May 2023 TV Premieres: What's Coming and Why to Care

Summer’s just around the corner, but first—it’s May! Which I think is, or should be everyone’s favorite month. Not too hot, not too cold… Not that it matters much as we stay inside and watch TV. Below you’ll find a list of series and season premieres we’re excited about, along with release dates and blurbs explaining why they’re on our radar.

This list isn’t comprehensive, and isn’t meant to be. These are just the May 2023 TV premieres we at TV Obsessive are looking forward to, and we may well have missed something we’ll end up loving later. Let us know in the comments if there are things you’re looking forward to we’ve haven’t mentioned!

May 1: White House Plumbers, Limited Miniseries, HBO

HBO veterans Woody Harrelson (True Detective) and Justin Theroux (The Leftovers) star in a five-part satirical look at how two of Richard Nixon’s political fixers managed to bumble and fumble their way through the Watergate scandal, eventually leading to Nixon’s resignation. Harrelson stars as E. Howard Hunt and Theroux as G. Gordon Liddy, two men tasked with fixing all the leaks surrounding the 1974 political scandal. Adapted from the book Integrity by Egil and Matthew Krogh, the series offers a humorous inside look based on the accounts of Egil Krogh, a lawyer who eventually found himself imprisoned for his role in the Watergate affair. – Ryan

May 5: Silo, Apple TV+

Can you really ever have enough dystopian post-apocalyptic sci-fi adventure series? The folks at Apple TV+ are hoping the answer is “no” with their new series Silo.

Silo is based on the Silo Series, consisting of multiple books and short stories originally self-published direct to Amazon Kindle by Hugh Howey. The premise is built around an enormous 144-story underground silo housing the last 10,000 remnants of humanity, following some long forgotten calamity that rendered the surface world inhabitable. Juliette, a worker in the Machinery zone at the lowest levels, is promoted to sheriff and begins to unravel the many secrets of their world.

Allison makes a pained face — Apple TV+/Screenshot

The footage from the official trailer really looks good. One can’t help drawing a parallel with Foundation, another high production value book-to-screen sci-fi adaptation on Apple TV+. Truly, we live in a golden age of sci-fi television adaptations. – Brien

Silo premieres on Apple TV+ on May 5, 2023 with the first two episodes, followed by one a week (ten episodes total) through June 30, 2023.

May 12: City on Fire, Apple TV+

I don’t know if City on Fire will be good, but it’s one of those where the question might be more whether it’s your thing. Coming from Josh Schwartz (The O.C., Gossip Girl, Chuck), the series promises to explore connections between a Central Park shooting, a bunch of fires, the downtown music scene (wherever “downtown” is these days), and a wealthy uptown real estate family that’s full of secrets.

That sounds pretty wild! So if a convoluted story full of twists and turns is your idea of a good time, you might want to check this one out.

City on Fire premieres on Apple TV+ on May 12, 2023

May 12: The Great Season 3, Hulu

The Great returns for its third season on Hulu. If you haven’t seen the show, you can read Paul Keelan’s recommendation of it here.

May 12: Black Knight, Netflix

Coming from South Korea, Black Knight promises to deliver a world where air pollution has gotten really bad and couriers are really important. Sounds intriguing to me!

Will Black Knight be the next Squid Game? Is that somehow a culturally insensitive thing to ask? I don’t know the answer to either question. – Caemeron

Black Knight premieres on Netflix on May 12, 2023

May 19: Mute, Netflix

Mute (2023), not to be confused with the film Mute from 2018, is a Spanish thriller that centers around a young man who murdered his parents and hasn’t said a word since. Now a psychiatrist is trying to get to the bottom of things.

Mute premieres on Netflix on May 19, 2023

May 22: Happy Valley Season 3, AMC+/Acorn/BBC America

Happy Valley Season 3 already aired in the UK earlier this year, so if you’ve been waiting for it I hope you’ve avoided spoilers. Its US release is now set for May 22 if you want to mark your calendar.

Happy Valley Season 3 premieres on AMC+/Acorn/BBC America on May 22, 2023

May 23: Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, Max

Gizmo is back!

OK, so that’s a phrase maybe no one was expecting to hear. Or maybe we should have, as the survivors of the latest culling of online streaming services continue to plumb the depths of their newly acquired catalogs for marketable IP.

Technically though, Gizmo is not “back,” since Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai is a prequel that is “inspired by the iconic film,” as the official teaser puts it. Set in 1920s China, the series will tell the tale of how a 10-year-old Sam Wing, the elderly antique dealer who owned Gizmo in the original movie, ended up becoming the caretaker for the little mogwai.

This tale looks to be more of a YA fantasy adventure, as the animated format frees up the creators from the constraints of animatronic puppets. Joe Dante, director of the original two Gremlins movies, returns as a producer, bringing a little continuity and hopefully the kind of love and caring for the original source material that makes for a successful television spin off. – Brien

The premiere of Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai will be part of the initial lineup for the newly formed Max streaming service, set to launch on May 23.

May 24: Platonic, Apple TV+

Starring Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne, Platonic is billed to be about a pair of old friends who reconnect and end up destablizing each other’s lives. That could mean various things, but what really intrigues me here is that the title of the show basically promises that it won’t mean romance. Honestly, if it does mean romance that would be very boring and also make the name of the show a lie no matter what anyone tries to say to the contrary.

But the idea of a show about friendship between a man and a woman that remains a friendship but is nonetheless important to the lives of each party to the friendship… that actually sounds weirdly novel when it comes to relationships on TV! I’m there for it. – Caemeron

Platonic premieres on Apple TV+ on May 24, 2023

May 25: FUBAR, Netflix

Now, if you ask me, the term FUBAR originated with the 1989 film Tango & Cash, and I’m not going to do any research to determine whether that is actually true. Regardless, this show called FUBAR that’s coming to Netflix doesn’t feature Sly Stallone or Kurt Russell, but it does feature another big name ‘80s action star you may have heard of: Arnold Schwarzenegger.

It’s a spy drama created by Nick Santora. And Scott Thompson has a recurring role in it. Could be fun. – Caemeron

FUBAR premieres on Netflix on May 25, 2023

May 30: I Think You Should Leave Season 3, Netflix

I Think You Should Leave returns to Netflix for a third season, so mark your calendars. If you haven’t watched the show yet, click on this to read Hawk’s recommendation that you do.