May brings the premieres of 24 new series, seasons, specials, and films from the UK, Canada, and Ireland to the US.
For updates about shows from the UK, Canada, and Ireland added to US linear TV and streaming channels throughout the month, see the British TV Viewing Guide.
Programs and dates are subject to change without prior notice.
Videos below may contain content that is not suitable for everyone.
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NATIONAL PREMIERES
Antiques Road Trip: Season 23 (UK)
This popular BBC series follows two antiques experts who take an off-the-beaten-path tour of Britain over five days in a classic car, and pop into local shops in search of antiques and collectibles they think will make some money. Their objective: to beat each other by making the biggest profit when they bring their finds to be sold at auction.
Antiques Road Trip: Season 23 premieres in the US on Monday, May 1, on the PBS Living Channel, followed by Season 24 on May 8.
Arthur: A Life With The Royal Family (UK)
This documentary follows the career of photographer Arthur Edwards, The Sun’s (UK) Royal Photographer for over 45 years — the longest-serving of any newspaper. With commensurate skill and unprecedented access, he has captured the candid moments when protocol is put aside, revealing the true personalities behind the Crown.
Arthur: A Life With The Royal Family premieres in North America on Monday, May 1, exclusively on BritBox.
Countdown to the Crown: The Who’s Who and What’s What of the Coronation (UK)
This set of five mini-documentaries explores details of the upcoming coronation, including: “5 Weird and Wonderful Objects of the Coronation,” which explains the origins and purposes of rarely-seen royal objects; “How Much Is the King’s Crown Really Worth?” provides a rundown of the riches of the crown jewels; “What Is the Future of the British Monarchy?” offers a look into the coming generations of the British Crown; “What Not to Wear to the King’s Coronation” is a historical style guide to the nation’s biggest event; and “Who Is Invited to the Coronation (and Who Isn’t)” gives viewers an inside look at the guest list of the Coronation of King Charles III. Countdown to the Crown: The Who’s Who and What’s What of the Coronation, a BritBox Original, premieres in North America from Monday, May 1, to Friday, May 5, exclusively on BritBox.
King Charles, The Boy Who Walked Alone (UK-US)
This documentary gives viewers a look at the life of King Charles ahead of his coronation as king of the United Kingdom. The 90-minute program features exclusive interviews, never-before-seen photos, and letters with former friends, schoolmates, royal watchers and private staff, with many speaking for the first time, disclosing new details about the life of King Charles. Partly a coming-of-age tale, it reveals King Charles’s response to bullying and isolation at school, and shares previously unreported details about his relationship with the late Princess Diana and how they have impacted his relationship with his youngest son, Prince Harry.
King Charles, The Boy Who Walked Alone premieres in the US on Tuesday, May 2, exclusively on Paramount+.
Ed Sheeran: The Sum of It All (US-UK)
In this docuseries, global superstar Ed Sheeran gives audiences a definitive and honest view into his private life as he explores the universal themes that inspire his music. Featuring exclusive footage behind his iconic hits, never-before-seen personal archive with his friends and family, and epic stadium performances that give insight into Ed’s world, the four-parter follows Ed after he learns of life-changing news and reveals his hardships and triumphs during the most challenging period of his life. In each episode, Ed expresses his deeper thoughts as he reassesses life and explores what he thinks of the world, of himself, and how this difficult time has influenced him and his new music.
Ed Sheeran: The Sum of It All, a Disney+ Original, premieres in the US in its entirety on Wednesday, May 3, exclusively on Disney+.
The Great British Baking Show: Juniors: Season 2 (UK)
In this spinoff of The Great British Baking Show, bakers aged 9 to 15 compete to be crowned the GBBS champion. Sixteen young bakers are divided into two groups of eight, with four from each group eliminated over five days of competition. The remaining eight compete in the final challenges, leading to the “super-difficult showdown” that determines the winner. The Great British Baking Show: Juniors: Season 2, a Netflix Series, premieres in the US on Wednesday, May 3, exclusively on Netflix.
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (US-UK)
This Bridgerton prequel centers on Queen Charlotte’s rise to prominence and power, telling the story of how the marriage of the young Queen (India Amarteifio, The Midwich Cuckoos) to King George (Corey Mylchreest, The Sandman) sparked a great love story and a societal shift.
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, a Netflix Series, premieres globally on Thursday, May 4, exclusively on Netflix. (You can set a reminder for it now.)
King Charles III: The Coronation (UK)
BritBox’s coverage of the Coronation of King Charles III will include major British news organization ITN’s live broadcast of the occasion, hosted by Tom Bradby and Julie Etchingham. Afterwards viewers will be able to watch the program on demand. In addition to the rolling coverage, there will also be a special hour-long highlights program that will be available after the ceremony concludes. King Charles III: The Coronation premieres in North America on Saturday, May 6, on BritBox‘s owned-and-operated platform only, not on its third-party-partner digital channels). (News outlets across the US will be covering this momentous event, as well.)
The Ghost of Richard Harris (UK)
This documentary tells the story of two-time Oscar® nominee Richard Harris (The Field, This Sporting Life), a once-famous actor, poet, lover and singer, whose prodigious career was overshadowed by a reputation for drinking and riotous behavior, earning him the epithet “hell raiser” but who still lives in the hearts of his Irish countrymen and countless others. It’s also the story of a father whose three sons — BAFTA TV Award-winning actor Jared Harris (Chernobyl, The Crown), actor Jamie Harris (Carnival Row, West Side Story), and director Damian Harris (Brave The Dark, Wilde Wedding) — still think about him every day since his unexpected death twenty years ago. They are still in search of, and argue about, who he really was — a complex, flawed genius.
The Ghost of Richard Harris, a BritBox Original, premieres in North America on Tuesday, May 9, exclusively on BritBox.
Peter O’Toole: Along The Sky Road to Aqaba (IE)
This documentary centers on legendary actor Peter O’Toole (My Favorite Year, Lawrence of Arabia), an eight-time Oscar® nominee who brought a touch of danger to his art and a stroke of madness to his life, and who inspired a generation of movie makers. It explores O’Toole’s self-belief, alcoholism, relationships with women, belief in socialism, and selective embrace of Irishness. While O’Toole’s words, gleaned from hundreds of hours of archival interviews, serve as the narrator of his own journey, director Jim Sheridan explores the story through interviews with O’Toole’s family and artists, actors, and directors that knew him well.
Peter O’Toole: Along The Sky Road to Aqaba, a BritBox Original, has its World Premiere on Tuesday, May 9, exclusively on BritBox.
Intelligence: A Special Agent Special (UK)
Three-time BAFTA TV Award winner Jennifer Saunders (Absolutely Fabulous) guest stars in this comedy’s one-off hour-long special, in which US NSA agent Jerry Bernstein (David Schwimmer, Friends), inept UK computer analyst Joseph (Nick Mohammed, Ted Lasso), and the rest of GCHQ’s cyber security team go rogue to save their reputations and their jobs.
Intelligence: A Special Agent Special, a Peacock Original, premieres in the US on Thursday, May 11, exclusively on Peacock.
The Great: Season 3 (US)
In the new season of this hit satirical comedy-drama, Catherine (Elle Fanning, The Girl from Plainville) and Peter (Nicholas Hoult, The Favourite) attempt to make their marriage work after she tried but failed to murders him and succeeded in imprisoning all of his friends. While Peter has visions of his late father (Jason Isaacs, Harry Potter) bemoaning his failures as Peter the Great’s son, Catherine the Great starts making a name for herself beyond her borders.
The Great: Season 3, a Hulu Original, premieres in the US on Friday, May 12, exclusively on Hulu.
Celebrity Antiques Road Trip: Season 10 (UK)
This popular British reality series returns with more celebrities hitting the road in a classic car for a mini tour of Great Britain. As they travel off the beaten path and learn about little-known British history stories, they partner up with antiques experts and search local stores for treasures. The trip culminates at an actual auction where the two celeb-expert teams, each of which started off with £400, put their finds up for sale, competing to see who will make the most profit. All profit goes to charity. Celebs this season include supermodel Jerry Hall, actress Victoria Smurfit (Ballykissangel), Countdown‘s Rachel Riley, and EastEnders‘s Danny Dyer, amongst others.
Celebrity Antiques Road Trip: Season 10 premieres in the US on Monday, May 15, exclusively on the PBS Living Channel.
Our House (UK)
Adapted from best-selling author Louise Candlish‘s novel of the same name, this thriller follows Fi Lawson (Tuppence Middleton, The Defeated, Dickensian), a woman who arrives home one day to find strangers moving into her house. She also discovers that her husband, Bram (Martin Compston, Line of Duty, The Rig), has disappeared. Plunged into confusion and terror, her panic escalates as she realizes the secrets and lies have only just started. Will either of them survive the chilling truth that there are far worse things you can lose than your house?
Our House premieres in the US on Monday, May 15, exclusively on the PBS Masterpiece Prime Video Channel.
The Tower: Season 2: Death Message (UK)
Based on the novel Death Message by former Metropolitan Police detective-turned-author Kate London, Book 2 in her “The Metropolitan” crime series, the brand-new season of this mystery-crime drama sees DS Sarah Collins (Gemma Whelan, Game of Thrones) and PC Lizzie Adama (Tahirah Sharif, The Haunting of Bly Manor) working together to catch a murderer and recover a missing child. DI Kieran Shaw (Emmett J. Scanlan, Peaky Blinders) wants to recruit DS Steve Bradshaw (Jimmy Akingbola, Bel-Air) for a specialist task force targeting a major organized crime figure, but Shaw must convince Bradshaw that he can be trusted. And in her new job at Homicide Command, Sarah is given a seemingly impossible job: investigating the disappearance of a teenage girl, who went missing 25 years ago.
The Tower: Season 2: Death Message, a BritBox Original, has its World Premiere on Tuesday, May 16, exclusively on BritBox.
SisterS (US-IE-CA)
This dark comedy-drama follows two women. After her mother’s death, Sare (Sarah Goldberg, Barry) learns that her father wasn’t her actual father but an Irish busker her mother met while backpacking thirty years ago. In traveling to Ireland to track him down, she discovers she has a half-sister, Suze (Susan Stanley, Fair City), whose life is unraveling following the loss of her partner, her flat, her job… and her dignity. On her 37th birthday, Suze’s life takes an unexpected turn when her Canadian half-sister, Sare, shows up and convinces her to go on a road trip across Ireland to find their alcoholic father. Confined by the four walls of a crumbling ice cream van, the sisters forge an unbreakable bond as they realize sometimes it’s the family you choose that can carry you through.
SisterS premieres in the US on Wednesday, May 17, as a six-episode binge on Sundance Now and AMC+. Episodes will air weekly on IFC at 11 PM ET/PT through June 21.
Happy Valley: Season 3 (UK)
Set seven years after the events in Season 2, the final season of this hit crime drama sees Sgt. Catherine Cawood (Sarah Lancashire, Julia, Last Tango in Halifax) discovering the remains of a gangland murder victim, sparking a chain of events that unwittingly leads her straight back to murderer and rapist Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton, McMafia, Little Women). Meanwhile, her 16-year-old grandson, Ryan (Rhys Connah, The Runaways), has ideas of his own about what kind of relationship he wants to have with Tommy, the man Catherine still refuses to acknowledge as his father. Still battling the seemingly never-ending problem of drugs in the valley and those who supply them, Catherine is on the cusp of retirement. Will she solve this final case?
Happy Valley: Season 3 premieres in the US on Monday, May 22, exclusively on Acorn TV, AMC+, and BBC America (at 10 PM ET/PT). New episodes will debut weekly on all three networks through June 26.
Once Upon a Time in Northern Ireland
From the makers of the BAFTA- and Emmy® Award-winning Once Upon a Time in Iraq comes this five-part docuseries that explores the decades-long conflict in Northern Ireland known as “The Troubles.” It tells the story through the testimony of ordinary men, women, and children who were drawn, both willingly and unwillingly, into the bitter clashes that rocked the nation, and who are still struggling to hold on to a fragile peace today.
Once Upon a Time in Northern Ireland premieres in the US as a streaming-only title on Monday, May 22, exclusively on PBS.org and the PBS app. The program will be broadcast on PBS in August (date tba).
Prehistoric Planet: Season 2 (US-UK)
Season 2 of this award-winning natural history docuseries presents new dinosaurs, new habitats, and new scientific discoveries while taking viewers around the world in a five-night adventure. Narrated by Sir David Attenborough, the new episodes transport viewers millions of years in the past to discover our world — and the dinosaurs that roamed it — all in extraordinary detail. Traversing the globe to a land before our time, the series uses the latest scientific research and stunning visual effects to bring audiences never-before-seen species on screen, including notable dinosaurs that are new this season, such as Isisaurus, Pectinodon, Quetzalcoatlus, Hatzegopteryx, and Tarchia, amongst others.
Prehistoric Planet: Season 2 premieres globally on Monday, May 22, with a new episode debuting daily through Friday, May 26, exclusively on Apple TV+.
James May: Oh Cook! Season 2 (UK)
James May (James May: Our Man in Japan, The Grand Tour) returns to the kitchen for a new season of gastronomical adventure as he continues his journey from kitchen klutz to capable cook, preparing mouth-watering dishes using ingredients you can buy from your local shop and mastering the tricks that can make good food great — all without all the usual television-cooking-format trickery.
James May: Oh Cook! Season 2 premieres globally on Wednesday, May 24, exclusively on Prime Video.
Marriage (UK)
Created, written, and directed by two-time BAFTA TV Award winner Stefan Golaszewski (Mum, Him & Her), this contemporary drama centers on Ian (two-time BAFTA winner Sean Bean, Time, Broken, Game of Thrones) and Emma (two-time BAFTA nominee Nicola Walker, Last Tango in Halifax, Unforgotten, Annika), a couple who have been married for 27 years. Its four episodes follow them as they negotiate the insecurities, ambiguities, hopes, and fears of their long-term intimate relationship, and experience its risks and gifts.
Marriage premieres in the US on Monday, May 29, exclusively on the PBS Masterpiece Prime Video Channel.
The Rising (UK)
This British remake of Hotel Beau Séjour, the awesome Belgian supernatural mystery-crime drama series, stars Clara Rugaard (Black Mirror) as Neve Kelly, who, after saving herself from a watery grave, realizes that she’s dead and almost no one can see her. When she figures out that someone murdered her, she sets out to find her killer and get justice.
The Rising premieres in the US on Monday, May 29, at 8 PM ET, on The CW.
The Cleaner: Season 2 (UK)
In the new season of this comedy series, crime scene cleaner Wicky (BAFTA winner Greg Davies, Taskmaster) encounters more big personalities in the wrong place at the wrong time, like when he’s cleaning blood-soaked crime scenes at a pub, a theatre, a technology shop, a stately home, the site of a town’s new statue, and a crime scene in rural Wales. (Trailer is from Season 1)
The Cleaner: Season 2, a BritBox Original, premieres in North America on Wednesday, May 31, exclusively on BritBox.
NON-PREMIERE PROGRAMS BEING ADDED TO STREAMING SERVICES
Titles in this section begin streaming on the dates shown below on Acorn TV and its digital channels, including Acorn TV on Amazon.
The Other Wife (UK)
Based on the work of Rosamunde Pilcher, this drama miniseries stars Natalia Wörner (Berlin Station) as Rebecca Kendall, a beautiful ex-ballerina who shares her life with her wonderful daughters and husband, Richard (John Hannah, Transplant), who divides his time between England and Canada. When Richard dies in a plane crash, Rebecca slowly learns of his lies and deceit, discovering that not only has Richard left her family penniless, he also has a second family on the other side of the Atlantic. When Rebecca and the other wife, Natalie (Hilary Connell, Black Mirror), meet, they discover they have more in common than they imagined. Costarring Rupert Everett (An Ideal Husband), The Other Wife begins streaming Monday, May 15, exclusively on Acorn TV.
Winter Solstice (UK-DE)
Adapted from Rosamunde Pilcher’s novel Winter Solstice, this romance drama stars Sinead Cusack (North Sea Connection) as Elfrida Phipps, who moves to a new cottage and makes friends with her neighbors, the Blundell family, after the death of her husband. After an accident befalls the Blundells, they, Elfrida, and her niece retreat to a Scottish estate during the Christmas holiday to get over their grief. Winter Solstice begins streaming Monday, May 29, exclusively on Acorn TV.
Titles in this section begin streaming on the dates shown below on AMC+ and its digital channels, including AMC+ on Amazon.
Attenborough’s Global Adventure (UK)
This special highlights some of the incredible locations that Sir David Attenborough has visited and the fascinating creatures he has encountered along the way — from the deep oceans in a state-of-the-art submarine on the Great Barrier Reef, to the ancient rain forests of Borneo. Attenborough’s Global Adventure begins streaming Saturday, May 13.
Titles in this section begin streaming on the dates shown below on BritBox and its digital channels, including BritBox on Amazon.
Camelot (UK)
In this classic adaptation of an old Arthurian legend, after the arranged marriage of Arthur (Richard Harris, This Sporting Life) and Guinevere (Vanessa Redgrave, Howards End), the king gathers the noble knights of the realm to his Round Table. The dashing and stalwart Lancelot (Franco Nero, Django) joins, but soon finds himself enraptured by the lovely Guinevere. When Arthur’s illegitimate son, Mordred (David Hemmings, Gladiator), reappears in the kingdom and outs the secret lovers, Arthur finds himself trapped by his own rules into taking action against his wife and closest friend. Camelot begins streaming Tuesday, May 9.
The Cassandra Crossing (UK)
This drama thriller sees passengers unable to get off a transcontinental train after terrorists planted a deadly virus there. On board are the glamorous Jennifer Chamberlain (Sophia Loren, Two Women) and her ex-husband, Dr. Jonathan Chamberlain (Richard Harris, This Sporting Life), as well as Nicole Dressler (Ava Gardner, The Night of the Iguana) and her young lover, Robby (Martin Sheen, The Departed). One solution proposed is to quarantine them by rerouting the train over the Cassandra Crossing, an unstable bridge. Dr. Chamberlain wants to save them, but has to battle the terrorists first. The Cassandra Crossing begins streaming Tuesday, May 9.
Foxtrot (UK)
Peter O’Toole (Lawrence of Arabia) and Charlotte Rampling (Broadchurch) star in this sensual thriller about a Romanian aristocrat who retreats to a desert isle with his wife and servants on the eve of World War II. After friends turn up uninvited and decimate supplies on the island, the couple must battle against the odds to restore their idyllic island haven. Foxtrot begins streaming Tuesday, May 9.
Goodbye, Mr. Chips (UK)
In this 1920s-set musical-romance drama, stuffy Latin instructor Arthur Chipping (Peter O’Toole, Lawrence of Arabia) is widely disliked by his young charges at a small public school, until he finds his life turned around by charming music hall singer and comedienne Katherine Bridges (Petula Clark, Finian’s Rainbow). Though her lower-class past impedes Chipping’s longed-for rise to headmaster, the students become devoted to her goodhearted warmth, which also helps transform the once-despised “Chips” into a beloved school figure. Goodbye, Mr. Chips begins streaming Tuesday, May 9.
The Ruling Class (UK)
This musical comedy-drama sees Jack (Peter O’Toole, Lawrence of Arabia), the 14th Earl of Gurney, inherit the family estate when his father dies in an accident. The eccentric Jack sings and dances across the estate and thinks he is Jesus reincarnated. Believing that Jack is mentally unfit to own the estate, the Gurney family plots to steal his inheritance. As their outrageous schemes fail, the family strives to cure Jack of his bizarre behavior, with disastrous results. The Ruling Class begins streaming Tuesday, May 9.
The Stunt Man (UK)
In this action-comedy drama, Cameron (Steve Railsback, Lifeforce) crashes the set of a Hollywood war movie while on the run from the police and inadvertently causes a stunt man’s death. The film’s manipulative director, Eli Cross (Peter O’Toole, Lawrence of Arabia), decides to shelter Cameron from the cops if he steps in as the daredevil’s replacement. Though the arrangement seems like a good deal, it soon becomes a perilous position, with the situation complicated when Cameron falls for the movie’s lead actress, Nina Franklin (Barbara Hershey, Hannah and Her Sisters). The Stunt Man begins streaming Tuesday, May 9.
Rough Diamond: Season 2 (UK)
David Jason (Only Fools and Horses) stars in this crime drama as Diamond Geezer Des, a long-serving prison inmate and master of disguise who uses his cheeky charm and frail-old-man persona to carry out grand thefts of diamonds from fellow inmate and notorious bully Benny (Gary Whelan, The Bill), with help from Phil (Stephen Wight, I May Destroy You), a petty theft criminal and Des’s protégé. Rough Diamond: Season 2 begins streaming Thursday, May 11.
Titles in this section begin streaming on the dates shown below on MHz Choice and its digital channels, including MHz Choice on Amazon.
Maigret: Seasons 2 & 3 (UK)
Of the many adaptations of Georges Simenon’s 75 “Maigret” novels over the years, the one considered by many to be the definitive adaptation is this BBC series starring Rupert Davies as Inspector Jules Maigret. Davies, who won the 1962 Best Actor BAFTA TV Award for his portrayal of the pipe-smoking, deep-thinking French detective, was proclaimed by the author himself as “the perfect Maigret.” Maigret: Season 2 begins streaming Tuesday, May 2, followed by Season 3 on May 23.
Titles in this section begin streaming on the dates shown below on the PBS Masterpiece Prime Video Channel.
The Wind in the Willows (2007)
Adapted from the stories in The Wind in the Willows, the classic children’s novel by Kenneth Grahame, this live-action family movie brings the adventures of Mole, Rat, Mr. Toad, and Mr. Badger to life. Starring Matt Lucas (Doctor Who), Bob Hoskins (Who Framed Roger Rabbit), Mark Gatiss (Sherlock), and Lee Ingleby (The A Word), The Wind in the Willows begins streaming Monday, May 8.
Titles in this section begin streaming on the dates shown below on Topic and its digital channels, including Topic on Amazon.
Angela Black (UK)
Joanne Froggatt (Downton Abbey, Liar) stars in this drama thriller as Angela Black, a seemingly happy wife and mother of two who is actually trapped in a relationship she cannot escape. Her supposedly charming husband, Olivier (Michiel Huisman, The Flight Attendant), is, in fact, violent and manipulative. Out of the blue one day, Angela is approached by Ed (Samuel Adewunmi, You Don’t Know Me), a private investigator who spills the beans on Olivier’s darkest secrets. After Ed’s claims about her husband confirm her worst fears, Angela is left reeling and struggles to keep up the facade with Olivier and her boys, while Ed wants her to join forces with him to take action.
Angela Black begins streaming Thursday, May 25, exclusively on Topic.
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Did you miss any of the new shows from previous days, weeks, or months? Check out the British TV Viewing Guide and Archives to find out.
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For details about the May premieres of shows from Australia and New Zealand, visit The Down Under TV Place. For info about the debuts of original-language, English-subtitled programs from Europe, visit The Euro TV Place. And for that of a select list of titles from other countries, visit The Global TV Place.
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