Ready to find out what's coming to HBO Max in May 2022? You should be. With April on the way out, it's time to learn about every movie and TV show that'll be available to watch on Warner Bros-Discovery's streaming service very soon.
There's a lot of interesting and top-tier content on the way for HBO Max subscribers. For one, The Matrix Resurrections is returning to the streamer following its day and date release in December 2021. So, if you missed it first time around, now is your chance to check out of the most polarizing movies of 2021.
Meanwhile, there are plenty of keenly anticipated HBO Max shows landing in May. The second season of award-winning series Hacks is set to launch in mid-May, while live-action adaptations of The Staircase and The Time Traveler's Wife are also on the way. Needless to say, you'll be getting your money's worth on HBO Max over the next few weeks.
Below, we'll run you through what we consider to be HBO Max's May 2022 highlights, as well as bringing you a full rundown of everything that'll be watchable on the streaming platform. Don't dither, then: get reading!
HBO Max in May 2022: the highlights
The Staircase
When to stream it: Thursday, May 5
HBO Max has certainly positioned itself as the home of prestige TV in recent times, with shows including Succession, Mare of Easttown, Watchmen, and Chernobyl among its sizeable award-winning offerings. The Staircase, then, will hope to follow in that quartet's footsteps, and it certainly has the star power and potentially thrilling story beats to do so.
Based on a 2004 true crime docuseries of the same name, The Staircase explores the life of crime novelist Michael Peterson (Colin Firth), who was accused of murdering his wife Kathleen (Toni Collette) after she's found bludgeoned to death at the bottom of their family home.
The limited series explores the events leading up to the incident, as well as the slow but gripping fragmentation of the Peterson family that follows in the wake of the allegations leveled against their patriarch. Michael Stuhlbarg (Doctor Strange), Dane DeHaan (Spider-Man), Sophia Turner (Game of Thrones), and Juliette Binoche (Chocolat) are among the show's all-star supporting cast.
The Staircase's first three episodes will air when the miniseries launches on May 5, with new entries landing weekly until the show's finale on June 9. One to keep an eye on.
The Matrix Resurrections
When to stream it: Tuesday, May 10
It's time to plug back into the matrix. After a 20-year absence, the beloved sci-fi franchise – depending on who you talk to, that is – returned to the big (and small) screen in December 2021 with The Matrix Resurrections, a film set 60 years after the events of 2003's Matrix Revolutions.
Hopes were high for The Matrix Resurrections, with its two trailers, returning cast members, and seemingly enthralling narrative giving off the impression that it would be the long overdue (and true) sequel to the original 1999 flick. And, while we said we enjoyed a fair amount of it in our review, there were plenty of other folk who didn't like a single aspect of The Matrix 4, as noted via its critics and audience scores on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes.
Still, if you somehow missed Resurrections when it landed in theaters and on HBO Max late last year, now's your chance to catch it. The Matrix Resurrections returns to the streaming platform in mid-May, though it's unclear if this is for a limited time only or if it's a permanent addition to HBO Max's movie catalog.
Hacks season 2
When to stream it: Thursday, May 12
Returning just shy of a year after its first season wowed fans and critics, Hacks season 2 looks to pick things up with Jean Smart's Debroah and Hannah Einbinder's Ava again as the unlikely comedic pair continue to fight against the grain – and, occasionally, each other.
For those who may need a refresher or a crash course in its plot: Smart plays Deborah, Vance, a legendary Las Vegas comic (and diva) who struggles to stay relevant in an era that's passing her by. Step forward Ava Daniels, a luckless, young and entitled comedy writer who can't find work after she was fired from her last role over an offensive tweet. Initially reluctant to work together, the duo eventually find their comedic groove and start to warm to each other until one particular incident – or, rather, a few – threaten to undo all of their hard work.
The Emmy award-winning dark comedy series returns to HBO Max for a second outing on May 12, with two new episodes airing on that date. Two brand-new entries will arrive on the streamer every week after that point until its final double act brings the curtain down on season 2 on June 2.
The Time Traveler's Wife
When to stream it: Sunday, May 15
With movie, stage musical, and audio book adaptations already in its back catalog, it was only a matter of time before The Time Traveler's Wife was brought to the small screen.
Well, that time has come. Game of Thrones' Rose Leslie is joined by Divergent's Theo James for this Stephen Moffatt (he of Doctor Who and Sherlock fame) adaptation, with the duo occupying the roles of protagonists Clare Abshire and Henry DeTamble respectively.
Based on Audrey Niffenregger's beloved romance novel of the same name, The Time Traveler's Wife tells the tale of Clare and Henry's complex relationship (and eventual marriage) across multiple decades. Why is it complicated? Because Henry has a genetic condition that causes him to travel through time unpredictably, leaving Clare to cope with his frequent absences from her life.
The six-episode miniseries will make its HBO Max debut with a single episode premiere on May 15, with subsequent episodes likely to launch weekly after that date. If you're in the mood for a heart-wrenching tale about love and a metaphorical exploration of failed relationships, this should be added to your 'must watch' list.
HBO Max in May 2022: all content
Here's every movie and TV show that'll launch on HBO Max in May 2022:
May 1
- Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood
- 47 Ronin
- Assassins (HBO)
- At Close Range (HBO)
- An Autumn Afternoon
- The Big Sleep
- Back To School
- Bottle Rocket
- Calladita (HBO)
- Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (HBO)
- Child 44 (HBO)
- Chungking Express
- The Color Purple
- Conan The Barbarian (HBO)
- Devil in A Blue Dress
- Dodes 'Ka-Den
- Domino (HBO)
- Downhill
- Dragnet Girl
- Early Spring
- Early Summer
- The End of Summer
- Equinox Flower
- Eraser
- Fallen Angels
- Floating Weeds
- FRIDA (HBO)
- The Fugitive
- Furry Vengeance (HBO)
- Gang Related (HBO)
- Good Morning
- Hard Rain (HBO)
- Hart’s War (HBO)
- High and Low
- Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius (HBO)
- Julie
- Killers (HBO)
- Language Lessons
- Love and Baseball
- The Machine That Kills Bad People
- Masters Of The Universe (HBO)
- The Missing (HBO)
- The New Guy (HBO)
- North Dallas Forty (HBO)
- Not Easily Broken
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower
- Poseidon
- Red Beard
- Ringo and His Golden Pistol
- Rugrats Go Wild (HBO)
- Rugrats In Paris: The Movie (HBO)
- The Rugrats Movie (HBO)
- The Sapphires (HBO)
- Sense and Sensibility
- Sliding Doors
- St. Elmo's Fire
- The Stepford Wives (HBO)
- Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li Extended Version
- Terminator 2: Judgment Day Director’s Cut (HBO)
- Tokyo Twilight
- Top Secret! (HBO)
- Transporter 3 (HBO)
- Unbroken
- Underworld
- Underworld: Awakening
- Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
- Welcome to the Dollhouse
- W.E. (HBO)
- What To Expect When You're Expecting (HBO)
- The Wild Thornberrys Movie (HBO)
- You, Me and Dupree
- Young Adult (HBO)
- Zathura: A Space Adventure
May 3
- Spring Awakening: Those You’ve Know (HBO documentary premiere)
May 5
- Las Bravas F.C. (Max Original season 1 premiere)
- Queen Stars Brazil (Max Original season 1 premiere)
- The Staircase (Max Original limited series premiere)
May 6
- Dear Evan Hansen (HBO)
- Entre Nos: Carmen and Alfred (HBO)
- La Afinadora De Árboles (HBO)
May 7
- We Baby Bears season 1 part C
May 9
- Get Hard
May 10
- Catwoman: Hunted
- The Matrix: Resurrections (HBO)
- Sesame Street Mecha Builders season 1 part A
- Robot Chicken season 11 part B
May 12
- Hacks (Max Original season 2 premiere)
- Who’s By Your Side (Max Original season 1 premiere)
May 13
- Hank Zipzer
- Old (HBO)
- Smalls season 4
May 15
- The Time Traveler’s Wife (HBO series premiere)
May 17
- Sesame Street Mecha Builders season 1 part B
- The Mule (HBO)
May 20
- Identidad Tomada (HBO)
May 22
- Fast Foodies season 2
May 23
- Teen Titans Go! season 7 part B
May 26
- Navalny
- That Damn Michael Che (Max Original season 2 premiere)
- Tig n’ Seek (Max Original season 4 premiere)
May 27
- Blippi Special
- Blippi Visits
- Blippi Wonders
- Blippi: Learn With Blippi
- Ghost sason 1
- Ghost season 2
- Stath Lets Flats
May 29
- The Misery Index season 3 part B
May 31
- Miami Vice Extended Version
