What to Watch in May: 23 Notable TV Shows & Streaming Movies

by Jason Dietz, Metacritic Features Editor – April 28, 2022

The month ahead will bring the returns of Stranger Things and Hacks, the latest Star Wars and Star Trek series, Danny Boyle's dramatization of the rise and fall of the Sex Pistols, an adaptation of another Sally Rooney novel from the team behind Normal People, a fictionalized remake of one of TV's best true-crime docuseries, and more. In the gallery on this page, our editors have selected the most interesting TV and movie titles debuting at home in the next month, listed in order by premiere date.

21 of 24 photo by Netflix

69 Stranger Things: Season 4

Vol. 1 debuts May 27 on Netflix

The Netflix hit's fourth season finally arrives—in part—this month after an atypically long three-year wait. Action in the show, however, picks up just six months after the season 3 finale, and will leave Hawkins a bit to also spend time in California as well as a Russian prison, where a still-alive Hopper (David Harbour) is being held. But Hawkins High will also factor into this season's story after the school didn't really appear last season. Priah Ferguson, who previously recurred as the young Erica Sinclair (Lucas's younger sister), is now a series regular, as is Brett Gelman, who has also appeared sporadically since season 2. New faces this season include Robert Englund (yes, the Freddy Krueger actor), Eduardo Franco, Mason Dye, Tom Wlaschiha, and Jamie Campbell Bower.

Expect this season's episodes to be much bigger than normal: Every one clocks in at over an hour, making season 4 the show's longest to date. But only half of the nine-episode season will stream in May, so you'll have to wait until July 1st to see the remaining episodes. And the Stranger Things story will eventually come to an end with a final 5th season, which has already been ordered.

Where To Watch