It’s time to clear your watchlist
May arrives with the kind of streaming slate that makes cancelling plans feel like an act of self-care. This month, the small screen plays host to stories that span centuries and genres. From rain-soaked moors to criminal underbellies, sun-scorched islands to college campuses, the most compelling television right now refuses to be contained to a single mood. For the literary-minded, it is a particularly rich month: beloved novels find new life on screen, from a sweeping gothic classic that has haunted readers for over a century to the slow-burning romance of a hockey romance that has taken the BookTok world by storm. But, trust, May 2026 has engineered something for every disposition other than these book adaptations. So, it’s time to clear your watchlist, because you are going to need the space.
Scroll below to see our curated guide on what to watch on streaming in May 2026.
Here’s what to watch on streaming in May 2026:
Wuthering Heights
Based on Emily Brontë’s gothic romance and masterpiece, Wuthering Heights got a fresh interpretation this year and now, it’s coming to your TV screen. The film is centered on the intense, passionate relationship between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff—a classic tale of obsessive love, revenge and the destructive power of unfulfilled passion that has captivated readers for over 175 years.
Release Date: 1 May
Send Help
Fans of sharp, tension-led drama with hints of comedy and horror, then you can’t skip this one. When a plane falls from the sky and the world they knew disappears with it, a woman finds herself marooned on a deserted island with the last person she’d choose to share a boardroom with—let alone a coastline. Her overbearing boss, once armoured by authority and corner-office certainty, is stripped of every advantage that never mattered less. Old grievances simmer beneath the equatorial heat as the two reluctant survivors are forced into an uneasy alliance. But nature is not the only thing they must tame. In the end, it is not the island that proves most treacherous—it is each other.
Release Date: 8 May
Marty, Life Is Short
If you loved him in Only Murders in The Building, then you’ll love this documentary on the beloved actor and comedian, Martin Short. Featuring never-before-seen archival footages and exclusive interview with some of the most prominent and beloved stars in Hollywood, the documentary takes an insightful look at his life and career.
Release Date: 12 May
Off Campus
Off Campus centres on Hannah, a reserved songwriter enlisted to tutor Briar University’s hockey captain, Garrett Graham. The arrangement is transactional: academic support in exchange for a fake date designed to make her musician crush jealous. But proximity rewrites the rules. What begins as pretence evolves into something magnetic—tutoring sessions give way to genuine connection, carefully drawn boundaries begin to blur, and both must confront whether they’re ready for the vulnerability that real love demands.
Release Date: 13 May
Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War
For those who loved action-packed films, this fits the bill. When the world’s most dangerous secrets refuse to stay buried, CIA analyst Jack Ryan is pulled back into the shadows in Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War—reuniting with a team of operatives as fractured as they are formidable. Hunted by an adversary who seems to anticipate their every move, they must confront not just an enemy, but the ghosts of a past they were convinced had been laid to rest.
Release Date: 20 May
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder (Season 2)
Based on Holly Jackson’s book of the same title, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder follows Pippa or Pip as she uncovers what actually happened to Andie Bell—who was murdered by Sal Singh—five years ago. Now, with season two coming in hot, Pip is now determind to fix the fallout of solving the case and trying to stay away from any more crime. But, as Max Hastings’ trial approaches, and Connor’s brother Jamie suddenly dissapears, Pip finds herself in a race against time to find him.
Release Date: 27 May
Spider-Noir
Fans of morally weathered protagonists or just superheroes will love this one. Set in 1933 in New York, a masked legend who was once the city’s only superhero is now a private investigator: ageing, broke, and very much retired. He takes the cases no one else wants and asks questions no one else dares, all while trying to outrun a past that defined him. But when a new case drags him back into the city’s criminal underworld, he can no longer ignore what he once was—or what the city still needs him to be. Spider Noir is a brooding and atmospheric dive into identity, legacy and what it truly costs to hang up the mask.
