The Most Anticipated Shows of May 2024

The days are getting longer and the weather is getting warmer, but it's hard to make the argument for going outside when there is so much good TV arriving in May. It is a superb month for returning favorites like Bridgerton Season 3 on Netflix, Interview With the Vampire on AMC, and Hacks Season 3 on Max. Evil fans should also get excited because the final season kicks off at the end of the month, and we don't have to be sad the demented ride is coming to an end until August.

We know there is a lot of TV to choose from at any given time, so we're trying something new at Primetimer with our most anticipated picks this month. We've singled out some broad big-hitters and then also created a new If You Like… section to help folks who may be looking for something more niche or specific to watch in the month of May. We know that organizing your queues and watchlists is an art, but we are here to help. Check out what we think is worth watching in May.

Hacks Season 3, Max

Premieres May 2

Chances are that if you've read a headline or looked outside in recent weeks, you have a spot of depression. The world is a dumpster fire and most of the time it feels like there is nothing we can do about it, but in May we get to laugh again. One of the best comedies returns in the form of Hacks Season 3. Deborah (Jean Smart) and Ava (Hannah Einbinder) have to get back in the saddle together after the former's comedy special was a massive hit. But can she do it again? The duo have to prove the success wasn't a fluke and Deborah has to contend with the fact that she wants more for herself and her career than comfy Vegas casino gigs. And she might as well make out with Tony Goldwyn while she does it! What an absolute legend.

Bodkin Season 1, Netflix

Premieres May 9

If you like your comedies with a side of darkness, then let us introduce you to Bodkin. The dark comedy stars Will Forte and Robyn Cara as a pair of podcasters who head to a seemingly idyllic Irish town to investigate the disappearance of three boys. As they start investigating the alleged crime, they discover that the sleepy coastal town isn't just rolling hills and nuns doing yoga. Will Forte has yet to disappoint us and Bodkin feels like a weird gem that could become a sleeper hit. If the show is as funny as the trailer makes it out to be, then we're all in for a good time and if it hasn't been made clear enough, we definitely need it.

Interview With the Vampire Season 2, AMC

Premieres May 12

Everyone who has been spinning The Tortured Poets DepartmentInterview With the Vampire. Louis and Claudia, now played by Delainey Hayles in Season 2, head to Paris after the bloody Season 1 finale that left a betrayed Lestat rotting in a New Orleans dump. The new season will reveal how Louis and Armand (Assad Zaman) struck up their romance and tell us more about the first night Louis and Daniel Molloy (Eric Bognosian) met in San Francisco.

If you were worried that the series would lose any of its campy flair, we are also heading to the vampire theater, which used to be Lestat's old stomping grounds. The season will also bring TV favorite Justin Kirk (Succession, Weeds) into the fold in a mystery role we can't wait to uncover. Interview With the Vampire is moody and sexy and unabashedly queer. It is chicken soup for the souls of everyone who has ever been told they feel too much, and it cannot get in our eyeballs soon enough.

Bridgerton Season 3, Part 1, Netflix

Premieres May 16

The friends-to-lovers trope gets a lot of flack for being the least spicy of the romance subgenres, but Bridgerton is here to change that narrative. Penelope (Nicola Coughlan) and Colin (Luke Newton) take center stage in the latest season of the sizzling Shonda Rhimes romance series. Colin returns from his travels abroad to find that his dear friend Pen has had quite the glow-up (the ton and the rest of the world can now stop pretending that Nicola Coughlan isn't absolutely stunning), and is in search of a husband. What a dismay it is for him to find out he's not in the running after she overheard him insulting her at the Featherington ball last season!

Colin endeavors to coach Penelope on navigating the marriage mart in an effort to regain her favor, but as the student becomes the master, Colin has to reckon with the potential that Penelope is out of his league. Oh, and then there's that little inconvenient fact that Penelope is also Lady Whistledown. That will have to be dealt with before these two realize they were made for each other. It is going to be so dramatic, sexy, and gorgeous as Colin and Penelope dance around each other to Vitamin String Quartet covers of Top 40 radio hits. We're clearing the weekend to watch batch 1 — the second half of the season will follow in June — at least three times.

Evil Season 4, Paramount+

Premieres May 23

Don't worry, we also saved special treats for our creepy content lovers. Rise up, EvilEvil bandwagon, but you like your ghosts and demonic possessions with a side of sardonic quips and whip-smart writing, then maybe now is the time to catch up so you can join the ride for the final episodes.

Season 4 will pick up with Kristen (Katja Herbers) having to figure out what to do with the fact that her nemesis Leland (Michael Emerson) has implanted her missing egg in a surrogate. To make matters worse, Sheryl (Christine Lahti) has taken Leland's side. That has to make Mother's Day hella awkward, yikes. With this being the final season, we'll have to see how Kristen takes Leland down for good and settle once and for all whether she and David (Mike Colter) will ever fulfill their romantic potential. It's bittersweet to say goodbye to one of the most engrossing horror TV shows, but we are glad that we get one last batch of episodes to make peace with the departure.

If You Like…

…Anxious teens and John Green: Turtles All the Way Down, Max

Premieres May 2

Few people know how to tap into the all-consuming emotionality of being a teenager like author John Green. Turtles All the Way Down is the latest adaptation of one of Green's novels — he also penned The Fault in Our Stars and Looking for Alaska — and stars Isabela Merced as Aza, a teen with anxiety and OCD who is struggling to figure out love and her future before graduation. Aza's anxiety is sent into overdrive when she unwittingly strikes up a romance with her childhood friend Davis (Ginny & Georgia's Felix Mallard). The ticking clock to graduation and Aza's overwhelming intrusive thoughts threaten to derail things with Davis before they can even get started.

It's one of Green's most revealing explorations of mental health and the last young adult story he plans to write. The depiction of Ava's OCD is visceral and uncomfortable, but overall Turtles All the Way Down is a story of resilience and coming of age as Aza learns that her mental disorders are not her personality or her soul, and everyone deserves a chance at love.

…Podcasts about stand-up comedy: John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s in LA, Netflix

Premieres May 3

Netflix is a Joke is a comedy festival in Los Angeles that runs from May 1 through May 12 and John Mulaney has become the unofficial face of it for 2024. The comedian will host John Mulaney Presents: Everybody's in LA, an episodic special that sees him touring the city and doing bits with other comedians performing during the festival. It'll be a mix of interviews and conversations with prerecorded bits, and considering the talent involved in the festival — Jerry Seinfeld, Nate Bargatze, Ali Wong, Judd Apatow and so many more — Everybody's in LA is a must-watch for comedy lovers.

Mulaney officially returned to stand-up after his last rehab stint in 2023 with the Netflix special Baby J, but the comedian wasn't able to do a full promotional tour and awards run due to the WGA writers' strike. Everybody's in LA is like a do-over of his comeback and could make the case for John Mulaney to become the new marquee act of Netflix comedy. Regardless of what the special means for Mulaney's next career chapter, it is a goldmine for comedy nerds who want to see Mulaney go toe-to-toe with comedy's biggest names and legends, and shine the spotlight on up-and-coming talent.

…Time travel and Free Gender Expression: Doctor Who, Disney+

Premieres May 14

Doctor Who has a new streaming home on Disney+ and a new face driving the Tardis. Sex Education alum and beloved Ken Ncuti Gatwa has taken the sonic screwdriver from David Tennant and has us more excited for a new set of Doctor Who adventures than we've been in a long time. Just the trailer showcasing The Doctor's new mustache and gender-bending wardrobe has us kicking our feet in delight.

Ncuti will be joined by Millie Gibson as his companion in the Tardis, and while they are the new faces of the franchise, an old friend is taking over behind the scenes. Doctor Who Season 14 welcomes back Russell T. Davies, who was behind the Christopher Eccleston-led relaunch of the show in 2005. Having Davies back at the helm promises that we'll return to quirky missions and bring fun back to the series. It's a new beginning for the show that has mastered new beginnings, and it feels like it is in incredibly capable hands.

…Civil rights and Broadway plays featuring Leslie Odom Jr.: Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch, PBS

Premieres May 24

PBS is one of the best providers of Broadway content to all of the people who can't make it to The Great White Way to catch a show. It continues that tradition with Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch this month. The play stars Leslie Odom Jr., who became a household name after his Tony-winning performance as Aaron Burr in Hamilton. In Purlie, Odom Jr. takes the spotlight as the titular character, a preacher who returns to his small Georgia hometown to save the church he grew up in.

The production is the first revival of the play since it originally debuted on Broadway in 1961, and even though it takes place on a plantation, it is a revered comedy that doesn't peddle in Black tragedy. The revival has been nominated for multiple Drama League awards, including acting nods for Odom Jr. and Kara Young, who plays Purlie's love interest, Lutiebelle.

More Notable Premieres in May

Acapulco (Apple TV+): Season 3 premiere, May 1
Jeopardy! Masters (ABC): May 1
A Man in Full (Netflix): Series Premiere, May 2
The Tattooist of Auschwitz (Peacock): Series Premiere, May 2
Welcome to Wrexham (FX): Season 3 Premiere, May 2
Pretty Little Liars: Summer School (Max): Season 2 Premiere, May 9
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon 10th Anniversary Special (NBC): Special Premiere, May 14
Outer Range (Prime Video): Season 2 Premiere, May 16
The Big Cigar (Apple TV+): Series Premiere, May 17
RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (Paramount+), Season 9 Premiere, May 17
We Are Lady Parts (Peacock): Season 2 Premiere, May 30

Megan Vick is a pop-culture reporter whose byline has appeared on TVGuide.com, The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, Reuters and more. You can find her on the internet talking about K-pop or screaming about teen romances.