What to Watch in May: 18 Notable TV Shows & Streaming Movies

Animated series debuts May 23 on Max

It's not HBO: It's TV. Your new home for various Games of Thrones, Harries Potter, Fixers Upper, and Doctors Pimple Popper is Max, a rebranded version of HBO Max that will also incorporate most (but, just to make things confusing, not quite all) content from the discovery+ streaming service, including Magnolia Network programming. (Discovery+ will continue to be available as a cheaper standalone subscription for reality fans who don't want the added Max and HBO content.) Max will be available at three pricing tiers ranging from about $10-$20 a month (with the low end including ads and the highest tier featuring 4K video), and most existing HBO Max subscribers won't need to do anything: Your accounts, watchlists, and viewing history should seamlessly transfer to the new service when you open up the app. (If they don't, try turning your device off and on again.)

And along with the May 23 launch of the rebranded streaming service comes the first new Max Original: an animated spinoff from the Gremlins film franchise. First ordered to series in 2019, Secrets of the Mogwai serves as an origin story and prequel to the 1984 movie that is set in 1920s Shanghai, where a young Sam Wing first encounters Gizmo. Ming-Na Wen, BD Wong, James Wong, and Matthew Rhys head the voice cast, while guest stars include Sandra Oh, Randall Park, George Takei, Bowen Yang, and Zach Galligan (who starred in the original film). Secrets of the Mogwai first screened to the public almost a full year ago at the Annecy animation festival, where the premiere episode seemed to make a strong first impression.