Here's what's new on Netflix UK in May.

This month on Netflix: new Original series, exclusive documentaries, stand-up specials and new seasons from your favourite shows.

Netflix has been having a tough time of it recently with fee rises announced, a steady stream of cancelled shows, an ever expanding roster of streaming competitors and now the financial shock to its share price following its first loss of subscribers in a decade.

But let’s not forget, it’s still the world’s biggest video on demand streaming service with (still) deep pockets and plenty of its own original programming. And while many may question the quality of some of original content, there’s no denying the varied nature of its material; from big budget blockbusters to comedy, drama and animated shows, children’s entertainment along with reality and factual series covering many topics, in many languages - it certainly tries to speak to a global audience.

Movies

However, as May hoves into view, there’s a lack of any real high profile films to match last month’s Ryan Reynolds sci-fi hit The Adam Project. With only Rebel Wilson comedy Senior Year and French buddy cop actioner The Takedown - featuring Onar Sy riding high after his Lupin success - of any note, it’s left to Jackass 4.5 (admittedly an acquired taste) to do the movie heavy lifting in May - and that’s not even a Netflix Original!

TV Shows

Things are looking more promising with Netflix’s shows though and the long awaited return of Stranger Things with its fourth season should get twitchy subscribers back on board with its 80’s feel, engaging cast and impressive world building.

Another Netflix hit back for more is animated anthology series Love, Death & Robots. There’s currently little known about what’s on offer for this third outing but after the truncated sophomore set of stories (the first season ran at 18 chapters, the second at a mere 8), it will be interesting to see whether the storytelling still matches the arresting visuals.

Elsewhere, Mike Myers makes a return to our screens with his six part comedy series The Pentaverate for those that like his muti-charactered tomfoolery and The Lincoln Lawyer puts up no credible defence at being transferred from the big to small screen.

Perhaps one of the more interesting offerings in May is Clark, a partly fictionalised biopic of controversial Swedish criminal Clark Olofsson as portrayed by Bill Skarsgård who reportedly turned down a part in The Northman to star in this vehicle.

There’s also a hefty brace of documentaries ranging from a look at the infamous Three Mile Island nuclear plant accident, an examination of the mental health of US soldiers and our obsession with the motor car.

So, without further ado, here is the pick of what’s on offer on Netflix UK in May bearing in mind that although we’ve tried to be as UK specific as possible, streaming dates can change, content can sometimes be territory specific and shows can even get changed by Netflix itself.

Pick of Netflix Original Movies

(6th May Friday)

Along For The Ride  

(2022, Drama Romance, Netflix Original Film. Emma Pasarow, Andie MacDowell, Dermot Mulroney, Kate Bosworth, Dir + Scr. Sofia Alvarez).

 

The summer before college, Auden meets the mysterious Eli, a fellow insomniac. While the seaside town of Colby sleeps, the two embark on a nightly quest to help Auden experience the fun, carefree teen life she never knew she wanted or had even missed out on.

Adapted from Sarah Dessen’s 2009 novel, writer Sofia Alvarez, who also adapted To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before for Netflix, makes her directorial debut with this YA feature. Originally due to be released in April, Along for the Ride was pushed back to early May for its eventual global release.

The Takedown 

(2022, Action, Comedy, Crime. Netflix Original Film, International: France, Language: French or English dub. Omar Sy, Laurent Lafitte, Izïa Higelin, Dimitri Storoge, Dir. Louis Leterrier)

 

Ousmane Diakité and François Monge are two cops with very different approaches, backgrounds and careers, plus they have history! The unlikely pair are reunited once again for a new investigation that takes them across France. What seemed to be a simple drug deal turns out to be a high scale criminal case wrapped in danger and unexpectedly bizarre situations.

Omar Sy, now a global superstar thanks to the success of Netflix’s Lupin, reunites with series director Louis Leterrier, who has directed action before with the first two Transporter films though his previous ‘mismatched buddy’ movie was Grimsby - so make of that what you will.

Pick of the Shows

(5th May Thursday)

The Pentaverate  

(2022, Limited Season, Netflix Original Comedy Series, all six episode available)

 

For centuries, ever since the Black Plague in 1347 showed just how out of touch current societal and religious beliefs were, five learned men decided to form the Pentaverate - a secret society with the intent to influence humankind and world events for the greater good. Now the mysterious cabal faces a threat from within just as one unlikely Canadian journalist finds himself on a mission to expose the truth and, in the process, save the world.

Spun out of the Mike Myers’ 1993 romantic black comedy film, So I Married an Axe Murderer, The Pentaverate sees Myers return to his character roots and as he plays multiple roles alongside co-stars Keegan-Michael Key, Ken Jeong, Lydia West, Jennifer Saunders and Jeremy Irons as The Narrator.

Clark  

(2022, Limited Season, Netflix Original True lIfe Drama Series, International: Sweden, Language: Swedish. All six episodes available)

 

Starting young in the 1960s, Clark Olofsson becomes a charismatic career criminal with a string of offences under his belt including assault, robbery, dealing narcotics and even attempted murder. This trail of misery inevitably leads to several periods of incarceration but each time Clark emerges to plough the same furrow. Caught up in his own cult of personality, Clark eventually becomes Sweden’s most notorious bank robber and, during a botch heist, he's the man who gives rise to the term, ‘Stockholm Syndrome’.

Based on the truth and lies of Olofsson’s infamous story, Bill Skarsgård portrays the controversial but charming gangster with the series helmed by Roxette, Ozzy and Lady Gaga music video and Polar feature film director Jonas Åkerlund. 

Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045  

23rd May (Monday)

(2022, S2 Netflix Original Anime Series)

 

Fully prosthetic cyborg Motoko Kusanagi leads a mercenary unit consisting of former members of Japan's elite Section 9 as the world is faced with the sudden appearance of "Post-Humans," beings with tremendous intelligence and physical capabilities.

Now, after the events of season 1, the threat to humanity escalates as Section 9 is confronted with the fact that ‘Post Humans’ might be the next stage in human evolution, ready to take their rightful place at the top of the tree.

Also Streaming

1st May (Sunday)

Against the Sun 

(2014, Drama, Wartime, True Life, PG. Garret Dillahunt, Tom Felton, Jake Abel, Dir. Brian Peter Falk) 

 

During World War II, three US Navy airmen crash land their plane in the South Pacific and find themselves adrift on the open ocean. Facing terrible odds, these three virtual strangers must survive storms, sharks, starvation - and each other - as they try to sail more than a thousand miles to safety.

See For Me  

(2021, Crime, Drama, Mystery. Skyler Davenport, Jessica Parker Kennedy, Keaton Kaplan, Kim Coates, Dir. Randall Okita)  

 

Sophie, a visually impaired teenager and former skier, is house sitting for a wealthy client when three criminals break into the secluded mansion to rob it. Sophie's only defence is a smartphone app called 'See for Me' which connects her to Kelly, a gamer who has to use the app to see Sophie's surroundings and guide her actions in the perilous situation. See For Me adds authenticity to its ‘out there’ premise with real life visually-impaired actress Skyler Davenport convincing in the lead role.

Our Father 

11th May (Wednesday)

(2022, True Crime Documentary)  

 

After a woman's at-home DNA test reveals multiple half-siblings, she discovers a shocking scheme involving a popular fertility doctor who has used his own sperm to impregnate multiple female patients. Decades later, his “children” band together to pursue justice. 

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