So it's not looking like 2020's summer movie season is going to be much of a thing, but
who needs it? After all, Netflix is right on hand to keep TV and movie fans more than
occupied over the coming months. Here's the best stuff coming to Netflix in May 2020.
Netflix's newest action movies might be very different, but both are arriving on the very
first day of the month. The first is Den of Thieves, a 2018 heist film starring Gerard
Butler. Butler portrays Detective "Big Nick" O'Brian, an LAPD officer tasked with apprehending
a squad of highly skilled bank robbers, two of whom, including their leader, are former
Special Forces Marines. When the crew plans to hit the Federal Reserve Bank in Los Angeles,
it quickly becomes a cat-and-mouse game between Detective O'Brian and the gang. And the good
news is that a sequel is already in the works, so now is a great time to pick up on this
one.
If you're more interested in period action, Netflix is also releasing The Patriot on May
1st. That said, this 2000 historical-fiction-slash-action film is less devoted to showcasing the era
than it is in blowing lots of people up. The movie stars Mel Gibson as Captain Benjamin
Martin, a veteran of the French and Indian War who is reluctant to join the Revolutionary
War, despite being an expert in the kind of guerilla warfare the American Army desperately
needs. But his son Gabriel, inspired by patriotic fervour, joins the cause against his father's
wishes. When death comes to knock at the Martin family door, Benjamin takes up arms one more
time in the name of revenge, to become a legend of America's first war.
May will also see the arrival of a few sci-fi classics on Netflix. First up are the first
two Back to the Future movies. Whether you're wanting to revisit these beloved films, or
if you've somehow never seen them, then there's never been a better time to catch them than
now. Starring Christopher Lloyd and Michael J. Fox in the biggest roles of their careers,
the Back to the Future movies follow high school student Marty McFly and eccentric physicist
Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown as they take off on a wild adventure to the past and future.
"Oh, this is heavy."
Back to the Future and Back to the Future Part II will both be available on Netflix
on May 1st.
Far on the other side of the sci-fi spectrum is Neill Blomkamp's dark alien invasion tale,
District 9. The film depicts the aftermath of humanity's first contact with aliens, only
this is no Independence Day. These aliens are lost and starving, are quickly placed
in segregated housing, and end up being treated as pariahs. When a government employee named
Wikus is exposed to toxic material during a routine eviction, he soon finds himself
transforming into something less than human. Forced to turn to one of the downtrodden aliens
for help, Wikus sets off a chain of events that has devastating consequences for humans
and aliens alike. District 9 will be available to stream on May 15th.
May is definitely the month of drama for Netflix. The streamer will be dropping a bunch of self-made
originals along with many established classics.
If you want to catch up on some Oscar nominees, you could do worse than Trumbo, a biopic about
the 1950s blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, starring Bryan Cranston. There's also
Uncut Gems, starring Adam Sandler in a surprise dramatic turn as a charming but shady jeweler.
These movies will be available on May 19th and 25th, respectively.
For those who prefer Netflix's original fare, the May 1st arrival The Half of It follows
two teenagers attending the same high school who kindle an unlikely friendship when one
hires the other to write love letters to a girl he has a crush on. As you might expect,
a love triangle quickly forms - which results in one of the girls beginning to question
her own sexuality.
If you're after something more vintage, however, there's also Urban Cowboy, which will also
be available to stream on Netflix on May 1st. Starring John Travola, this neo-western romantic
drama is a little bit cheesy, a little bit honky-tonk, and a whole lot of cowboy.
Finally, for something that's just a bit different, Netflix will be adding the 2014 Irish animated
film Song of the Sea on May 1st. Though it garnered widespread critical acclaim, and
was even nominated for an Oscar, this movie didn't receive a wide release, and is generally
regarded as being hugely underrated. It tells the story of a young boy who discovers his
sister is a selkie - a kind of half-human, half-seal creature. And don't let the "family"
moniker fool you, either - this is a film that uses a mountain of symbolism and deft
visual storytelling to tell a genuinely heartbreaking tale of grief, acceptance, and healing.
Any true horror fan will tell you that a good fright night is suitable for any time of the
year. And just because those springtime flowers are blooming doesn't mean you can't dive into
a good old fashioned horror flick. At the beginning of the month, Netflix has two original
features lined up to keep horror fans quaking in their muddy spring boots. Starring Jacqueline
Fernandez and Manoj Bajpayee, Mrs. Serial Killer is an international film that tells
the story of a doctor imprisoned for committing several horrifying acts of murder. His wife
then sets out to commit a string of copycat crimes to help establish a case for his innocence.
There's always room for some supernatural spookiness, too, and if that's your bag then
you're in luck - because Netflix is also bringing the first three movies in the Underworld series
to streaming. This franchise of horror-action hybrid films concerns an epic grudge match
between vampires and were-wolves. And sure, they're not exactly Oscar-winners - but they
are a whole heap of fun.
Everyone can probably agree that the world needs a good comedy or two right now. Luckily,
Netflix has got you covered. The streamer's May slate of laugh-out-loud comedies should
provide the perfect remedy for these trying times.
On the first of the month, Netflix will drop two flicks featuring comedy legend Jim Carrey.
One is the 1994 comedy flick Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.
"Ho ho ho, fiction can be fun!"
That same day, Netflix will release another Jim Carrey movie, Fun with Dick and Jane - a
2005 remake of a 1977 film, written by Knocked Up and Superbad director Judd Apatow.
If you like a little romance with your laughter, Netflix has the perfect original feature coming
your way mid-month. The Wrong Missy is a quirky rom-com following a man who accidentally invites
a woman from a nightmare blind date to a work retreat in Hawaii. So relatable, right?
Of course, for some comedy fans, one person spitting jokes into a microphone is more than
enough to get the giggles going. Fortunately, Netflix has established itself as just the
place to scratch your itch for stand-up, and their original stand-up specials have been
coming hot and fast for a while now. May 2020 doesn't look to be any different.
On May 5th, comedy legend Jerry Seinfeld returns to the stage for a much-anticipated special
entitled 23 Hours To Kill. Expect a fresh dose of the comic's patented brand of observational
humor, including hilarious musings on everything from the merits of talking versus texting
to the timeless culinary magic of Pop-Tarts.
Later in the month, Netflix is releasing two more fresh servings of comedy gold - one from
Patton Oswalt, subtitled I Love Everything, and the other from Hannah Gadsby, entitled
Douglas. Oswalt has been on the stand-up scene almost as long as Seinfeld, but his off-beat
variety of comedy has really found an audience in recent years. Gadsby is a relative newcomer,
having made a huge splash in the mainstream through her 2018 special Nanette. Her new
special is only her second, and has been described by Netflix as:
"A grand tour of guffaw that takes you from the dog park to the High Renaissance and back
into an unnamed box."
Finally, Netflix will be releasing a documentary about the life and times of Saturday Night
Live alum Darrell Hammond, entitled Cracked Up, The Darrell Hammond Story - just in case
you're a little tired of the stand-up part of stand-up.
Netflix is dishing up a few of its own TV series in May, the first of which comes from
small-screen guru Ryan Murphy. After rolling out his first Netflix release, The Politician,
in September 2019, Murphy set out to wow with his second. Entitled Hollywood, the series
follows a group of young actors and filmmakers trying to make their way in a post-WWII movie
biz - and promises a savvy mix of high drama and even higher style.
If period-specific drama isn't really your thing, however, Netflix is also releasing
a sci-fi farce that will find Steve Carell reuniting with his Office boss Greg Daniels.
Space Force is a workplace comedy featuring Carell commanding the would-be space bound
branch of the military - and fronting a killer leading cast, featuring a line-up of comedy
greats.
There are also a handful of network gems hitting Netflix in May 2020. Chief among them is the
fourth season of The CW's teen drama-thriller Riverdale, which saw the series push its absurdist
aesthetic farther than anyone could have anticipated. Grey's Anatomy fans will likely want to keep
an eye out for season 16's Netflix arrival, too; those episodes will be available to stream
on May 9th.
While May 2020 will see the arrival of genuinely exciting films to Netflix, it'll also see
the departure of some genuine cinematic gems. The good news is that not much is actually
leaving Netflix until roughly mid-month. Unfortunately, the movies that are leaving are among the
best on Netflix at the moment.
These include the brainy, Bradley Cooper-led thriller Limitless, and 2012's tragically
overlooked crime epic The Place Beyond The Pines. There are a handful of equally underrated
flicks making their Netflix departure just a few days later. Among them are Black Snake
Moan, a bizarre social drama starring Samuel L. Jackson and Christina Ricci, which heads
out on May 19th. Also leaving Netflix that day is Jason Reitman's cringe-inducing dramedy
Young Adult, which features Charlize Theron as a YA fiction author desperate to rekindle
her romance with a high school sweetheart.
For those looking to revisit a couple of '90s era classics, you've got until the end of
the month to get your swing on with Mike Myers' pitch-perfect spy spoof Austin Powers: International
Man of Mystery and its subsequent sequels.
"Oh behave. Yeah!"
And that's ditto for 1993's Johnny Depp-and-Leonardo DiCaprio-starring indie flick What's Eating
Gilbert Grape. Finally, if you're among the diehard fans of the death-defying Final Destination
horror franchise, the first three films in the series will officially leave Netflix on
the 31st.
As with the movie side of things, Netflix is about to holler "last call" on a handful
of notable small-screen offerings. One silver lining that can be found, however, is that
most of the shows leaving Netflix in May 2020 are either old or recently cancelled.
If you loved Kerry Washington's twist-a-minute political thriller Scandal, you'll want to
mark May 18th on your calendar; that's the final day you'll be able to revisit all 124
episodes of the series. One of USA Network's best-loved series, the medical dramedy Royal
Pains, is also slated to leave Netflix on May 17th.
Saddest of all, however, is the imminent departure of Bob Ross from Netflix's streaming service.
Ross' soothing voice and stunning artwork have been just the ticket for generations
of TV fans, and ought to be a great tonic for these difficult days. Sadly, the first
collection of Ross' beloved painting series Beauty Is Everywhere is set to leave Netflix
at the end of May. Start your binge now while you can - because you just can't have enough
Bob Ross in your life.
Check out one of our newest videos right here! Plus, even more Looper videos about your favorite
movies and TV shows are coming soon. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so
you don't miss a single one.