The 5 New and Under-the-Radar TV Shows You Can’t Miss in May
Photo Courtesy of Disney+ TV Lists list
You might’ve been hurt, viewers
That ain’t no lie
You’ve seen too many shows come and go
I remember you told me
That A Million Little Things makes you cry
As it says goodbye
But you’ve got no choice, babe
You have to move on,
There’s so many new TV shows to see
On Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon FreeVee
And in the end, ya know it’s gonna be May
Once again, I bring you just a little ‘NSYNC tune to kick off this month of So Much Television.
This May we will be covering Nat Geo’s A Small Light (premiering May 1), which tells the story of Miep Gies the woman who helped hide Anne Frank, the Bridgerton spinoff Queen Charlotte (which comes to Netflix on May 4), the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before spinoff XO, Kitty (coming to Prime on May 18), and The Muppets Mayhem (which premieres on Disney+ on May 10). And how could we ever forget Bupkis, Pete Davidson’s semi-autobiographical series, coming to Peacock on May 4?
But, as always, we keep an eye out for the new TV shows that might fall off your radar. Here are the five under-the-radar series you can’t miss this month.
1. Silo
Stars: Rebecca Ferguson, Common, Harriet Walter, Chinaza Uche, Avi Nash, David Oyelowo, Rashida Jones, Tim Robbins
Premiere Date: The first two episodes premiere May 5 on AppleTV+ followed by one new episode every Friday until the finale on June 30
Based on a trio of novels, the first of which author Hugh Howey originally self-published on Amazon, the 10-episode series follows the last 10,000 people on earth. They live in a silo protecting them from the earth’s surface but—since rebels erased their history over 100 years ago—no one knows who built the silo or why exactly they are there. Rebecca Ferguson headlines as Juliette, an engineer who, after the events of the pilot, begins to question the status quo and what really would happen if someone left the silo. “We don’t know when it will be safe to go outside. We only know that day is not this day,” the silo’s sheriff (David Oyelowo) intones at the beginning of the series.
2. Primo
Stars: Ignacio Diaz-Silverio, Johnny Rey Diaz, Christina Vidal, Henri Esteve, Martin Martinez, Jonathan Medina, Carlos Santos, Nigel Siwabessy, Efrain Villa, Stakiah Lynn Washington
Premiere Date: All eight episodes premiere May 19 on Amazon FreeVee
From executive producers Shea Serrano and Michael Schur (The Good Place, Parks and Recreation), this comedy series is inspired by Serrano’s life growing up in San Antonio with five very involved uncles. Sixteen-year-old Rafa Gonzales (Ignacio Diaz-Silverio) must balance the love of his overprotective mother (Christina Vidal) and his uncles with his impending graduation from high school, his burgeoning love life and the real possibility that he may be the first in his family to go to college. “Our life is like a Jenga tower, we make one wrong move and it all comes tumbling down,” he tells his mother.
3. Smartless: On the Road
Stars: Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and Sean Hayes
Premiere Date: All six episodes premiere May 23 on Max
Maybe one silver lining of the pandemic is all the number of podcasts born as a result of celebrities who suddenly found themselves with a lot of time on their hands. One of the best ones is Smartless. In each episode, friends Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and Sean Hayes interview a famous pal. The hook was that only one of the three know who that week’s guest would be. With the easy rapport between the hosts and the guests, the podcast episodes are always hilarious and revealing. In February 2022, the trio took their act on the road to Boston, Brooklyn, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Madison, Wisconsin, and Los Angeles. Celebrities like Conan O’Brien, Will Ferrell, Matt Damon, Jimmy Kimmel, Kevin Hart, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and David Letterman stopped by along the way. By the way, the series premieres on the first day of the new streaming service Max (the artist formerly known as HBO Max et. al. Did you forget to send a card?) Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai also debuts on the platform today.
4. American Born Chinese
Stars: Ben Wang, Michelle Yeoh, Yeo Yann Yann, Chin Han, Jim Liu, Ke Huy Quan, Sydney Taylor, and Daniel Wu
Premiere Date: All eight episodes premiere May 24 on Disney+
How many series do you know that star not one but two recent Oscar winners? Based on the graphic novel of the same name by Gene Luen Yang, Jin Wang (Ben Wang) is a quiet, self-conscious high school sophomore who just wants to fit in. But when he is asked to show new student Wei-Chen (Jim Liu) around, his life becomes much more complicated, especially when he realizes Wei-Chen is not your typical high school student. Keep an eye out for Everything Everywhere All at Once co-stars and Academy Award winners Michelle Yeoh as Guanyin, a goddess of mercy, and Ke Huy Quan, and as a former sitcom star.
5. Fubar
Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Monica Barbaro, Milan Carter, Gabriel Luna, Fortune Feimster, Travis Van Winkle, Fabiana Udenio, Barbara Eve Harris, Aparna Brielle, Andy Buckley, and Jay Baruchel
Premiere Date: All eight episodes premiere May 25 on Netflix
He’ll be back. (Sorry I couldn’t resist.). It’s been 12 years since Arnold Schwarzenegger was Governor of California and seven years since he hosted The Apprentice (something I had absolutely blocked from my memory). Now The Terminator star returns to TV in Fubar where he plays Luke Brunner, a CIA agent thinking he’s about to retire. Um, has he ever watched a spy thriller? Every time someone thinks they are out, the job pulls them back in. When his handler Barry (Milan Carter) sends him on the proverbial one last job, he discovers the agent he’s been sent to rescue is actually his daughter Emma (Monica Barbaro).
Amy Amatangelo, the TV Gal®, is a Boston-based freelance writer and a member of the Television Critics Association. She wasn’t allowed to watch much TV as a child and now her parents have to live with this as her career. You can follow her on “Twitter”:https://twitter.com/AmyTVGal (@AmyTVGal).
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