The must-watch title on every major streamer this May
The must-watch title on every major streamer this May
These May releases are the easiest way to decide what to watch next on every service.
May is a pretty wild streaming month, in the best way. You’ve got Stanley Tucci eating his way through Italy, Gerard Butler trying to survive the end of the world again, a new “Yellowstone” spinoff built around Beth and Rip, Nicolas Cage going full noir superhero, and a retirement-community monster mystery from the “Stranger Things” team.
There’s also crime, horror, revenge, dirty cash, and enough Tom Cruise action on Pluto TV to keep your weekend extremely loud. So if your watchlist is already a mess, here’s the one title on each major streamer I’m most excited about this May.
Top title on each streamer for May 2026:
‘Tucci in Italy’ | Series | Disney+
I find Stanley Tucci endlessly charming, so yeah, I’m very in for “Tucci in Italy” when the new season premieres Tuesday, May 12 on Disney+. The timing is also perfect because I somehow didn’t make it to Italy on my most recent Euro-trip. Tara and I did Spain and France, which was incredible, but Italy was the big missing piece, so this feels like a pretty solid make-up trip from the couch.
This season sends Tucci through five more regions, including Le Marche, which hasn’t gotten the same international spotlight as some of the obvious food destinations. He also heads to Campania, Veneto, Sardinia, and Sicily, which basically means pasta, wine, tiramisu drama, island cooking, longevity, and a whole lot of me pretending I’m not immediately checking flights. Food shows can sometimes feel a little sleepy, but Tucci makes them feel personal. He’s curious, funny, relaxed, and somehow makes every meal feel like it’s telling you something bigger about the people who made it. That’s exactly my kind of travel show.
Tucci in Italy
Follow Stanley Tucci as he returns to Italy for more food-based adventures, seeking out the essence of each region and its people through the food they eat.
‘Greenland 2: Migration’ | Movie | HBO Max
After watching “Apex” a few days ago, I’m kind of in a thriller mood, so “Greenland 2: Migration” is hitting at the right time. The movie debuts Friday, May 8, on HBO Max, and it picks up after the comet disaster that wrecked most of Earth, with John Garrity, his wife Allison, and their son Nathan leaving the safety of their bunker in Greenland to search for a new home.
That’s a pretty clean survival hook, and honestly, Gerard Butler is exactly the guy I want leading a desperate end-of-the-world road trip. The first movie worked because it kept the disaster grounded in one family trying to stay together, and this sounds like it’s pushing that same emotional engine into a much bigger, more broken world. Rumored safe haven, shattered landscape, impossible odds, Butler doing stressed-but-determined Butler things? Yeah, I’m absolutely watching this.
Greenland 2: Migration
Having found the safety of the Greenland bunker after the comet Clarke decimated the Earth, the Garrity family must now risk everything to embark on a perilous journey across the wasteland of Europe to find a new home.
‘The Terror: Devil in Silver’ | Series | AMC+
I don’t usually race toward hardcore horror, but weirdly, the older I get, the more my tolerance is creeping up, and I’m kind of starting to enjoy it. Slowly… very slowly. So “The Terror: Devil in Silver” has my attention when it premieres Thursday, May 7 on AMC+. Dan Stevens stars as Pepper, a working-class moving man who gets wrongfully committed to New Hyde Psychiatric Hospital, which sounds like the absolute worst place to be stuck.
The patients may be working against him, the doctors are hiding something, and there might be an actual devil feeding off the misery inside the hospital. Add Ridley Scott producing and a cast with Judith Light, CCH Pounder, Aasif Mandvi, Stephen Root, and Marin Ireland, and this feels like the kind of horror I might be brave enough to try.
The Terror
A chilling anthology series featuring stories of people in terrifying situations inspired by true historical events.
‘M.I.A.’ | Series | Peacock
I’m very ready for “M.I.A.” when all nine episodes drop Thursday, May 7 on Peacock. For one thing, it comes from Bill Dubuque, and “Ozark” is one of my favorite dramas ever. It landed first on my list of the best Netflix shows ever, so yeah, I’m paying attention to whatever he does next.
This one follows Etta Tiger Jonze, played by Shannon Gisela, after her family’s drug-running business is destroyed and she sets out through Miami to kill the 12 men responsible. That’s already a pretty intense revenge hook, but setting it in Miami’s neon-lit criminal underworld gives it even more juice. And then there’s Cary Elwes, who I always love seeing because “The Princess Bride” and “Robin Hood: Men in Tights” are two foundational movies from my childhood. Crime, revenge, Miami, Ozark DNA, Cary Elwes? Easy yes.
M.I.A.
Restless in the Florida Keys, Etta Tiger Jonze dreams of a life in Miami’s glittering, sub-tropical kingdom. When her family’s drug-running business shatters in tragedy, however, Etta embarks on a dangerous journey through Miami’s neon-lit underbelly that will define who she is and what she’s ultimately capable of.
‘Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed’ | Series | Apple TV
Tatiana Maslany leading a dark comedy-thriller is pretty much all I need to know, but “Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed” also has one of the stranger setups on this list. It premieres Wednesday, May 20, on Apple TV, with Maslany playing Paula, a newly divorced mom stuck in the middle of an identity crisis and a custody fight with her ex-husband Karl, played by Jake Johnson. That’s already messy enough, and then she gets pulled into an obsession with a young cam-boy named Trevor, played by Brandon Flynn, who may be scamming her.
Then things get even worse when Paula seemingly witnesses him commit murder, sending her into her own amateur investigation full of blackmail, crime, and, somehow, youth soccer. I loved Maslany in “Orphan Black,” and this sounds like the exact kind of weird, uncomfortable, twisty role where she could go completely off. Apple TV has been very good at this kind of polished chaos lately, so I’m absolutely curious.
Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed
A newly divorced mom falls down a dangerous rabbit hole of blackmail, murder, and youth soccer.
‘Deli Boys’ Season 2 | Series | Hulu
I always love seeing South Asian stories told on TV, and “Deli Boys” has such a fun wrapper for it. Season 2 premieres Thursday, May 28, on Hulu, and this time the Dar brothers are discovering that inheriting a criminal empire was apparently the easy part. Now they’re drowning in dirty cash, Philly criminals are closing in, and Poorna Jagannathan’s Lucky has a new thing going with Max Sugar, a casino boss and money launderer played by Fred Armisen.
That alone is enough to get me back, but the guest cast this season is kind of ridiculous: Andrew Rannells as a district attorney trying to turn a big bust into a mayoral run, Kumail Nanjiani as Max’s defense attorney, plus Lilly Singh and Robin Thede jumping in too. I’m very into the mix here. Crime, family chaos, bad decisions, and a story that stays fun? Yes please.
Deli Boys
When their convenience store-magnate father suddenly dies, a pair of pampered Pakistani American brothers lose everything and are forced to reckon with their Baba’s secret life of crime as they attempt to take up his mantle in the underworld.
‘The Boroughs’ | Series | Netflix
I’m always going to be curious about anything connected to the people behind “Stranger Things,” but “The Boroughs” doesn’t just sound like a younger-kids-fight-monsters remix. All eight episodes drop Thursday, May 21, on Netflix, and the show follows a grieving guy who moves into a supposedly perfect retirement community, then quickly realizes something very bad is going on. Before long, he’s teaming up with a bunch of retirees to fight an otherworldly threat that’s literally stealing their time. That’s a great hook.
I also love that the cast is stacked with Alfred Molina, Geena Davis, Alfre Woodard, Denis O’Hare, Clarke Peters, and Bill Pullman. The monster stuff sounds fun, but the real draw for me is watching older characters get the kind of big sci-fi adventure that usually goes to teenagers. That alone makes this feel like a fresh swing.
The Boroughs
In a seemingly perfect retirement community, a crew of unlikely heroes must stop an otherworldly threat from stealing the one thing they don’t have: time.
‘Dutton Ranch’ | Series | Paramount+
I know the “Yellowstone” universe has a million branches at this point, but “Dutton Ranch” is the one that feels like the cleanest next step. It premieres Friday, May 15, on Paramount+, with Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser back as Beth Dutton and Rip Wheeler, which is really the whole sell. These two were always one of the best parts of the original show, and now they’re trying to build a future together in South Texas, which obviously won’t stay peaceful for more than five minutes.
The new setup has them facing brutal ranch politics, a rival empire that doesn’t want them there, and the pressure of raising Carter into the man he’s supposed to become. I like that this isn’t just “more Yellowstone” in the exact same place. Moving Beth and Rip into a new world gives the show room to breathe, while still keeping the danger, grudges, and big cowboy soap opera energy that made the original so addictive for so many.
Dutton Ranch
Rip Wheeler and Beth Dutton gamble everything on a new life in South Texas, but the promise of building a future far from the ghosts of Yellowstone quickly collides with brutal new realities and a rival ranch that will stop at nothing to protect its empire.
‘Spider-Noir’ | Series | Prime Video
Nicolas Cage playing an older, worn-down Spider-Man-adjacent private eye in 1930s New York is one of those ideas that sounds fake until you realize, no, this is actually happening. “Spider-Noir” starts streaming Wednesday, May 27, on Prime Video, and it follows Ben Reilly, a struggling investigator who used to be the masked hero known as the Spider. Now he’s older, more cynical, and pulled back into that life after a personal tragedy forces him to deal with everything he tried to leave behind.
I love that this isn’t trying to be the bright, quippy version of “Spider-Man” we’ve seen a million times. It’s darker, stranger, more noir, and apparently even a little horror-tinged. Plus, the whole thing can be watched in black-and-white or full color, which is such a fun stylistic swing. Cage in detective mode, Spider-Man mythology, old New York, moral rot, trench coats, shadows everywhere. That’s a pretty wild lane for a superhero show, and I’m very curious to see how weird it gets.
Spider-Noir
Ben Reilly, an aging and down on his luck private investigator in 1930s New York, is forced to grapple with his past life as the city’s one and only superhero.
‘Top Gun: Maverick’ and the ‘Mission: Impossible’ Collection | Movies | Pluto TV
If you’re looking to scratch an action vibe for free, this goes a pretty long way. “Top Gun: Maverick” starts streaming Friday, May 1, on Pluto TV, alongside the “Mission: Impossible” movies, which is basically a Tom Cruise action marathon without having to pay for another subscription. “Top Gun: Maverick” is still one of the best legacy sequels ever made because it gives you the nostalgia hit, but then it actually earns it with ridiculous flight sequences, a simple emotional story, and Cruise fully throwing himself into every moment.
Then you’ve got “Mission: Impossible,” where the whole pleasure is watching Ethan Hunt sprint, jump, climb, crash, and somehow survive whatever impossible thing the movie throws at him next. It’s not exactly subtle cinema, but that’s not the point. Sometimes you just want movie-star action, giant stunts, and the feeling that someone on screen is giving 120 percent. Check.
Top Gun: Maverick
After more than 30 years of service as one of the Navy’s top aviators, and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise) finds himself training a detachment of TOP GUN graduates for a specialized mission the likes of which no living pilot has ever seen.
This crowd-pleasing action flick dominated the box office for most of 2022. The cast includes Val Kilmer, Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, and Glen Powell.