“Doctor Who”
Over 60 years after it first debuted on BBC, the venerable sci-fi series is back, and it has a new home outside of the U.K., Disney+. Both distributors are doing the first simultaneous launch with two all-new episodes. The new Doctor, Ncuti Gatwa, is joined by Ruby Sunday, portrayed by Millie Gibson. Showrunner Russell T. Davies is back at the helm as TARDIS travels from Britain’s Regency era to apocalyptic future timelines. Guest stars include Jinkx Monsoon, Aneurin Barnard, Anita Dobson, Yasmin Finney, Michelle Greenidge, Jonathan Groff, Bonnie Langford, Genesis Lynea, Jemma Redgrave, Lenny Rush, Indira Varma, and Angela Wynter.
Premiere Date: May 10 on Disney+.
“Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire” (Season 2)
Disney has Marvel and Lucasfilm, Peacock has “Ted” and “Sonic The Hedgehog,” and AMC’s big genre is the fantastical Anne Rice Universe. Taking place in 2022, the second season sees vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac (“Game Of Thrones” alumni Jacob Anderson) continuing to recount his life story to journalist Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian). The rest of the cast includes Delaniey Hayles, Armand Assad Zaman, and Sam Reid as Lestat de Lioncourt. Season two also includes Ben Daniels and guest star David Costabile, Roxane Duran, and Bally Gill.
Premiere Date: May 12 on AMC
“Outer Range” (Season 2)
If Prime Video has a best-kept secret, aka the best show on the streaming channel, that enough people aren’t watching, it’s undoubtedly the very excellent “Outer Range,” Described by us as a mix of “Yellowstone” and the “X-Files,” the series is a Western family drama and mind-bending sci-fi series about a Wyoming rancher (Josh Brolin), fighting for his land and family, who discovers a mysterious black void in the pasture after the arrival of a mysterious woman (Imogen Poots) camping on his land. Featuring an excellent supporting cast, Lili Taylor, Tom Pelphrey, Tamara Podemski, Lewis Pullman, Noah Reid, and Shaun Sipos, season one features excellent indie filmmaker Alonso Ruizpalacios and Amy Seimetz and season two features directors for “Reservation Dogs,” “Echo” and the directorial debut of Josh Brolin.
Premiere Date: May 16, via Prime Video.
“The Big Cigar”
André Holland stars as the famous Black Panther revolutionary Huey P. Newton in a big biographical drama thriller mini-series developed by Jim Hecht (“Winning Time”). The story centers on Newton, who seeks the help of film producer Bert Schneider (Alessandro Nivola) as he tries to escape to Cuba. Tiffany Boone, Marc Menchaca, Moses Ingram, Glynn Turman, P. J. Byrne, and more co-star, and Don Cheadle directs a few eps.
Premiere Date: May 17, via Apple TV+.
“Trying” (Season 4)
It’s been six years since Jason (Rafe Spall) and Nikki (Esther Smith) first adopted their two children, and things haven’t gotten any easier. This season sees Jason form a football (soccer) club for his son Tyler (Cooper Turner) and all the other kids who don’t fit in. Their older daughter, Princess (Scarlett Rayner), is on a mission to find her biological mother she hasn’t seen in five years. Basically, this is your chance to catch up with a show you probably had no idea was on Apple TV+ or was even entering its fourth season. Who said Peak TV is over?
Premiere Date: May 22, on Apple TV+.
“We Are Lady Parts” (Season 2)
Three years after its sensational debut, the Peabody Award-winning and BAFTA Television Award-nominated series is back. There aren’t many details on the second go-around, but the entire band is expected to be back for the second season. Creator and director Nida Manzoor also returns after tackling her feature directorial debut “Polite Society,” which was released in theaters a year ago.
Premiere Date: May 30, on Peacock.
“Eric”
Created by BAFTA and Emmy Award-winner writer Abi Morgan (“The Hour,” “The Iron Lady”), this thriller series starring Benedict Cumberbatch follows a father who is one of New York’s leading puppeteers and the creator of a hugely popular children’s television show. But his life unravels and turns desperate when his young nine-year-old son goes missing on the way to school. As he battles his demons on the vibrant, dangerous, and intoxicating streets of 1980s New York, the series becomes a frantic race against time to find his son. The series co-stars Gaby Hoffmann, McKinley Belcher III, and Ivan Howe. Lucy Forbes (“The End of the F***ing World”) directs the series.
Premiere Date: May 30 on Netflix.