The 5 New and Under-the-Radar Shows You Can’t Miss in May

By Amy Amatangelo  |  May 1, 2024 | 10:15am
Photo Courtesy of PBS
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The 5 New and Under-the-Radar Shows You Can’t Miss in May
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In the immortal words of *NSYNC, it’s gonna be May.

Even though the television landscape continues to change by the minute, some things still harken back to a simpler time in the TV world. May has always traditionally been the month of season finales for network TV shows and, for the most part, it still is. Many of your favorite network shows will head off for their summer vacation in the coming weeks. 

But you’ve got no choice, babe, but to move on. You’re used to seeing shows come and go. The month will see the return of fan favorite series including the third season of FX’s Welcome to Wrexham, which premieres on May 2nd, and the third season of Netflix’s Bridgerton on May 16th. And new shows abound including Disney+’s Star Wars: Tales of the Empire, which premieres on May 4th (naturally), and André Holland’s new AppleTV+ series The Big Cigar, which debuts on May 17th. 

You don’t want to be too blind to see that in the end there is so much TV out there. Here are the five new under-the-radar shows you can’t miss this month.

Börje – The Journey of a Legend

Stars: Valter Skarsgård, Hedda Stiernstedt, and Jason Priestley

Premiere Date:  The first two episodes premiere May 2nd on Viaplay

This six-episode series makes its US debut on Viaplay, the streaming platform offering Nordic and European TV series and movies. The show follows the true story of hockey player Börje Salming (Valter Skarsgård), who left his small hometown in Sweden to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He went on to become one of the sport’s greatest athletes and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Noted hockey fan Jason Priestley co-stars as Gerry McNamara, the talent scout who brought Salming to Canada. The series captures the vibe of ‘70s and ‘80s-era television (check out the trailer above!). And yes, Valter does come from a very well-known acting family. He is Alexander and Bill’s brother and Stellan’s son.  

Zillow Gone Wild

Star: Jack McBrayer

Premiere Date:  May 3rd at 10:30 p.m. on HGTV

Sure, every house has its quirks. But if you have never followed the Zillow Gone Wild Instagram account, you are missing out. The account scours the Zillow listings to find the most unique and bizarre homes for sale. Like a house shaped like a castle or a house built completely out of marble or a house with a Parisian cafe right inside. 30 Rock star Jack McBrayer takes viewers behind some of these wild listings to meet the homeowners and explore these unique homes in more detail. First up: a missile silo built in 1962 on sale for $750,000. Houses are judged by three categories—creativity, commitment, and wackadoo. Viewers can enter for a chance to win $25,000 by correctly guessing which home will be crowned the “Wildest House” in the finale on June 28th. 

MaryLand

Stars: Suranne Jones, Eve Best, Stockard Channing, George Costigan, Hugh Quarshie, and Dean Lennox

Premiere Date:  May 5th at 9 p.m. on PBS

This three-episode Masterpiece series follows two estranged sisters, Becca (Suranne Jones) and Rosaline (Eve Best), who come to the Isle of Man after the sudden death of their mother Mary. The siblings soon discover their mother had a whole life they knew nothing about. Stockard Channing co-stars as a peculiar friend of their mother.  Jones (Gentleman Jack) created the series and serves as its executive producer. Despite its mysterious premise, look for this to be more of a psychological family-based drama than a murder mystery.

Hollywood Con Queen

Premiere Date:  All three episodes premiere May 8th on Apple TV+

This three-episode docuseries follows Scott Johnson of The Hollywood Reporter and private investigator Nicole Kotsianas as they try to uncover the person known as Hollywood Con Queen. Johnson first began investigating the Hollywood Con Queen in 2018, and the series is based on Johnson’s book which was released last year. The Con Queen’s elaborate schemes preyed on people’s hopes of fame and a career by impersonating some of Hollywood’s biggest female producers (Kathleen Kennedy, Amy Pascal, Sherry Lansing) and luring them to Indonesia for a job that most definitely did not exist. But it wasn’t just actors who fell for the Hollywood Con Queen’s antics. It was photographers, screenwriters, and make-up artists. They were all freelancers who naturally went from job to job, so it wasn’t that unusual for them to be contacted about a work opportunity by someone they didn’t know. “I think the more impressive feat was the impersonator’s ability to craft these manipulative and deceitful fantasies whose sole purpose was psychological devastation,” Johnson says at the beginning of the series. 

 Black Twitter: A People’s History

Premiere Date:  All three episodes premiere May 9th on Hulu

#BlackGirlsAreMagic, #OscarSoWhite, #BlackLivesMatter, #UKnowUrBlackWhen—these hashtags are some of Twitter’s most famous. But the sale of Twitter last year to Elon Musk meant that the history of Black Twitter and its impact was in danger of being lost. “What does it mean to lose one of the few spaces where our voices can actually be heard,” Prentice Penny wonders at the beginning of the series. Directed, narrated, and executive produced by Penny (Insecure) and based on writer Jason Parham’s cover story for Wired, the three-episode series talks to those who were a huge part of the birth of Black Twitter and its long-lasting influence. “We have moved the culture forward,” April Reign, creator of #OscarsSoWhite, says.  

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 (@AmyTVGal).

For all the latest TV news, reviews, lists and features, follow @Paste_TV.

 
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