There’s a really great bundle of fantastic additions to the US Netflix Library in May, you’d have to roll a dice to decide on what to dive into or what to catch up on!
For Australians (or non-USA residents really) that want to access the US version of Netflix, which has if not more content, then at least different content than the local version, the best way to do that is described in our updated guide here. Sure, there are other ways, cheaper ways, but none more reliable than what we have tested (and what we are actually using for ourselves). And sometimes the opposite is true, and if you're in the US, you might also want to check out some of the stuff in the Australian version that you won't get back home (which this month includes TV shows like 'The Good Place' season 3, and movies like 'The Intern', 'The Commuter' and 'Arrival') - our method works the other way too!
And while Netflix's library is out of sync geographically, there are still a lot of the same additions regardless of where you are, especially when it comes to Netflix originals. And so this article focuses on content that you won't get in Australia or hasn't been covered by our 'Netflix Australia: What's New in May' article (and also some stuff already covered but so good that they deserve a second mention), and so a quick glance of that article is recommended as well.
Two really interesting picks jumped out at me. First up on May 1 there’s documentary ‘Knock Down the House’ which focuses on four female Democrat candidates who let the cameras into their campaigns for the 2018 midterm elections. And in a kooky yet entertaining discovery, ‘Bathtubs over Broadway’ uncovers a man’s obsession with records of commercials and musicals that were pitched as ads but not widely released. (May 7) Let’s have a closer look at some releases this month.
‘Nailed it’ returns with S3, and it’s the perfect schadenfreude for anyone who’s ever gotten lost on Pinterest, and wondered how many goes it took to make something look that good (May 17). Have a giggle and a chuckle at someone else’s expense. Lucifer S4 comes back, picked up by Netflix in the nick of time after being dropped by FOX; Spike Lee’s ‘She’s Gotta Have it’ comes back for another peek into Nola Darling’s life and exploration of self and expressions. (May 24).
Not a lot is known about ‘What/If’, apart from seeing Renee Zellweger sashaying across a room and caressing chess pieces, set as a morality tale with consequences of choices, tune in on May 24 when ten episodes arrive.
New series ‘Dead to me’ starring Christina Applegate as a new widow who befriends Judy, (Linda Cardellini) and invites Judy into her life. Behind the scenes, we have Will Farrell and Adam McKay, which really is more intriguing. Is this about the dynamics of two women supporting each other in grief or about the strange situations we’d find ourselves in when we aren’t looking? Drops May 3. Other continuing series include Arrow S7 (May 21), Flash S5 (May 22), and Supernatural S14 (May 3).
Zac Efron transforms into charismatic serial killer Ted Bundy, in ‘Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile’ following his story from his girlfriend’s perspective, Liz (Lily Collins). Set in the 1980s and directed by Joe Berlinger, this movie finds a ready audience in fans who have tasted the docu-series ‘Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes’ by the same director.
In ‘Wine Country’ six friends visit the Napa Valley to kick off a weekend of birthday celebrations, starring Amy Poehler (also the director), Maya Rudolph, Tina Fey, and lots of silly shenanigans once the corks are popped. It looks like a movie you should put on with your girlfriends after Bad Moms, and keep the drinks comings.
And a few fantastic additions that will bring you right back – ‘Matrix Trilogy’, two Austin Powers, ‘The Spy who Shagged me’ and the first, “International Man of Mystery. Two Tom Hanks offerings as Robert Langdon in ‘Da Vinci Code’ and “Angels and Demons’. And a few for the children, ‘Disney’s The Nutcracker and the Four Realms’, ‘Dr Suess’ the Cat in the Hat’ and ‘Casper’.
With new stuff coming in, it always means that some older content will be leaving Netflix in May.
So classics like 'Dances With Wolves' (May 1) and 'West Side Story' (May 31) will be gone, as will favourites like 'The Notebook' (May 1), and more recent movies like 'The Boss Baby' (May 22).
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So that's a pretty full on May for you, hope you find a good show or five to watch.
Here's a list of everything that's coming to the US version of Netflix in May. Content highlighted above shown in bold below.
TBD
Charmed (2018): Season 1
DC's Legends of Tomorrow: Season 4
The Mechanism: Season 2 -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Supergirl: Season 4
Available May 1
Knock Down The House -- NETFLIX FILM
Munafik 2 -- NETFLIX FILM
Angels & Demons
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
Casper
Chasing Liberty
Code Geass Lelouch of the Rebellion Part 1 & 2
Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat
Dumb and Dumber
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Gosford Park
Gremlins
Hairspray (1988)
Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
Her Only Choice
Hoosiers
Inside the Mind of a Serial Killer: Season 2
John & Yoko: Above Us Only Sky
Just Friends
Revolutionary Road
Roswell, New Mexico: Season 1
Scarface
Scream
Snowpiercer (2013)
Taking Lives
The Da Vinci Code
The Dark Crystal (1982)
The Matrix
The Matrix Reloaded
The Matrix Revolutions
To Rome With Love
Wedding Crashers
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Zombieland
May 2
Colony: Season 3
Olympus Has Fallen
May 3
A Pesar De Todo -- NETFLIX FILM
All In My Family -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Alles ist gut -- NETFLIX FILM
Cupcake & Dino - General Services: Season 2 -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Dead to Me -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile -- NETFLIX FILM
Flinch -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Jo Pil-ho: The Dawning Rage -- NETFLIX FILM
The Last Summer -- NETFLIX FILM
Mr. Mom
Supernatural: Season 14
Tuca & Bertie -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Undercover -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
May 4
Like Arrows
May 6
Abyss -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
May 7
The Heat: A Kitchen (R)evolution
Queen of the South: Season 3
May 8
Lucifer: Season 4 -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
May 9
Bathtubs Over Broadway
Insidious
May 10
Dry Martina -- NETFLIX FILM
Easy: Season 3 -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Gente que viene y bah -- NETFLIX FILM
Harvey Girls Forever!: Season 2 -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Jailbirds -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Pose: Season 1
ReMastered: The Lion's Share -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Sheherazade— NETFLIX FILM
The Society -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Wine Country -- NETFLIX FILM
May 12
Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj: Volume 3 -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
May 13
Malibu Rescue -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
May 14
revisions -- NETFLIX ANIME
Still LAUGH-IN: The Stars Celebrate -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Weed the People
May 15
Dennis & Gnasher: Unleashed!
May 16
Good Sam -- NETFLIX FILM
Take Me Home Tonight
May 17
1994: Limited Series -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Chip & Potato -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
It's Bruno -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Maria -- NETFLIX FILM
Morir para contar -- NETFLIX FILM
Nailed It!: Season 3 -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
See You Yesterday -- NETFLIX FILM
The Rain: Season 2 -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Well Intended Love -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
White Gold: Season 2 -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
May 18
The Blackcoat's Daughter
May 20
Prince of Peoria: Part 2 -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Rosario Tijeras (Mexico Version): Season 2
May 21
Arrow: Season 7
Moonlight
Wanda Sykes: Not Normal -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
May 22
A Tale of Two Kitchens -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
One Night in Spring -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
The Flash: Season 5
May 23
Riverdale: Season 3
Slasher: Solstice -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
May 24
After Maria -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Alta Mar -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Joy -- NETFLIX FILM
Rim of the World -- NETFLIX FILM
She's Gotta Have It: Season 2 -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
The Perfection -- NETFLIX FILM
WHAT / IF -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
May 27
Historical Roasts -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Outlander: Seasons 1-2
May 28
Disney's The Nutcracker and the Four Realms
May 30
Chopsticks -- NETFLIX FILM
My Week with Marilyn
Svaha: The Sixth Finger -- NETFLIX FILM
The One I Love
May 31
Always Be My Maybe -- NETFLIX FILM
Bad Blood: Season 2 -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Black Spot: Season 2 -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast) -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Killer Ratings -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
When They See Us -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Leaving May 1
8 Mile
Chocolat
Cold Justice: Collection 3
Dances With Wolves
Disney’s High School Musical 3: Senior Year
Dr. No
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
For Your Eyes Only
From Dusk Till Dawn
From Russia With Love
Godzilla
GoldenEye
Hostel
Jaws
Jaws 2
Jaws 3
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
Sixteen Candles
Sliding Doors
Somm
Somm: Into the Bottle
The Birdcage
The Dirty Dozen
The English Patient
The Lovely Bones
The Notebook
The Other Boleyn Girl
Tomorrow Never Dies
Watchmen
May 11
Switched at Birth: Seasons 1-5
May 15
Bill Nye, the Science Guy: Collection 1
May 19
Disney’s Bridge to Terabithia
May 22
The Boss Baby
May 24
Southpaw
May 31
I Know What You Did Last Summer
West Side Story (1961)
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Krystle Shrimpton (Facebook, LinkedIn) is a contributor for Streambly.
