New TV shows to watch in May 2023

(Image credit: Apple TV+)

published 27 April 2023

The summer movie season is kicking off this month at your local multiplex, but for those inclined to stay home and stream, there are no shortage of options. From Pete Davidson and Arnold Schwarzenegger to the Muppets and an Everything Everywhere All at Once reunion, these are all the new shows to watch in May.

Bupkis (May 4)

Live from Peacock, it's Pete Davidson's very own Curb Your Enthusiasm. The Saturday Night Live alum stars in this comedy as a fictionalized version of himself, à la Larry David in Curb. He "attempts to work through unique family dynamics and the complexities of fame to form meaningful relationships" in the "raw, semi-autobiographical" show, per the streamer. Edie Falco plays his mom, and Joe Pesci stars as his grandfather. Yes, Davidson has coaxed Pesci to come out of retirement, a feat only Martin Scorsese has accomplished in recent years. SNL creator Lorne Michaels produced the show, which according to the trailer will feature appearances by Charlie Day, John Mulaney and … Al Gore? It looks like Davidson truly does have BDE — big (Larry) David energy.

The Bridgerton Cinematic Universe is expanding. This new spinoff is a prequel to the hit Netflix series and focuses on a young Queen Charlotte, played by India Amarteifio. "Centered on Queen Charlotte's rise to prominence and power, this Bridgerton prequel tells the story of how the young queen's marriage to King George sparked both a great love story and a societal shift, creating the world of the Ton inherited by the characters in Bridgerton," according to Netflix's synopsis. The series will also "give fans a peek into the present-day lives of the Bridgerton coterie," according to Netflix's Tudum, and Adjoa Andoh, Ruth Gemmell and Golda Rosheuvel are returning from the original show. Game of Thrones alum Michelle Fairley also stars. Shonda Rhimes serves as creator, extending her successful Netflix reign.

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What if Snowpiercer took place underground instead of on a train? It might look something like Silo, Apple's new sci-fi series set in a dystopian world where the last people on Earth live in a giant silo, apparently because the outside world is toxic. "However, no one knows when or why the silo was built, and any who try to find out face fatal consequences," according to Apple. Common, Rebecca Ferguson, Iain Glen, Rashida Jones, David Oyelowo and Tim Robbins star in the series, which comes from the showrunner of Justified. It's "instantly one of Apple TV+'s must-watch series," says The Playlist's Max Covill, while Empire's John Nugent calls it a "riveting puzzle-box mystery of a series." The show is based on the novels by Hugh Howey starting with Wool, so if you'd like to smugly know the answers to the mysteries before your friends, visit your local bookstore.

It's time to play the music. Disney has been doing surprisingly little with the Muppets in recent years, give or take a Halloween special and the seemingly abandoned series Muppets Now. But our felt friends, at least some of them, are returning with the new Disney+ show The Muppets Mayhem. Reminiscent of This Is Spinal Tap, it revolves around the band Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, which features Animal on the drums, as they embark "on an epic musical journey to finally record their first studio album" with help from "a driven young music exec," played by Lilly Singh. Expect tons of musical cameos, and the trailer teases appearances by Paula Abdul, Charlamagne Tha God, Deadmau5, Lil Nas X, "Weird Al" Yankovic and, not to mention, Rachel Bloom, Ben Schwartz and Kevin Smith. That's all well and good, but where's our feature length sci-fi epic Pigs in Space movie, Disney?

Just in time for our collective existential crisis about the rise of artificial intelligence, we have our second major TV series about AI within the past few weeks. Last month there was Mrs. Davis, and now comes the FX on Hulu thriller Class of '09. "Set in three distinct points in time," it centers on a class of FBI agents "who grapple with immense changes as the U.S. criminal justice system is altered by artificial intelligence," according to FX. "Spanning multiple decades and told across interweaving timelines, the series examines the nature of justice, humanity and the choices we make that ultimately define our lives and legacy." Coming off his Oscar nomination for Causeway, Brian Tyree Henry stars alongside Kate Mara, and the series was created by Tom Rob Smith, who brought us The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story. Enjoy watching a show that wasn't written by ChatGPT while you still can.

In 2013, author Garth Risk Hallberg reportedly received an advance of almost $2 million for his book City on Fire after a bidding war, which The New York Times noted was "highly unusual for a debut novel." A decade later, Apple TV+ subscribers can see what all the fuss was about, as the streamer is bringing the novel to the small screen. The crime drama centers on the investigation into the murder of a college student, who is shot in Central Park on the Fourth of July in 2003. "As the crime against Samantha is investigated, she's revealed to be the crucial connection between a series of mysterious citywide fires, the downtown music scene and a wealthy uptown real estate family fraying under the strain of the many secrets they keep," per Apple. Xavier Clyde, Jemima Kirke, Wyatt Oleff and Chase Sui Wonders star in the show, which was created by the producers of Gossip Girl.

To all the boys and girls who loved To All the Boys I've Loved Before, Netflix has the show for you. A spinoff of the hugely popular teen romance films, this new series focuses on Anna Cathcart's Kitty, the sister of Lana Condor's character who appeared in all three films. "A new love story unfolds when teen matchmaker Kitty reunites with her long-distance boyfriend at the same Seoul high school attended by her late mother," according to the streamer. Jenny Han, the author of the books the movies were based on, is serving as the show's creator and co-showrunner. "We're all excited to see Anna [Cathcart] really pick up the mantle and continue Kitty's story," she tells Netflix's Tudum. Clearly, this is one Netflix franchise with nine lives.

Not even three months after the Oscars, Disney+ is getting the Everything Everywhere All at Once band back together. Based on the graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang, this new streaming series American Born Chinese revolves around an average teenager, played by Ben Wang, who's "unwittingly entangled in a battle of Chinese mythological gods," per Disney. He soon meets Guanyin, the goddess of mercy played by Michelle Yeoh, and joining her in the cast are her Everything Everywhere co-stars James Hong, Stephanie Hsu and Ke Huy Quan. Kelvin Yu, an actor you might recognize as Brian Chang on Master of None, created the show. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings' Destin Daniel Cretton is also directing and producing, but how much laundry and/or taxes the series will feature is still TBD.

In an age where barely anyone is making comedies for movie theaters anymore, simply turn your studio comedy pitch into a 10-episode streaming series and you're good to go. Neighbors co-stars Rose Byrne and Seth Rogen are reuniting in Apple's Platonic as a "pair of former best friends who met in their youth" and "reconnect as adults and try to mend the rift that led to their falling out," per the stream. "As their friendship becomes more consuming, it destabilizes their lives and causes them to reevaluate their choices." Nick Stoller, the director of the Neighbors films, created the series along with his wife, Friends from College co-creator Francesca Delbanco. Will they or won't they turn the title into a lie by the end?

He said he'd be back, and he wasn't kidding. Arnold Schwarzenegger leads this new comedic spy series from Netflix, in which a "father and daughter discover they both secretly work for the CIA," so "an already dicey undercover mission turns into a dysfunctional family affair," per the streamer. Monica Barbaro, aka Phoenix from Top Gun: Maverick, plays the daughter character, and Jay Baruchel and Gabriel Luna also star. The series comes from Nick Santora, who recently worked on Amazon's new Jack Reacher show, Reacher. It's also the first lead TV role in Schwarzenegger's career, not counting The New Celebrity Apprentice. "Everywhere I go, people ask me when I'm going to do another big action comedy like 'True Lies," says the actor. "Well, here it is. Fubar will kick your a-- and make you laugh — and not just for two hours. You get a whole season." Put that cookie down and pick that remote up.

We're all trying to find the guy who will bring us more I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson. The sketch comedy series that has birthed countless memes since its debut in 2019 — from "I don't even want to be around anymore" to "oh, my god, he admit it!" — is finally back for its third season on May 30. Created by and starring Tim Robinson, the show consists of a series of largely unconnected, absurd standalone sketches, which often exaggerate an embarassing social situation to the extreme. Not much has been announced about the third season, but with season 2, Netflix promised Robinson and co-creator Zach Kanin would once again "bring their distinct comedy style and observational humor to the forefront, continuing to poke fun at life's most bizarre and mundane situations." Look for it on Netflix and/or Corncob TV.

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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.