What to Expect on TV for May

It may be April Fools’ Day today, but the following list of what to look forward to on television next month is not a joke. There are, of course, a lot of finales to anticipate on the major networks as the 2013-2014 TV season comes to a close, but also a few new dramas to check out as well as some interesting made-for-TV movies.

Here is what to look out for in May:

First, let’s take a look at all of the finales on the major networks:

May 4 – Resurrection on ABC at 9 PM
May 5 – The Tomorrow People on The CW at 9 PM
May 7 – CSI on CBS at 10 PM
May 9 – Hawaii Five-0 and Blue Bloods on CBS at 9 and 10 PM
May 11 – Once Upon a Time on ABC at 8 PM (Two Hours)
May 11 – Revenge on ABC at 10 PM
May 12 – Star-Crossed on The CW at 8 PM
May 12 – The Blacklist on NBC at 10 PM
May 12 – Castle on ABC at 10 PM
May 12 – Bones on FOX at 8 PM
May 13 – NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles and Person of Interest on CBS at 8, 9 and 10 PM
May 13 – Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on ABC at 8 PM
May 13 – Chicago Fire on NBC at 10 PM
May 13 – The Originals on The CW at 8 PM
May 13 – Glee on FOX at 8 PM
May 14 – Nashville on ABC at 10 PM
May 14 – Criminal Minds on CBS at 9 PM
May 14 – Revolution on NBC at 8 PM
May 14 – Arrow on The CW at 8 PM
May 15 – Elementary on CBS at 10 PM
May 15 – The Vampire Diaries and Reign on The CW at 8 and 9 PM
May 15 – Grey’s Anatomy on ABC at 9 PM
May 16 – Hart of Dixie on The CW at 9 PM
May 16 – Grimm on NBC at 9 PM
May 18 – The Good Wife and The Mentalist on CBS at 9 and 10 PM
May 20 – Supernatural on The CW at 9 PM
May 21 – Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Chicago P.D. on NBC at 9 and 10 PM
May 23 – Hannibal on NBC at 10 PM

The new dramas that will debut in May include the following:

The Showtime thriller Penny Dreadful will debut on May 11 at 10 PM. This psychosexual thriller will focus on some of literature’s most famously terrifying characters, including Dr. Frankenstein, Dorian Gray and iconic figures from the novel Dracula, all set in Victorian London. The cast includes Josh Hartnett (Black Hawk Down), Timothy Dalton (The Living Daylights, License to Kill), Eva Green (Casino Royale), Reeve Carney (Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark) and Billie Piper (Doctor Who, Secret Diary of a Call Girl).

The new FOX drama Gang Related will debut on May 22 at 9 PM. The series follows a rising star in Los Angeles’ Gang Task Force. The cast includes Ramon Rodriguez (Battle Los Angeles, The Wire).

The new NBC summer series The Night Shift will debut on May 27 at 10 PM. The series focuses on the men and women who work the overnight shift at San Antonio Memorial Hospital. They are an irreverent and special breed, particularly adrenaline junkie T.C. Callahan (Eoin Macken from Merlin). After three grueling tours of duty in Afghanistan, T.C. is about to learn that his toughest battles will be fought right here at home. He and his team of late-night docs, including best friend Topher (Ken Leung from Lost ) and protégé Drew (Brendan Fehr from Roswell), know how to let off steam with the casual prank or two, but when lives are at stake, they are all business. Unfortunately, the night shift is now under new senior management and boss Michael Ragosa (Freddy Rodriguez from Six Feet Under), who has to balance the real-world pressures of cutting costs while battling the stigma that he is more interested in saving money than helping people. The cast includes Jill Flint (Royal pains), Daniella Alonso (Revolution) and Jeananne Goossen (Alcatraz).

The new NBC summer series Crossbones will debut on May 30 at 10 PM. It’s 1715 on the Bahamian island of New Providence where the diabolical pirate Blackbeard (screen legend John Malkovich) reigns over a rogue nation of thieves, outlaws and miscreant sailors. Part shantytown and part marauder’s paradise, New Providence is a mounting threat to international commerce. To gain control of this fearsome society, assassin Tom Lowe is sent to the buccaneers’ haven to take down the brilliant and charismatic Blackbeard. But the closer Lowe gets, the more he finds that his quest is not so simple. The cast includes Richard Coyle (Covert Affairs), David Hoflin (Alcatraz and Touch) and Claire Foy (Upstairs/Downstairs).

The made-for-TV movies that will debut in May include:

The Hallmark Channel original movie Mother’s Day Off will debut on May 10 at 9 PM. A stay-at-home mom decides to finally chase her dreams and spends Mother’s Day weekend away from home. During her time away, she learns that living a glamorous life won’t bring her happiness without her family by her side. The film stars Bonnie Somerville (Golden Boy) and James Tupper (Revenge).

The Lifetime movie Return to Zero will debut on May 17 at 8 PM. A couple (Minnie Driver and Paul Adelstein) are forced to deal with the aftermath of a late-term stillbirth and the stress it puts on their relationship and their second pregnancy. The cast includes Alfred Molina, Connie Nielsen, Sarah Jones, Andrea Anders and Kathy Baker.

The four-hour event mini-series Labyrinth will air on The CW on May 22 and May 23 at 8 PM each night (two-hour airings each night). This historical mini-series jumps back and forth between modern and medieval France, following the lives of two women who are separated by centuries, but united in their search for the Holy Grail. The cast includes John Hurt (Doctor Who), Sebastian Stan (Once Upon a Time and Political Animals), Jessica Brown-Findlay (Downton Abbey) and Tom Felton (Harry Potter franchise).

The two-hour TV movie Bomb Girls: Facing the Enemy will air on Reelz Channel on May 26 at 9 PM. Under constant pressure to turn out more bombs, as well as work on a new secret sonar line, the women of Victory Munitions band together in a tight bond of support and friendship. But when a disturbing menace appears in the form of a saboteur among the factory workers, Gladys Witham (Jodi Balfour), a fiery young woman from privilege, is covertly recruited by Allied Intelligence to find the traitor, forcing her to spy on her best friends, co-workers and fellow agents and call into question everyone and everything she trusts.

The Lifetime original movie Petals on the Wind, based on the V.C. Andrews book, will debut on May 26 at 8 PM. Actress Rose McIver (Once Upon a Time) will take over the role of Cathy Dollanganger while actor Wyatt Nash (Pretty Little Liars) will take over the role of Christopher Dollanganger in the small screen adaptation of the classic novel that picks up a decade after the conclusion of Flowers in the Attic. The cast returning for this second film include Heather Graham, Dylan Bruce and Ellen Burstyn.

The Hallmark Movie Channel will debut the film The Color of Rain on May 31 at 9 PM. Inspired by the true story of Gina Kell and Michael Spehn, the film follows both families as they become one after cancer tragically claims both Gina’s husband and Michael’s wife just six weeks apart. When young husband and father Matt Kell succumbs to a terminal cancer diagnosis on Christmas day 2005, his widow, Gina (Lacey Chabert from Party of Five and Mean Girls) and two young boys are left to cope with the pain of his loss while their close church community gathers around them for support. Wanting to be close to her kids, Gina starts to volunteer at their elementary school and meets the Spehn children, Jack, Danny and Charlotte. In a gut-wrenching coincidence, just weeks after Matt’s death, the Spehn’s mom, Cathy, is also suddenly taken by cancer, leaving her distraught husband, Michael (Warren Christie from Alphas and October Road), to care for their three kids on his own. Sensing the hopelessness in Michael she so recently saw in herself, Gina reaches out to Michael and his kids and the two families begin to forge an unlikely friendship. During the year that follows, their lives become intertwined as they learn to lean on each other during, at-times, insurmountable obstacles, tears and adversity. They begin to heal with laughter, compassion and faith. And, when Gina and Michael realize their newfound bond could be more than just friendship, they struggle against surprising resistance from their families and community to unite their two grieving families as one, and eventually learn to open their hearts to love again.

There are also a handful of shows that will be coming back for a second season in May include:

May 21 – Motive on ABC at 10 PM
May 26 – Hit the Floor on VH1 at 9 PM
May 28 – Rogue on DirecTV at 10 PM

And lastly, the FOX series 24 will make a comeback with a 12-episode event series called 24: Live Another Day starting on May 5 at 8 PM. It will then move to its regular timeslot of 9 PM on May 12.

What are you most looking forward to during May? Please share.