What to stream in May: Netflix, Disney+, Stan, Amazon Prime + more
Don’t waste your precious time scrolling through each streaming platform. Instead, allow us to select the month's viewing highlights for you
IT WOULD BE EASY to approach the coming of winter with an attitude of pessimism. With only one mild Autumn month remaining, daylight hours are dwindling, leaves are well and truly falling, and afternoons spent soaking up the sun have been traded for evenings huddling under a heated blanket. But like we said, that would be the easier approach to take, and we prefer to look on the bright side here. While the cooler weather likely means you’ll be spending more time indoors, positives can be drawn from that shift. The foremost of which is having ample time to catch up on the latest hit films and shows coming to streaming services.
There will be something for everyone on streaming platforms in May. Whether you’re a fan of side-splitting comedies or intense dramas. But that’s part of the problem. The big hitters like Netflix, Disney+ and Stan are so packed with content that it makes it difficult to discern what’s worth your time and what’s best left on the backburner – especially when you’re prone to indecision and are paying for the luxury of choice.
Not to worry though, Esquire has you covered. Featuring everything from critically acclaimed blockbusters finally making their digital debuts to the premiere of long-awaited original series, we’ve rounded up all the very best films and shows coming to streaming platforms in May 2024.
What’s new on Netflix in May?
May Netflix Highlight – Unfrosted
Riding on the coattails of successful 2023 documentary films like Air and Blackberry, Unfrosted also dramatises the early years of a now lucrative business – Kellogg’s, and the creation of pop-tarts. Unfrosted is Jerry Seinfeld’s directorial debut and will carry a lighter tone than the other films of its business-docudrama genre, with an all-star comedic cast that includes Melissa McCarthy, Amy Schumer, Hugh Grant, Bill Burr, James Marsden, Jim Gaffigan and Peter Dinklage.
Also new on Netflix in May is A Man in Full, which looks like the new Succession. Based on Tom Wolfe’s bestselling novel of the same name, A Man in Full follows an unscrupulous real estate mogul who must defend his crumbling empire from rival businessmen and crude politicians when faced with sudden bankruptcy. Expect Bodkin to garner its fair share of viewers as well, in light of the recent societal obsession with true crime stories. The series is a thriller/dark comedy and sees a group of podcasters journey to a quaint Irish town to investigate a slate of mysterious, decades-old disappearances. Lastly, one of Netflix’s most-watched shows is getting a new season, with the first half of Bridgerton season three arriving on the streamer from May 16th.
May 1
- Airport
- Airport ’77
- Airport 1975
- The Best Man Holiday
- Blended
- Blue Mountain State, seasons 1-3
- Blue Mountain State: The Rise of Thadland
- Deaw Special: Super Soft Power
- Down The Rabbit Hole
- Eat Pray Love
- The Edge of Seventeen
- The Equalizer
- Frankly Speaking
- The Gentlemen
- Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar
- Hellboy (2019)
- Hulk
- Jumanji (1995)
- Liar Liar
- Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
- The Matrix Resurrections
- Mortal Kombat (2021)
- Mr. & Mrs. Smith
- The Nutty Professor
- The Nutty Professor II: The Klumps
- Outlander, season 6
- Patriots Day
- Public Enemies
- Ride Along
- Shrek
- Shrek Forever After
- Starship Troopers
- Traffic
- The Wedding Planner
- White House Down
- Woody Woodpecker
- The Young Victoria
May 2
- A Man in Full
- Beautiful Rebel
- Lola
- Secrets of the Neanderthals
- T・P BON
May 3
- 2 Hearts
- John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s In L.A
- Postcards
- Selling the OC, season 3
- The Unbroken Voice, season 2
- Unfrosted
May 4
- The Atypical Family
- Katt Williams: Woke Foke
May 5
- The Peanut Butter Falcon
- Roast of Tom Brady
May 6
- 30 for 30: Broke
- 30 for 30: Deion’s Double Play
- 30 for 30: The Two Escobars
- John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s In L.A
- Reba, seasons 1-6
May 7
- Super Rich in Korea
May 8
- The Final: Attack on Wembley
- War Dogs
May 9
- Bodkin
- The Guardian of the Monarchs
- Mother of The Bride
- Sing Street
- Thank You, Next
May 10
- Blood of Zeus, season 2
- Cooking Up Murder: Uncovering the Story of César Román
- Living With Leopards
- Pokémon Horizons: The Series, part 2
- The Ultimatum: South Africa
May 11
- Mark Twain Prize Award: Kevin Hart
May 13
- Archer, seasons 1-13
- Princess Power, season 3
May 14
- Married at First Sight, season 15
May 15
- Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal
- The Clovehitch Killer
May 16
- Bridgerton, season 3, part 1
- Dumb and Dumber To
- Maestro in Blue, season 2
- Upgrade
May 17
- The 8 Show
- Power
- Thelma the Unicorn
May 19
- A Simple Favor
- Golden Kamuy
May 20
- The Parisian Agency: Exclusive Properties, season 4
May 21
- Rachel Feinstein: Big Guy
- Wildfire, seasons 1-4
May 22
- Act Your Age, season 1
- Toughest Forces on Earth
May 23
- Garouden: The Way of the Lone Wolf
- In Good Hands 2
- Tires
May 24
- Atlas
- Butterfly in the Sky: The Story of Reading Rainbow
- Jurassic World: Chaos Theory
- Mulligan, part 2
- My Oni Girl
May 28
- Bionic
- Colors of Evil: Red
- Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult
- Patrick Melrose
May 30
- Eric
- Geek Girl
May 31
- A Part of You
- Chola Chabuca
- How to Ruin Love: The Proposal
- Raising Voices
- Tòkunbọ̀
What’s new on Disney+ in May?
May Disney+ Highlight – Doctor Who
After a quiet few months, Disney+ is back in a big way. The newest series of Doctor Who will be streaming exclusively on Disney+, with Ncuti Gatwa – previously of Sex Education fame – as the first ever black actor to play the titular role. Audiences were introduced to Gatwa’s Doctor Who – the 15th generation of the character – in last year’s Christmas special, but not much is known about the new series’ overarching plot. Expect it follow the traditional Doctor Who formula though, with a refreshingly new face in the leading role.
Elsewhere, Welcome to Wrexham‘s third season will premiere on May 3rd, chronicling Wrexham’s first season back in the English Football League. Spoiler alert, the team just defeated league leaders Stockport to finish second on the table and secure promotion to the English Football League One next season, so expect another success story. For Star Wars fans, May 4th – practically a religious holiday – will be marked by the premiere of six-part series Tales of the Empire. And if you’re hoping to quench your whodunnit thirst, Shardlake, which follows a 16th century English lawyer sent to investigate a murder at a remote monastery, should provide more than enough intrigue and mystery to suffice.
May 1
- Shardlake
May 3
- Beneath the Planet of the Apes
- Conquest of the Planet of the Apes
- Prom Dates
- Welcome to Wrexham, season 3
May 4
- How Not to Draw, seasons 1-2
- Star Wars: Tales of the Empire
May 5
- Monsters at Work, season 2
May 8
- We Were The Lucky Ones
- Let It Be
May 10
- Past Lies
May 11
- Doctor Who
May 14
- Crash
May 15
- Uncle Samsik
- Queen Rock Montreal
May 17
- Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story
May 22
- Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of X-Men ’97
- Chip ‘n’ Dale: Park Life, season 2
- Pauline
- Mickey Mouse Funhouse, season 3
May 23
- The Kardashians, season 5
May 24
- The Beach Boys
May 31
- Jim Henson Idea Man
New episodes of The Veil, The Bad Batch, Vanderpump Villa, The Simpsons, The Fable, Grey’s Anatomy, Station 19, Undead Unluck, Will Trent, Not Dead Yet, Chief Detective 1958, Blood Free, House of the Owl, and Marvel’s X-Men 97 will also appear weekly throughout May.
What’s new on Stan in May?
May Stan Highlight – The Tattooist of Auschwitz
The Tattooist of Auschwitz tells the story of Lali Sokolov, a Slovak-Australian businessman and survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp. Sokolov, who is played by Harvey Keitel in the new series, was first brought to wider attention by New Zealand Author Heather Morris’ bestselling non-fiction novel in 2018. Now, Morris herself becomes a character in the series, with Melanie Lynskey portraying the author who seeks out Sokolov for information on his imprisonment and role in branding the camp’s prisoners with an identification number. Expect a tough watch, but an important one.
Also arriving on Stan is Oscar-winning French legal drama Anatomy of a Fall, which received five Academy award nominations this year and took home the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay – and believe us, if there was an Oscar for best animal actor, it would’ve won that too.
May 1
- White House Down
- The Salisbury Poisonings, season 1
- Burning Days
May 2
- The Tattooist of Auschwitz
- Geordie OGs, seasons 1-2
May 3
- Hacks, season 3
- Colombiana
- Intruders
May 4
- Jobs
- The Most Beautiful Day in the World
- Wild Seas
May 5
- Hidden Figures
- Four’s a Crowd
May 6
- Dear David
- Clouds of Sils Maria
May 7
- Darkland: The Return
May 8
- The Expatriate
- Hard Sun, season 1
May 9
- Bright Star
- History of the Occult
- Failure to Launch
May 10
- Mid90s
- Are You The One UK, season 1
- 3rd Rock From The Sun, seasons 1-6
May 11
- Mrs. Doubtfire
- The Last Night of Amore
May 12
- High, season 2
- Predestination
- Love Thing
May 13
- Alma & Oskar
May 14
- Suite Francaise
- The Help
May 15
- Little Bird, season 1
- The Physician
- A Girl Returned
May 16
- Teen Spirit
- Dublin Murders, season 1
- The Eight Hundred
May 18
- RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, season 9
- EO
- Murder On The Orient Express (2017)
May 19
- Mark Felt: Man Who Brought Down The White House
- Shinjuku Incident
May 20
- X + Y
- Believer
May 21
- At War with Love
May 22
- American Ninja Warrior, season 15
- Dark Skies
May 23
- Insomnia, season 1
- Face/Off
- Loro: The Director’s Cut Pt. 1
- Loro: The Director’s Cut Pt. 2
May 24
- Anatomy of a Fall
May 25
- Flashdance
- Butterfly, season 1
- The Fault In Our Stars
May 26
- Revealed: Renee Gracie—Fireproof
- The Core
- Lord, Give Me Patience
May 27
- Those Happy Years
May 28
- The Combination
- The Combination: Redemption
- Bangla
May 29
- Baghdad Central, season 1
- Braveheart
May 30
- Three Thousand Years Of Longing
- Sacro Gra
May 31
- We Are Lady Parts, season 2
- Float
- Disobedience
- The Family
What’s new on Amazon Prime Video in May?
May Amazon Prime Video Highlight – The Idea of You
Rom-coms are so back. The Idea of You is based on a novel of the same name and stars Anne Hathaway as a 40-year-old single mum. While attending Coachella with her daughter, Hathaway’s character Solène meets the 24-year-old frontman of a popular boy band, kicking off an unexpected romance. It sounds like fanfiction, but it’s bound to be all over your TikTok feed next month.
If rom-coms aren’t your thing, Amazon Prime has plenty more on offer. The third season of Clarkson’s Farm will release in two instalments next month, Oscar-nominated May December makes its streaming debut, and The Test – featuring past Esquire cover star Pat Cummins – returns for another season documenting the Australian men’s national cricket team’s dominance under their talismanic captain. This time, the docuseries will focus on the bitter Ashes series between Australia and England in 2023.
May 1
- Mannequin
- Of Mice and Men
- Mr Robot, season 1-4
- Friday Night Lights, seasons 1-5
- The Bold Type, seasons 1-5
- Parks and Recreation, seasons 1-7
May 2
- The Idea of You
- Young Rock, season 1
May 3
- About My Father
- Bring Him to Me
- Clarkson’s Farm, season 3 part 1
May 7
- Muriel’s Wedding
May 9
- Maxton Hall – The World Between Us
- The Goat, season 1
May 10
- Arthur The King
- Clarkson’s Farm, season 3 part 2
May 13
- EXPEND4BLES
May 14
- Gamer
May 15
- Columbo, seasons 1-9
May 16
- Outer Range, season 2
- Academy of Country Music Awards
May 17
- Beyond the Veil, season 2
May 19
- Edge of Tomorrow
- My Spy
May 21
- The Time Traveller’s Wife
May 23
- The Blue Angels
May 24
- The Test, season 3
May 28
- The Dive
May 30
- May December
May 31
- Thanksgiving
- The Outlaws, season 3
What’s new on Binge in May?
May Binge Highlight – Turtles All The Way Down
Swaths of new content is coming to Binge in May, but what stands out to us is Turtles All The Way Down, the film adaptation of John Green’s bestselling novel. The film stars Isabela Merced as Aza and Australian Felix Mallard as Davis. Aza, struggling with obsessive-compulsive disorder, re-encounters her childhood friend, Davis. Their ensuing friendship-turned-romance flourishes despite Aza’s struggle with mental illness, revealing that human connection truly trumps all.
Beloved Australian series Colin From Accounts is also returning for a second season on Binge. The rom-com follows a couple who meet through a car crash and are bound by an injured dog. Assisting Colin From Accounts’ authenticity is the fact that the on-screen leads are also partners off-screen. George Michael: Portrait of an Artist is a new documentary that will look into the life of George Michael through a series of candid interviews with those close to him. Finally, Barbie is finally making its streaming debut. We’ll assume you don’t require a brief synopsis for that one.
May 1
- Inside The Shein Machine
- Monk, seasons 1-4
- Deadly Decisions
- El Accidente
- Honor, Season 2
- 48 Hours To Victory
- Meg 2: The Trench
- Room 212
- A Quiet Passion
- Drop Dead Fred
- The Little Hours
- Brewster’s Millions
- Some Kind Of Wonderful
May 2
- China Rising, parts 1-2
- New Nurses, season 2
- Turtles All The Way Down
- Leatherheads
- The Other Boleyn Girl
May 3
- Gogglebox UK, season 22
- Missile From The East
- FBOY Island USA, season 3
- #textmewhenyougethome, season 2
- Bad Blood: Toppling Turnbull
- Big Shots: Anti-Vaxxers Exposed
- Catching The Claremont Killer: The Untold Story
- Swamp People: Serpent Invasion, season 3
- Lust, Lies & Polygamy
- Ann Rule’s A Murder To Remember
May 4
- The Great South African Bake Off, season 4
- My Husband’s Seven Wives
- The Neighbours Are Watching
- Murder At The Country Club
May 5
- Secret Love Triangle
- Secrets In The Desert
May 6
- Swamp People: Serpent Invasion, season 3
- Australia’s Cocaine Crisis
- Cooking With The Stars, season 2
- Take In Montana
- The Venice Murders
May 7
- Real Housewives of New Jersey, season 14
- New Blood: Morrison’s Miracle
- Auschwitz – One Day
- Lawyer X: The Untold Story
May 8
- Shelved
- Sell This House, season 11
- Saving Lives At Sea, season 3
- Ancient Secrets Of Althorp With Charles Spencer
- Barbie
- Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie
May 9
- Pretty Little Liars: Summer School, season 2
- Eden: Untamed Planet
- What Really Happened In Wuhan
- Whitstable Pearl, season 2
- Deepwater Salvage, season 2
May 10
- Simply Raymond Blanc, season 2
- Nick Knowles Heritage Rescue
- Hospital, season 6
- Countdown To Surrender – The Last 100 Days
- Simply Raymond Blanc, season 2
- Nick Knowles Heritage Rescue
- The Exorcist: Believer
May 11
- George Michael: Portrait Of An Artist
May 12
- Nikki Glaser: Someday You’ll Die
- Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed
- The Tasting
May 13
- Eat Well For Less: New Zealand, season 4
- EXPEND4BLES
May 14
- Antiques Road Trip, season 25
May 15
- Billionaire Murders
May 16
- Confessions Of A Psycho Killer
May 20
- Styled
- Vida The Vet
- The Campaign Uncovered
- The Belt Report: Pell Exclusive
May 21
- Stax: Soulsville USA
- Frozen Planet II, season 2
- Changing Our Nation
- The Cult Of Dan Andrews
May 22
- Haters Online: Erin Molan Fights Back
- Liberals In Power
- World’s Most Expensive Cruise, season 3
- Emergency Helicopter Medics
- Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning
May 23
- Men In The Mirror: Rudd & Turnbull
- Who Murdered Marea?
- Paediatric Rescue
- Ronnie’s
- Britain’s Most Scenic Counties: Norfolk & Suffolk
May 24
- Your ABC Exposed
- MH370: The Final Search
- Ancient Superstructures, season 2
May 28
- Christina On The Coast, season 4
- Cruising The Med
- Location, Location, Location, season 27
- Chopped Next Gen
May 29
- Movie Pass, Movie Crash
May 30
- Colin From Accounts, season 2
- Grand Designs: The Street, season 3
- May December
May 31
- Interior Design Masters With Alan Carr, season 5
- Thanksgiving
What’s new on Apple TV+ in May?
May Apple TV+ Highlight – Dark Matter
Starring Australian Joel Edgerton, Dark Matter is based on a bestselling novel and is cashing in on the recent multiverse craze. The story revolves around Chicago-based physicist Jason Dessen, who is kidnapped by a parallel-universe version of himself and taken to an alternate world shaped by a decision he made 15 years earlier. There, he must literally fight against himself to get back to his true reality and protect his family. Mind-bending stuff.
May 1
- Acapulco, season 3
May 8
- Dark Matter
- Hollywood Con Queen
May 17
- The Big Cigar
May 22
- Trying, season 4
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