My Top Choices for May TV

Another TV season is coming to a close next month with lots of programming options be it season (or series) finales, new seasons of returning dramas, brand-new dramas to get obsessed with and made-for-TV movies.

Of all the options coming to the small screen in May, the following are my top choices.

The season finales that I’m looking forward to watching include:

Watson on CBS, in two parts, on May 4 and May 11 at 9 PM (both nights)
The Equalizer on CBS on May 4 at 10 PM
NCIS on CBS at 9 PM on May 5
Tracker on CBS at 8 PM on May 11
Will Trent on ABC at 8 PM on May 13
The Rookie on ABC at 9 PM on May 13
9-1-1 on ABC at 8 PM on May 15
Doctor Who on Disney+ on May 31

Then there are the made-for-TV movies (with not a single Hallmark Channel movie in sight on my top “must watch” list):

Bridgerton alum Phoebe Dynevor stars in the AMC+ movie Inheritance, which debuts on May 2. She will play Maya, who learns her father Sam was once a spy, which suddenly plunges her into the center of an international conspiracy. As she seeks answers, Maya herself becomes a target and must quickly learn the skills of her father.

John Krasinksi and Natalie Portman will play estranged siblings in the Apple TV+ movie Fountain of Youth from director Guy Ritchie on May 23. They lead an ensemble cast that includes Eiza Gonzalez, Stanley Tucci, Domhnall Gleeson, Carmen Ejogo and Laz Alonso as they seek the legendary Fountain of Youth, using historical clues, they embark on an epic quest filled with adventure.

The streaming service Tubi will air the original rom-com movie Worth the Wait, also on May 23, starring Lana Condor from the popular Netflix movie franchise To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. The movie focuses on the lives of multiple Asian-American strangers as they fatefully intertwine, navigating budding love, confronting profound loss and encountering old flames.

Then there are the dramas that are back for a new season, including:

Harry Wild on Acorn TV on May 5
Sullivan’s Crossing on CW on May 7 at 8 PM
Poker Face on Peacock on May 8
Skymed on Paramount+ on May 15

Lastly, there are four new dramas that will be debuting throughout May, starting with:

Miss Austen on PBS on May 4 at 9 PM. The drama begins in 1830, a while after Jane Austen has died. Cassandra (Keeley Hawes) races to see her young friend Isabella (Rose Leslie) who is about to lose her home following her father’s death. Cassandra is ostensibly there to help her friend, but her real motive is to find a stash of private letters which, in the wrong hands, could destroy Jane’s reputation. On discovering them, Cassandra is overwhelmed as she is transported back to her youth. In flashback, we meet Young Cassy and Jane (Patsy Ferran) as they navigate the infatuations, family feuds and dashed hopes which shaped their lives and laid the foundations for Jane’s unforgettable stories.

Lost alum Josh Holloway and This Is Us actress Rachel Hilson star in the J.J. Abrams co-created drama Duster on MAX set to debut on May 15. Set in the 1970s Southwest, the series explores the life of Jim (Holloway), a gutsy getaway driver for a growing crime syndicate that goes from dangerous to wildly, stupidly dangerous when Nina (Hilson), a tenacious young FBI agent comes into town hellbent on taking his crime family down.

True Blood star Alexander Skarsgard will play a robot in the sci-fi thriller/comedy Murderbot on Apple TV+ starting on May 16. A self-hacking security construct known as Murderbot (Skarsgard) is horrified by human emotion yet drawn to its vulnerable clients. Murderbot must hide its free will and complete a dangerous assignment when all it really wants is to be left alone to watch futuristic soap operas and figure out its place in the universe.

Lastly, the two-night debut of The Librarians: The Next Chapter will air on TNT at 10 PM on both May 25 and May 26. The reboot of the popular series centers on Vikram Chamberlain (Callum McGowan), a “Librarian” from the past who time traveled from 1847 and now finds himself stuck in the present. When Vikram returns to his castle in Belgrade, Serbia and discovers that it is now a museum, he inadvertently releases magic across the continent. With the help of a new team of eclectic heroes, including a savant in world history (Bluey Robinson), a scientific genius (Olivia Morris) and a highly skilled Guardian (Jessica Green), Vikram has only six months to clean up the mess he made. Original series star Christian Kane will reprise his role of Jacob Stone.

Make sure to check out our full calendar of May TV, highlighting dramas, specials, made-for-TV movies and more which went live over the weekend here.