So you fought the crowds at last week’s superhero mega-movie and need a breather. Or maybe you just need to get fighting fit before Memorial Day south of the border, the unofficial start of blockbuster season. Relax and put your feet up: here’s a sampling of what’s streaming on small screens in May.
Picnic at Hanging Rock (Amazon Prime)
The six-part miniseries has much to live up to: Peter Weir’s 1975 film is considered a watershed moment for Australian cinema. The modern, small-screen adaptation stars Game of Thrones’ Natalie Dormer as the repressed and slightly unhinged matron of a girls’ boarding school who, uncharacteristically, takes six of her students out for a picnic near a spooky rock formation on Valentine’s Day, 1900. Three students and a teacher never return. The real mystery is whether the series will leave things as open-ended as Weir’s film or Joan Lindsey’s 1967 novel. The first episodes of the series premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, and Amazon Prime’s acquisition is rumoured to be the largest U.S. commercial deal ever for an Australian TV series.
Evil Genius: The True Story of America’s Most Diabolical Bank Heist (Netflix)
In 2003 a man in Erie, Pennsylvania, walked into a bank with a bomb in a metal collar around his neck and said he needed money, or his captors would blow him up. The botched robbery, murder and strange scavenger hunt that stymied the FBI captured media attention worldwide. Fifteen years later, more facts illuminate the case of “the pizza bomber heist” and the strange cast of characters involved. A must-see for the true-crime obsessed, premieres May 11.
Keeping Faith (Acorn)
Next time you think that actors have all the fun, consider that Eve Myles (Broadchurch) filmed her hit series Keeping Faith twice: once in English and once in Welsh, which she had to learn to speak fluently before the cameras rolled. In Keeping Faith, Myles plays a woman whose husband drives off to work one day and never returns, leaving behind clues of a second life no one ever suspected. Faith is left to juggle three kids and their struggling law practice while she tries to solve the mystery of Evan’s disappearance. Fans of Big Little Lies will appreciate this tale of yet another small town with big secrets. An Acorn TV original series, it received five million downloads (a record for a non-network show) in the U.K.; a heady mix of insightful family drama and captivating mystery.
Fahrenheit 451 (HBO Now)
“Knowledge is a dangerous thing.” This adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s 1953 dystopian novel stars Michael B. Jordan in the title role as “fireman” Guy Montag, whose job it is to incinerate any and all physical books. It’s working. A whole generation of children have never seen one, and that’s just the way Montag’s boss, fire chief Beatty (Michael Shannon) likes it. When Guy meets someone who changes his perspective, his world gets a whole lot more complicated. (An amateur conspiracy theorist could point out that the move to Kindles, Nooks and Kobos might be a sinister plot to someday delete the world’s knowledge with the click of a button, no fire needed.) Directed by Ramin Brahmi, who worked with Shannon in 99 Homes, the futuristic drama airs May 18 after the film’s premiere at Cannes.
Alias Grace (Netflix)
If you missed it on CBC, you can now catch the six-part miniseries Alias Grace on Netflix in Canada. A true story reimagined by Margaret Atwood, the tale revolves around Grace (Sarah Gadon), a poor Irish immigrant in Upper Canada who is convicted of killing her employer and his housekeeper. She gives a full account of her history to a psychiatrist (Edward Holcroft) before she is scheduled to go to the gallows: but which version of it is true? Sarah Polley spent 20 years adapting Atwood’s novel; Mary Harron (American Psycho) directs. Also starring Paul Gross and Anna Paquin.
Rocky and Bullwinkle (Amazon Prime)
A moose, a flying squirrel, and a pair of Russian spies: it’s an unlikely combo that’s been entertaining audiences in some incarnation since 1959. Recently revamped by Amazon Prime – and executive produced by Tiffany Ward, daughter of series creator Jay Ward – the animated series starts May 11.
Sando (Acorn)
Outrageous Australian comedy Sando chronicles the ups and downs – mostly downs – of businesswoman Vicki Sandringham, who owns a chain of discount furniture marts until she’s forced out and made homeless by the board. “Sando” heads back to the bosom of her family, who have a million good reasons not to take her in, the first one being that annoying TV jingle. Ten episodes; Sacha Horler stars.
My Next Guest Needs No Introduction: David Letterman (Netflix)
After 30 years of welcoming guests onto his show on network TV, David Letterman welcomes them onto his stream-anytime series. A new episode is released monthly, and May’s features Tina Fey, who is more than up to the task of sparring with the legendary host.
Vanity Fair (Amazon Prime)
Another sprawling period piece headed to Amazon Prime is the oft-produced Vanity Fair. William Makepeace Thackeray’s novel about the gold-digger Becky Sharp’s ascent up the social ladder in 1820’s London stars Olivia Cooke (Ready Player One), Suranne Jones and Michael Palin as Thackeray himself.
Ibiza (Netflix)
If you’re raunch-com ready, Ibiza looks like a good bet. Harper (Gillian Jacobs) is sent to Barcelona for a work assignment and her two friends (Vanessa Byers, Phoebe Robinson) insist on tagging along. But meetings come second to a hot DJ (he’s “a proper artist” though, so it’s ok) who Harper pursues to Ibiza. Cue the slow-motion strut to the nightclub…
Cargo (Netflix)
Close cousin of The Road, at least on the surface, is Cargo, a Netflix Original film about one man’s desperate search for a safe place for his infant daughter amid a raging pandemic in Australia. He’s only got 48 hours, and there are zombies, so it’s basically every new parent’s nightmare. Martin Freeman stars.
All Night (Hulu)
“During a lock-in graduation party, a group of new grads will do whatever it takes to make their remaining high school dreams come true,” reads the tagline on Hulu’s press site. Perfectly poised amidst end-of-year hijinks, expect drama, hookups, booze and old-school jello-wrestling from the 10-episode series.
The Kissing Booth (Netflix)
More high school fantasies are realized when Elle (Joey King) visits a high school kissing booth. She must decide whether or not to risk her lifelong friendship with her best friend when his older brother – the hottest guy in school – decides he’s interested in her. Molly Ringwald stars as the boys’ mom. Based on the wildly successful YA novel by Beth Reekles.
Anon (Netflix)
In this future-world sci-fi series starring Clive Owen and Amanda Seyfried, humans can be hacked. “Anonymity is the enemy.” In a society where people have been outfitted with 24-7 monitoring technology – everything they see is recordable and accessible to law enforcement – Detective Sal Frieland (Owen) finds that his own visions, his own live reality has been altered by criminals. And for master hackers who can wipe the slate clean, all crime is possible. The film is by Andrew Nicol, the director of Gattaca and writer of The Truman Show, and was picked up by Netflix after its debut at last year’s Toronto Film Festival.
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