Netflix in May 2026: 5 top all-new arrivals for the world's biggest streamer
Here are the additions you can't miss
Netflix is the biggest fish in a big sea – it's the best streaming service in the world if sheer volume is a big priority for you, and uploads dozens of old movies and shows each week to keep your media library stocked with material. If you're more interested in the Netflix Originals that get added, though, you're in the right place.
I keep tabs on Netflix's pipeline all the time, to ensure that you've got the best visibility on its all-new projects, which are often the biggest and most attention-grabbing additions to its lineup anyway. If you want to know what to look out for this May, keep reading and you'll see the five highlights that should make it a memorable month on Netflix.
Legends
- Streaming from: 7 May
This is one of the most intriguing shows Netflix has trailed recently, not least because it's a profoundly British project. Retelling a true story about customs officers volunteering to go undercover as part of drug smuggling enforcement, it promises a surprisingly gritty story of how people can step up to the plate when offered the chance to do something truly challenging.
Article continues belowIt has some familiar faces in the cast, not least in the form of Steve Coogan, and looks like it'll have a more global focus than you might think, as its characters go around the world trying to put illicit supply chains out of operation. Expect tension and peril, though, once they're in organisations that would chew them up in an instant if their identities were discovered.
The Boroughs
- Streaming from: 21 May
Another really interesting show from Netflix promises to tell a somewhat familiar sci-fi story in a very new way, thanks to its cast of older actors. The Boroughs is set in a retirement community where strange things seem to be happening, and it looks from the trailer we've seen like aliens are almost certainly on the agenda.
The show has some big overlap with the creative team that made Stranger Things, which suggests that Netflix probably has high hopes for it. It also seems to be going for a similar tone, balancing lighter, almost comic moments against a willingness to get genuinely scary in some other sequences.
Remarkable Bright Creatures
- Streaming from: 8 May
If you suspect that May will have you feeling schmaltzy and looking for more heartwarming fare, Remarkable Bright Creatures seems like a slam-dunk (or a very gentle equivalent). It takes a look at how people can find comfort in unexpected places, all through the lens of a narrator that's technically an octopus in an aquarium.
Based on a best-selling novel, it's set in a small community and takes a look at Tova, played by Sally Field. She's an older woman with tragedy in her recent past who's trying to do her best and carry on living, and when a young man without much family to speak of gets a job with her, it's clear that they'll find quiet contentment in a platonic bond.
Ladies First
- Streaming from: 22 May
I'm not saying this one will be critically adored. In fact, I strongly suspect that Ladies First will be another debacle in the eyes of taste-makers, but that won't stop it storming up the Netflix charts thanks to a fairly mass-appealing concept. Sacha Baron-Cohen stars as an utterly horrendous boss in a chauvinistic, male-dominated company.
A concussion seems to send him to an alternative timeline, though, where woman are in charge, and that sees him have to rapidly buck up his ideas to fit in. He's particularly challenged by an ice-cold Rosamund Pike, who's clearly having fun with the role. It looks like a bad film from the 90s, honestly, but don't be surprised if this one does huge numbers as an easy comedy option.
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder Season 2
- Streaming from: 27 May
The first season of this charming show was a hugely popular one, telling a whodunnit story with a slightly different focus and a younger cast, but still sticking to a fun and thrilling tone. Now we're getting a second season, and it promises to continue the story of Pippa Fitz-Amobi (Emma Myers).
She's going to have an all-new mystery to figure out, and her cast of friends will be back for the ride as she gets more than a little obsessed by her case. In fact, there will be some new additions, too, as the show scales up a little thank to the popularity of its last season. In the UK, the show will be on BBC iPlayer, but the US can catch it on Netflix at the end of the month.
