11 New May Must-See Shows, From the Return of ‘Bridgerton’ to a Tudor Murder Mystery

Nathalie Atkinson | May 2nd, 2024

It’s a good thing May has 31 days – that’s just enough to binge each of our streaming highlights for the month.

Shardlake

The premiere of Tudor murder mystery Shardlake is bittersweet: its acclaimed creator C.J. Sanson died at the end of April, just days before the international debut that adapts his first book in his internationally bestselling crime series. The atmospheric historical drama follows Matthew Shardlake (a magnetic Arthur Hughes) – an honest barrister in the court of Henry VIII who solves crime while navigating the political intrigue and religious reforms of the era. Sean Bean, 65, co-stars as the king’s right-hand Thomas Cromwell.

Where to Watch: Streaming now on Disney+ (4 episodes)

A Man in Full

The latest from superstar showrunner David E. Kelley, 68 (The Practice, Big Little Lies, Ally McBeal, et al.) is this drama based on Tom Wolfe’s acclaimed 1998 novel about the fall from grace of egomaniacal millionaire Charlie Croker (Jeff Daniels, 69), an Atlanta property mogul defending his empire from interlopers even as he goes bankrupt. Academy Award-winning actress Regina King, 53, directs and produces several episodes, as does The West Wing co-creator Thomas Schlamme. Greed, power, corruption, family scheming and an esteemed cast (with Lucy Liu, 55, and Diane Lane, 59) – this could be the new Succession.

Where to Watch: Streaming now on Netflix (6 episodes)

The Tattooist of Auschwitz

Shortly after young Lali (Jonah Hauer-King) arrives at Auschwitz-Birkenau as a prisoner in 1942, he is made one of the tätowierer, or tattooists, who ink identification numbers on fellow prisoners’ arms. While tattooing Gita they fall for one another and become determined to survive in this tale of humanity, hope and courage inspired by the real-life story of Slovakian Jewish Holocaust survivors Lali and Gita Sokolov. The series inserts Heather Morris (author of the bestselling 2018 historical novel on which it’s based) into the story as a character, with a dual timeline structure in which 60 years later, a newly-widowed Lali (Harvey Keitel, 84) meets Morris (Melanie Lynskey, 46) and shares his life story.

Where to Watch: Streaming now on Peacock (6 episodes)

Under the Bridge

Academy Award-nominated Lily Gladstone and Riley Keough headline Hulu’s new true crime drama about the 1997 beating and murder of 14-year-old Reena Virk. The notorious case of the Victoria, B.C. teenager draws on the acclaimed book by late Canadian novelist and journalist Rebecca Godfrey, played by Keough (the granddaughter of Elvis Presley, Emmy-nominated for Daisy Jones & the Six). The aftermath is seen through Godfrey’s eyes as she investigates the case in her hometown and explores the phenomenon of bullying and teen violence alongside a local cop played by Gladstone (the first Native American to be nominated for the Best Actress Oscar, and to win the Golden Globe for Best Actress–Drama).

Where to Watch: Streaming on Disney+ starting May 8 (8 episodes)

Dark Matter

One night on his way home, Chicago physicist and professor Jason (Joel Edgerton, 49) is abducted into a labyrinthine alternate version of his life. The journey through trippy landscapes and versions of realities (Everything Everywhere All At Once, but 1000 per cent more foreboding) to get back to his wife (Jennifer Connelly, 53) and family is based on the Blake Crouch blockbuster, hailed as one of the best sci-fi novels of the decade. It’s a relentlessly thought-provoking adventure about the road not taken – a multiverse with both brains and heart.

Where to Watch: Streaming on AppleTV+ starting May 8 (9 episodes)

Maxton Hall

BookTok, rejoice! Viral author Mona Kasten’s university romance Save Me is now a binge-worthy romantic series (in German with English subtitles). It’s set at a posh private European school, which allows for gorgeous location filming – including in and around Oxford, London and Berlin as well as Schloss Marienburg, the famed Gothic revival castle in Lower Saxony. It tracks the emotional journey of people from two very different worlds: Ruby, a working-class scholarship student from London, and disdainful James – heir to a fashion empire and fortune.

Where to Watch: Prime Video starting May 9 (6 episodes)

After the Flood

Peaky Blinders and Gentleman Jack lead Sophie Rundle stars as pregnant police constable Joanna Marshall in this gripping new British crime series about the suspicious circumstances of an unidentified man found dead in the aftermath of a devastating Yorkshire flood. The police procedural comes from the makers of Happy Valley (which would be enough reason to tune in) but it’s more than a mere whodunit – it’s a disaster drama that also explores the climate crisis and its impact on communities.

Where to Watch: Streaming on BritBox starting May 13 (6 episodes)

Bridgerton Season 3, Part One

Each lavish season adapts a different book and star-crossed couple from Julia Quinn’s popular Regency romance series and here, fan favourite Penelope Featherington (the fabulous Nicola Coughlan) finally gets her turn in the ton’s social season. Her longtime crush Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) has returned from abroad a stylish and eligible bachelor. What will notorious gossip Lady Whistledown’s Society Papers say? As surely as there will be heaving corsets and the rustle of taffeta, juicy misunderstandings will abound, including with childhood bestie Eloise Bridgerton (Claudia Jessie). And things will heat up with Colin. But it’s a case of courtship interruptus: the season’s split into two batches, with the second half airing in June.

Where to Watch: Streaming on Netflix starting May 16 (4 episodes)

Boat Story

Following up on the Jamie Dornan hit The Tourist, brothers and writing partners Harry and Jack Williams have created the drama Boat Story about two ordinary people on the bleak English coast who stumble across a shipwrecked boat carrying a shipment of cocaine. Desperate to turn their lives around, the strangers (Daisy Haggard, 46, and Paterson Joseph, 59) agree to split the proceeds. The new life of crime finds them pursued by police, hitmen and a well-dressed gangster. Hailed as hilariously dark, clever and “worthy of Tarantino or the Coen brothers” when it premiered in the U.K. last fall, it’s finally arrived across the pond for Canadians to enjoy.

Where to Watch: Streaming on CBC Gem starting May 17 (6 episodes)

The Big Cigar

If you read Playboy for the articles, you’re already familiar with journalist Joshuah Bearman’s epic 2012 piece about how Black Panthers leader Huey Newton (awaiting trial on a murder charge at the time) escaped the FBI and fled to Cuba in 1974. As the improbable story retold here goes, Newton was smuggled in with the help of a few celebrity radicals, like Hollywood producer Bert Schneider (Alessandro Nivola, 51) under the preposterous guise of a fake movie production. NAACP Image Award winner Janine Sherman Barrois showruns the biographical drama starring André Holland and the first two episodes are directed by award-winning actor Don Cheadle, 59.

Where to Watch: Streaming on AppleTV+ starting May 17 (6 episodes)

Eric

Psychological suspense suits Benedict Cumberbatch, 47, who stars as Vincent, a desperate and grief-stricken father in 1980s New York. (The intense internal performance feels of a piece with his under-seen turn in the gloriously bizarre Electrical Life of Louis Wain). Vincent is a puppeteer and popular children’s show host struggling with his nine-year-old son’s disappearance and continued search for him, with the aid of detectives. The miniseries gets its name from the blue monster puppet he creates to channel his distress.The Hour, Shame and The Iron Lady BAFTA and Emmy-winning writer Abi Morgan seldom misses; expect to be riveted by her gritty study of destructive self-delusion.

Where to Watch: Streaming on Netflix starting May 30 (6 episodes)

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