Looking for something new to watch on Netflix? We’re here to help! Here is a list of all the best new shows and movies released on Netflix the week of May 22-28.
If there was a week for Netflix to prove that it has shows, specials, and movies for everyone, it would be this week. There’s a rom-com film for all you lovebirds out there. There’s a chilling docuseries about a child predator. There’s a stand-up special that will do more than make you laugh. There’s an educational series about history. There’s some trashy reality. And of course, there is anime. Surely you like something from that list, and you should continue to fork over $15 a month for this fine service and tell all your friends to do so, too, because it really is the bargain of the century and well worth the money. (Netflix, please place the envelope of cash in the same spot as usual.)
All titles debut on Friday, May 22 unless otherwise noted. Here’s what came out on Netflix last week.
If you’re looking for even more hand-picked recommendations, we have plenty. If you’d like to see what’s coming out on Netflix in May, here are our Editors’ Picks for Netflix’s May releases and everything that’s coming to the service in the month.
The Biggest Releases
The Lovebirds
Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani star in this movie that qualifies as a “rough night” comedy, where a mild-mannered individual or couple gets caught up in an increasingly complicated and dangerous situation over a short period of time. The finest example is After Hours, and there was even a movie in this subgenre called Rough Night. Anyway, Rae and Nanjiani play a couple whose car gets hijacked by Paul Sparks and used to commit a murder. They fear that the police will think they did it, so they run, and dark romantic comedy hijinks ensue. This was supposed to be a theatrical release, but the coronavirus scuttled those plans. Check out our review. -Liam Mathews
Hannah Gadsby: Douglas
Australian comedian Hannah Gadsby unwillingly unleashed a major hit in her previous stand-up special, the award-winning Nanette, which transformed the notion of stand-up comedy into part confession, part TED talk about acceptance. She returns to the stage more popular than ever — even she’s surprised — but continues to mold our expectations of performance into something greater than it was. Ironically, we’d expect nothing less from one of the most exciting comedians working today. (Trailer)
Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich
If it weren’t the millions of horrible things that have happened since last summer, we’d all still be talking about Jeffrey Epstein. The rich dude was convicted of soliciting an underage girl for prostitution in 2005, but as usual with the ultra-wealthy, he got out and started doing it again. He died in prison under “mysterious” circumstances last year after getting busted again, which is quite the coinky-dink since it’s widely believed he had dirt on powerful people who partook in his ring of underage girls. This three-part docuseries gives time to his surviving victims, who go into great deal about what they experienced decades ago as teens when they were flown to his mansions to give him massages in exchange for money. It’s not easy to hear, but if the victims don’t speak out, this story threatens to fade away, which is exactly what some people want. (Wednesday, May 27 / Trailer)
The Best New Shows to Watch This Summer
Everything Else
Betaal, Season 1
Yoooooooooo, forget everything else, I’m watching THIS. Betaal comes from the same crew who gave us the surprisingly great Ghoul, and this has all the hallmarks of that chilling Indian horror short series. Creepy people chained to a wall! Untrustworthy military! And people getting slaughtered by unknown forces! Is there a plot? Probably. Tape my eyelids open and don’t call me for eight hours. (Sunday, May 24)
History 101, Season 1
The biggest problem with sitting down and learning about history is that it’s soooooo boring. Make it fun with these short episodes covering different topics and explaining history to you with pictures and stuff! (Trailer)
Selling Sunset, Season 2
Do you have a surplus of brain cells and self-esteem? Then watch this garbage pile of garbagey people doing garbagey things. The closest Netflix has gotten to something that even Bravo wouldn’t air follows power realtors in Los Angeles as they act terribly toward everyone around them and then go to a tanning booth. (Trailer)
Trailer Park Boys: The Animated Series, Season 2
You know you’ve made it when your show gets an animated version while the original live-action show is still airing. The cult Canadian comedy Trailer Park Boys returns in animated form for more raunchy adventures in getting stoned. I have to confess: When it comes to weirdo Canadian comedy, I’m more of a Letterkenny (which also has an animated spin-off for some reason). (Trailer)
Control Z, Season 1
A loner girl in high school teams up with the new guy to track down a hacker who is revealing everyone’s biggest secrets in this Mexican teen drama. Having gone to high school at one point, I consider myself a bit of an expert when it comes to the genre and can say, with confidence, that this looks like a pass. (Trailer)
I’m No Longer Here
This Mexican film from Los Espookys director Fernando Frías de la Parra follows a cumbia-obsessed teenager who’s forced to escape to America after a run-in with a local gang. In New York, he finds himself a stranger in a strange land. (Trailer / Wednesday, May 27)
Dorohedoro, Season 1
One of the cool things about anime is that you can have a show about an amnesiac guy who was cursed with a lizard head so he goes on a quest to find the sorcerers who made him that way and it’s totally normal. (Trailer / Thursday, May 28)
Intuition
In this Argentinian film, a police officer is put on a big case, but she also has to secretly investigate her boss, who is suspected of murder. I can relate to this because I am also investigating my boss… because she’s too good to be true! (Yep, my yearly evaluation is coming up.) (Trailer / Thursday, May 28)
Stop searching, start watching! TV Guide’s Watch This Now! page has even more TV recommendations. And check out our picks for the best Netflix shows and movies to watch in May.
The 52 Netflix Originals You Should Be Watching
Stranger Things
