With as big a month as April is on the entertainment calendar, you’d think Netflix would take a break in May. If you believe this lie, however, you’ve been duped, because the month of May is shaping up to be one of the streaming giant’s biggest for new releases and disappearing acts. (And not just because Netflix told us so.) Original series like Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and House of Cards are returning with their third and fifth seasons respectively, while younger shows — such as Aziz Ansari’s hugely popular Master of None — are getting second winds with their sophomore outings. Meanwhile, Netflix’s increased cinematic output will be on full display with the Brad Pitt-starring War Machine and many others.
ARRIVING
Master of None: Season 2 (5/12)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGE-Mw-Yjsk
After a hugely successful first-season premiere in November 2015, Aziz Ansari’s FX escapee Master of None finally announced a second season premiere date last March following months of speculation. Since then, longtime fans of the Parks and Recreation alum’s equally funny, but demonstrably more serious show have been waiting for more information about Dev’s continued adventures in adulthood (and Italy).
Tracy Morgan: Staying Alive (5/16)
Netflix is having a bit of a stand-up comedy boom at the moment, and 30 Rock alum Tracy Morgan is one of the next big names to drop a new special on the platform. Titled Stayin’ Alive (in an all too obvious reference to his life-threatening car accident in 2014), the new hour draws from Morgan’s 2016 stand-up tour, Picking Up the Pieces; it’s the comic’s first special since 2014’s Bona Fide. In addition, Lady Dynamite‘s Maria Bamford, Norm MacDonald, Sarah Silverman and Daily Show correspondent Hasan Minhaj will also premiere new specials on Netflix in May.
Doctor Strange (5/30)
On the heels of Captain America: Civil War‘s Christmas Day arrival on Netflix, the streaming outlet’s ongoing deal with Disney subsidiary Marvel Studios continues with Doctor Strange. Depending on who you ask (or read), the Benedict Cumberbatch vehicle operates as either Iron Man rebooted with hallucinogenic drugs, Marvel’s best film since Guardians of the Galaxy, both, or neither.
DEPARTING
Scrubs: Seasons 1-9 (5/2)
As exciting as these new additions are, however, Netflix’s monthly announcements always come with a slight tinge of regret. That’s because they lose almost as many properties as they can make or acquire (thanks to the ins and outs of various licensing deals), which means some of subscribers’ favorite titles will go the way of the dodo (or to another streaming service) on certain dates. Like all nine seasons of Scrubs.
Here’s the full list of titles coming to Netflix in May:
5/1/17
American Experience: The Big Burn (2014)
American Experience: The Boys of ’36 (2017)
Anvil! The Story of Anvil (2008)
Blood on the Mountain (2016)
Chaahat (1996)
Chocolat (2000)
Decanted (2016)
Don’t Think Twice (2016)
Drifter (2017)
Forrest Gump (1994)
Happy Feet (2006)
In the Shadow of Iris — NETFLIX ORIGINAL FILM
Love (2015)
Losing Sight of Shore (2017)
Malibu’s Most Wanted (2003)
Nerdland (2016)
Raja Hindustani (1996)
Richard Pryor: Icon (2014)
Under Arrest: Season 5 (2016)
5/2/17
Bodyguards: Secret Lives from the Watchtower (2016)
Hija De La Laguna (2015)
Maria Bamford: Old Baby — NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Two Lovers and a Bear (2016)
5/5/17
Chelsea: Season 2 (streaming every Friday) — NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Handsome: A Netflix Mystery Movie — NETFLIX ORIGINAL FILM
Kazoops!: Season 3 — NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Sense8: Season 2 — NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Simplemente Manu NNa — NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Spirit: Riding Free: Season 1 — NETFLIX ORIGINAL
The Last Kingdom: Season 2 — NETFLIX ORIGINAL
The Mars Generation — NETFLIX ORIGINAL
5/6/17
Cold War 2 (2016)
When the Bough Breaks (2017)
5/7/17
LoveTrue (2016)
Stake Land II (2016)
The Host (2013)
5/8/17
Beyond the Gates (2016)
Hunter Gatherer (2016)
5/9/17
Norm Macdonald: Hitler’s Dog, Gossip & Trickery — NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Queen of the South: Season 1 (2016)
All We Had (2016)
5/10/17
El apóstata (2015)
The Adventure Club (2016)
5/11/17
Switched at Birth: Season 5 (2017)
The Fosters: Season 4 (2016)
5/12/17
All Hail King Julien: Exiled: Season 1 — NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Anne with an E: Season 1 — NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Get Me Roger Stone — NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Master of None: Season 2 — NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Mindhorn — NETFLIX ORIGINAL FILM
Sahara — NETFLIX ORIGINAL FILM
5/15/17
Command and Control (2016)
Cave (2016)
Lovesong (2016)
Sherlock: Series 4 (2016)
The Intent (2016)
5/16/17
Tracy Morgan: Staying Alive — NETFLIX ORIGINAL
The Break-Up (2006)
The Place Beyond the Pines (2012)
5/18/17
Royal Pains: Season 8 (2016)
Riverdale: Season 1 (2016)
5/19/17
BLAME! — NETFLIX ORIGINAL FILM
Laerte-se — NETFLIX ORIGINAL
The Keepers: Season 1 — NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Season 3 — NETFLIX ORIGINAL
5/21/17
What’s With Wheat (2017)
5/22/17
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
They Call Us Monsters (2017)
5/23/17
Hasan Minhaj: Homecoming King — NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Dig Two Graves (2014)
5/24/17
Southpaw (2015)
5/26/17
Believe (2016)
Bloodline: Season 3 — NETFLIX ORIGINAL
I am Jane Doe (2017)
Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower — NETFLIX ORIGINAL
War Machine — NETFLIX ORIGINAL FILM
5/28/17
Bunk’d: Season 2 (2016)
5/29/17
Forever Pure (2016)
A New High (2015)
5/30/17
F is for Family: Season 2 — NETFLIX ORIGINAL
House of Cards: Season 5 — NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Doctor Strange (2016)
Masterminds
Sarah Silverman A Speck of Dust — NETFLIX ORIGINAL
COMING SOON
Supergirl: Season 2 (2016)
Supernatural: Season 12 (2016)
The Flash: Season 3 (2016)
Here’s the full list of titles leaving Netflix in May:
5/1/17
11 Blocks
Alfie
Bang Bang!
Black Mamba: Kiss of Death
Cujo
Doomsdays
Fantastic Four
FernGully 2: The Magical Rescue
Flicka: Country Pride
Garfield’s Fun Fest
Invincible
Jetsons: The Movie
Jurassic Park III
Jurassic Park
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
Paulie
Samurai Headhunters
Stephen King’s Thinner
Tales from the Darkside: The Movie
The Doors
The Real Beauty and the Beast
The Seven Dwarfs of Auschwitz
The Sons of Katie Elder
The Wedding Planner
Things We Lost in the Fire
To Catch a Thief
Treblinka: Hitler’s Killing Machine
Truly Strange
Turf War: Lions and Hippos
Van Wilder: Freshman Year
Venom Islands
World War II Spy School
5/2/17
Good Luck Charlie: Seasons 1 – 4
Kickin’ It: Seasons 1 – 3
Scrubs: Seasons 1 – 9
5/5/17
Amapola
Flubber
Grosse Pointe Blank
The Recruit
What About Bob?
5/7/17
American Dad!: Season 7
Bob’s Burgers: Season 2
5/11/17
American Dad!: Season 8
5/15/17
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown: Seasons 1 – 5
5/17/17
American Dad!: Seasons 9 & 10
5/19/17
Step Up
5/26/17
Graceland: Seasons 1 – 3
