Flying through your watchlist at light speed? Don’t worry, there’s more good stuff on the way. Jenna Guillaume picks the nine most exciting new shows arriving this month.
If you’re getting through your watchlist at a faster rate than ever before, you’re not alone. Isolation seems to have turned us all into binge watchers (or increased our rates of bingeing, at least).
While there’s comfort in rewatching old shows or continuing those we’re already invested in, there’s a bunch of new prospects on the horizon to get excited about.
Here are some to watch out for in the not-too-distant future…
Run (May 7)
Where to watch: Foxtel
It doesn’t get much better than a black comedy/thriller produced by Phoebe Waller-Bridge and starring Merritt Wever and Domhnall Gleeson. Wever and Gleeson play college sweethearts who meet up after 17 years apart and go on the run, with an agreement that they won’t reveal anything about their present lives to each other.
The Eddy (May 8)
Where to watch: Netflix
A musical drama series created by Jack Thorne and produced by Damien Chazelle, The Eddy is set in Paris and follows an American called Elliot Udo, who runs a jazz club and composes music but has been unable to play since the death of his son. His life becomes more complicated when his teenage daughter comes to stay—oh, and he also becomes embroiled in the criminal underworld.
The Undoing (May 11)
Where to watch: Foxtel
Our very own Nicole Kidman stars with Hugh Grant and Donald Sutherland in this new David E Kelly mini-series. It’s about a woman whose life unravels after a “violent death” happens that sets off a dramatic series of events. Details beyond that are murky, although the show is based on a book—You Should Have Known by Jean Hanff Korelitz.
I Know This Much Is True (May 11)
Where to Watch: Foxtel
I Know This Much Is True stars Mark Ruffalo in dual roles as a pair of identical twins, one of whom has schizophrenia and PTSD and who ends up in a psychiatric hospital, which his twin tries to free him from. Based on a book by Wally Lamb, this limited series looks like a tear-jerker, so have those tissues handy.
The Great (May 16)
Where to watch: Stan
Catherine the Great’s life is full of events that are ripe for television, and this series takes a satirical approach to her youth. Elle Fanning stars as Catherine, while Nicholas Hoult plays her unpredictable husband Peter III. It’s written by Tony McNamara, who also penned The Favourite, so there’s a good chance it will be a delight.
Hightown (May 17)
Where to watch: Stan
Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, Hightown is a crime drama about an alcohol and drug-addicted federal Fishery Service Agent who discovers a dead body and tries to solve the murder—putting her on the radar of a local drug ring and painting a large target on her back.
Central Park (May 29)
Where to watch: Apple TV+
Co-created by Josh Gad, Nora Smith and Loren Bouchard, with an animation style that looks very similar to Bouchard’s hit Bob’s Burgers, Central Park is an animated musical comedy about a family of caretakers who live and work in New York’s famous park. The voice cast is a dream, featuring Gad himself along with Kristen Bell, Tituss Burgess, Daveed Diggs, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr and Stanley Tucci.
Space Force (May 29)
Where to watch: Netflix
Fans of The Office rejoice! Greg Daniels and Steve Carrell reunite to create Space Force, another workplace comedy, only this time about a new branch of the American armed services—the titular Space Force. Carrell stars as a general, Lisa Kudrow plays his wife, John Malkovich stars as a Dr Strangelove-inspired scientist, and Ben Schwartz is set to appear as a media consultant.
Snowpiercer (May)
Where to watch: Netflix
There’s no set release date for Snowpiercer yet, but it’s dropping sometime in May. It is based on Bong Joon-ho’s movie of the same name as well as the original graphic novel that the movie was adapted from. Starring Daveed Diggs and Jennifer Connelly, it’s set seven years after the world becomes a frozen wasteland, the surviving humans left stranded on a perpetually moving train that’s divided across class lines.
