (Image Design: Tina Tiller)
Look at these faces looking at you! They’re what you’ll be watching in May. (Image Design: Tina Tiller)

Pop CultureMay 1, 2022

What’s new to Netflix NZ, Neon and other streaming services in May

Look at these faces looking at you! They’re what you’ll be watching in May. (Image Design: Tina Tiller)
Look at these faces looking at you! They’re what you’ll be watching in May. (Image Design: Tina Tiller)

What are you going to be watching in April? With thanks to our friends at Nando’s, we round up everything coming to streaming services this month, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, Neon and TVNZ OnDemand.

The biggies

Obi-Wan Kenobi (limited series weekly on Disney+ from May 27)

If there’s one part of the expanding Star Wars universe that I’ve been most excited about, it’s this long gestating Obi-Wan Kenobi midquel, which sees Ewan McGregor reprising the role of the Jedi Master in a series set after the prequels and before the original films. Also starring Joel Edgerton and Queen’s Gambit breakout Moses Ingram, the series follows Kenobi as he watches over Luke Skywalker but finds himself embroiled in a “rollicking adventure”. Perhaps most excitingly: Hayden Christensen returns as Darth Vader. / Sam Brooks

Hacks (seasons one and two on TVNZ on Demand from May 12)

It’s finally happened: the critically acclaimed, Emmy-winning series that was the buzz of 2021 is finally making it to our shores. Hacks stars the incredible Jean Smart (Mare of Easttown, Watchmen, a host of other amazing things) as Deborah Vance, a legendary Las Vegas comedy diva who, finding herself in need of a career revamp, hires a young TV writer, Ava (Hannah Einbinder), who has recently been fired for insensitive tweets. What’s even better is that TVNZ on Demand is getting the second season express, so you’ll be able to binge the first season and get straight onto the second. / SB

The Staircase (limited series on Neon from May 5)

Fans of true crime, it’s time to celebrate. The documentary that kickstarted an entire genre is getting the Hollywood treatment, with the pioneering 2004 doco being adapted into a starry HBO Max miniseries. The series looks to closely follow the twists and turns of the original TV documentary – available on Netflix – and follows the criminal trial of Michael Peterson, accused of murdering his wife and staging it to look like she’d fallen down the stairs. Starring Colin Firth and Toni Collette, the series will have its work cut out to match the “see it to believe it” weirdness of the original doco. Here’s hoping it can. / Stewart Sowman-Lund

Kid Sister (on TVNZ on Demand from May 26)

This new semi-autobiographical comedy follows the loveable Lulu, a young Jewish Aucklander who is navigating life in a city where more people identify as Jedi than Jewish. Lulu struggles to balance the pressures of family life with her need to find her own place in the world, and her relationship with her non-Jewish boyfriend (Paul Williams) makes things more complicated. Simone Nathan stars as Lulu, with her real-life brother Joe appearing alongside her. / Tara Ward

 

The notables

Conversations with Friends (limited series on Amazon Prime Video from May 16)

It’s been two long years since we saw a Sally Rooney adaptation about moody pretty people poorly expressing what they really want, and I’m so ready to see some beautiful people get messy. This series is adapted from Rooney’s first book, and stars Joe Alwyn (The Favourite, Taylor Swift’s boyfriend), Alison Oliver, Sasha Lane (The Girlfriend Experience) and Jemima Kirke (Girls) as four friends who end up in confusing, and ultimately heartbreaking relationships with each other. If you love Sally Rooney, you’ll love this. If not, pass. / SB

We Own This City (limited series on Neon from May 3)

Fans of The Wire should check out this gritty new HBO drama, inspired by the true story of corruption within the Baltimore police department. Based on a book by Baltimore Sun journalist Justin Feston, We Own This City traces how a dysfunctional police unit started organising and participating in crime, making the lives worse for the communities they were supposed to protect. Nerve wracking, infuriating and compelling, all at once. / TW

Stranger Things 4: Volume 1 (on Netflix from May 27)

Yes, Stranger Things is still going! And for a fourth season, where each episode cost reportedly $30 million. What a time we live in. If you’re on the Stranger Things train, chances are you’ll tuning in to this one immediately, but the basic premise is teenagers in the 80s deal with supernatural, otherworldly beings and their own inner demons. But let’s be real: if that wasn’t your thing when the show debuted in 2016, it’s not gonna be now. / SB

I Love That For You (weekly on Neon from May 9)

Who hasn’t dreamed of an American comedy set in the hectic world of a home shopping channel? Vanessa Bayer stars as childhood leukaemia survivor Joanna Gold, who lands her dream job as the host of a home shopping channel. Things go badly until Joanna tells a white lie about her illness, and discovers that sometimes dreams can turn into nightmares. It might sound far-fetched, but it’s inspired by true events. SNL’s Molly Shannon and Jenifer Lewis also star. / TW

The Lincoln Lawyer (on Netflix from 13)

David E. Kelley (Boston Legal, Ally McBeal, The Practice) is back with a new drama, and guess what? It’s about lawyers. Based on the best-selling book by Michael Connolly, The Lincoln Lawyer follows a Los Angeles defense attorney forced to work out of his Lincoln car, rather than a boring office like everyone else. Yes, it was a 2011 movie starring Matthew McConaughey, and the small screen version promises plenty of Kelley’s trademark courtroom drama, compelling characters and fancy lawyer banter. / TW

 

The movies

Senior Year (on Netflix from May 13)

If you told me that the Rebel Wilson industrial complex would still be in full force in 2022, I’d say “good for her!” This is the kind of premise that seems tailor-made for Wilson’s screwball gifts: A high-school cheerleader falls into a coma before her prom. Twenty years later she awakens and wants to return to high school to reclaim her status and become prom queen. I can only imagine hijinks will ensue. / SB

The Valet (on Disney+ from May 20)

Can we officially call 2022 the return of the proper rom-com? With The Lost City and now this, we can only hope so. By rom-com I mean a proper romantic comedy, with the three Cs: chemistry, charisma and actual comedy! The Valet, a remake of a 2006 French film, stars Samara Weaving, a highlight of last year’s middling Nine Perfect Strangers and Eugenio Derbez, from Best Picture winner Coda, and my hopes might be a little bit too high, but I’ll take a rom-com as it’s served. On Disney+. / SB


This post is made possible by our friends at Nando’s


The rest

May 1

Wolf Creek

Rango

May 2

Octonauts: Above and Beyond: Season 2

May 3

Hold Your Breath: The Ice Dive

May 4

The Circle: Season 4

Summertime: Season 3

El marginal: Season 5

4o Years Young

Meltdown: Three Mile Island

May 5

The Pentaverate

Clark

Blood Sisters

Christina P: Mom Genes

Wild Babies

May 6

Welcome to Eden

The Sound of Magic

Thar

The Takedown

Along for the Ride

Marmaduke

May 9

Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 Sustainable War

May 10

Workin’ Moms: Season 6

May 11

Brotherhood: Season 2

42 Days of Darkness

The Getaway King

Our Father

May 12

Savage Beauty

Maverix

May 13

The Life and Movies of Ersan Kuneri

The Lincoln Lawyer

Bling Empire: Season 2

New Heights

Senior Year

May 16

Vampire in the Garden

Jungleland

May 17

The Future Diary: Season 2

May 18

Who Killed Sara?: Season 3

Love on the Spectrum US

The Perfect Family

Toscana

Cyber Hell: Exposing an Internet Horror

May 19

Insiders: Season 2

A Perfect Pairing

Rodrio Sant’Anna: I’ve Arrived

The G Word with Adam Conover

The Photographer: Murder in Pinamar

The Boss Baby: Back in the Crib

May 20

Love, Death & Robots: Volume 3

Wrong Side of The Tracks

F*ck Love Too

May 23

Godspeed

Sea of Love

Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045: Season 2

May 25

Larva Pendant

May 26

My Little Pony: Make Your Mark

May 27

Stranger Things 4: Volume 1

May 30

Mighty Little Bheem: I Love Taj Mahal

Neon

May 1

The Great British Bake-Off: Season 12

The Eyes of Tammy Faye

May 2

The Legend of Tarzan

May 3

We Own This City

May 4

Power Rangers; Dino Charge

Military Wives

May 5

The Staircase

May 7

The Suicide Squad

May 8

Paw Patrol: The Movie

May 9

I Love That For You

Terminator 2: Judgement Day

Get Him to the Greek

May 10

Transformers Prime

The Invisible Plot

May 11

Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?

Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off

May 12

The Angry Birds Movie

May 13

Chucky

Candyman

Escape Room: Tournament of Champions

Don’t Breathe 2

Halloween Kills

Separation

The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It

May 14

12 Mighty Orphans

May 15

Together Together

May 16

The Time Traveler’s Wife

Bad Teacher

May 17

Charming

May 18

Naomi

Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom: Season 2

May 19

I Am Legend

May 20

Made for Love: Season 2

Sin City

May 21

Reminiscence

May 22

Undercurrent: The Disappearance of Kim Wall

Megamind

May 24

The Fear Index

Our Ladies

May 25

A Black Lady Sketch Show

The World’s End

May 26

Terry Bradshaw; Going Deep

May 27

Never Back Down: Revolt

Bill Maher: #ADulting

May 28

Julia

South of Heaven

May 29

Blue Bayou

TVNZ on Demand

May 1

Ghosts

Ruby and the Well

Coming of Age in Cherry Grove

Camp Wannakiki

Influence

Betting on Zero

Friday Night Lights: Season 1-5

From the Vault: Kiwi Music Flashbacks

Smiling Friends

Tender Touches: Season 1-3

Iron Fury

The Realm

Vanished: Searching for my Sister

The Lover in the Attic: A True Story

Big Driver

Deadly Secrets by the Lake

Buccaneers and Bones: Season 5

Gold Fever: Season 4

Wild Boar Fever X: Season 2

Nubia Amplified: Season 1b

Yusuf Hawkins: Storm Over Brooklyn Soros

May 3

Four Lives

May 5

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Girls 5eva

May 6

Ready to Mingle

May 7

2000s Baby

May 8

Line of Duty: Season 1-5

May 9

The Thief, His Wife and The Canoe

Doctor Doctor: Season 5

May 10

In the Flesh: Season 1-2

May 11

Kea Kids News

May 13

Smash: Season 1-2

May 14

Detention Adventures: Season 3

May 18

Skins: Season 1-7

May 26

Kid Sister

May 29

Covert Affairs: Season 1-5

Disney+

May 4

Disney Gallery: Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett

9-1-1: Lone Star: Season 2

Better Things: Season 5

Promised Land: Season 1

The Strain: Season 1-4

May 6

Rules Don’t Apply

Shutter

Bohemian Rhapsody

May 11

The Quest: Season 1

Marvel Studios: Assembled – The Making of Moon Knight

Africa’s Deadliest: Season 7

The League: Season 1-7

Trafficked with Mariana Van Zeller: Season 2

May 13

Sneakerella

The Revenant

Inside North Korea: The Cyber State

Inside North Korea; The Next Leader

Thailand’s Wild Cats

May 18

The Wonderful Winter of Mickey Mouse

The Client

JFK

9-1-1: Season 4

Apocalypse: Hitler Takes on the East: Season 1

Chai of Command: Season 1

Code Black: Season 1-3

Terriers

May 20

Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers

The Valet

Baymax & Mochi

Mickey Mouse Squad: La Batalla Por El Zasca

November Story

OK Computer

May 25

Unknown Europe

May 27

Obi-Wan

We Feed People

Parched

May 31

Pistol

Amazon Prime Video

May 1

The Godfather

The Godfather Part II

The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone

How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days

May 4

The Angry Birds Movie

May 6

Bosch: Legacy

The Wild: Season 2

May 10

Don’t Breathe 2

May 11

Bad Boys (1995)

The Revenant

May 12

Halloween Kills

May 13

The Contractor

The Thing About Pam

May 15

A Summer Romance

Love at Sea

Love in the Sun

Sailing Into Love

Summer Love

Summer of Dreams

Sun, Sand and Romance

May 16

Conversations With Friends

May 18

2012

Lovestruck High

May 20

Night Sky

May 25

The Dark Tower

May 26

Blue Bayou

May 27

Kick Like Tayla

Almost Had You

Emergency

Iain Stirling – Failing Upwards

Queen Elizabeth

May 31

Fashionably Yours

Just The Way You Are

The Perfect Bride

Apple TV+

May 6

Tehran: Season 2

The Big Conn

May 13

The Essex Serpent

May 20

Now and Then

May 23

Prehistoric Planet

Acorn

May 2

Signora Volpe

The Ipcress File

Theresa Raquin

May 9

White Sands

The Shell Seekers

May 16

Garage Sale Mysteries: Season 2

May 23

My Life Is Murder: Season 2

Resort to Murder

May 30

Hip

Four Seasons

Shudder

May 2

Eli Roth’s History of Horror: Season 3

May 3

Excess Flesh

The Glass Coffin

Life After Beth

May 6

The Twin

May 10

V/H/S: Viral

February

May 12

The Sadness

May 17

We Summon the Darkness

The Taking of Deborah Logan

May 19

The Found Footage Phenomenon

May 24

Knock Knock

Tales of Halloween

May 26

A Banquet

May 31

Viral

The Resident

Blair Witch (2016)

Keep going!