WHAT WE CAN’T WAIT TO WATCH
Betty
Crystal Moselle’s Skate Kitchen was one of the best movies of 2018. Set in summertime New York City, the indie drama starred a group of skater girls playing versions of themselves (plus Jaden Smith). This spin-off reunites the cast (but not Jaden Smith) for what’s sure to be a wistful ride through the streets of New York given the city has been so hard-hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Aside from gorgeously shot skateboard scenes, Skate Kitchen beautifully captured the awkwardness of tenuous friendships, the challenges of communication and emotional vulnerability, allowing the dramatic tension to flow from the characters’ decisions. We have high hopes for Betty. May 1
RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race
Another spin-off hitting Crave this month is the celebrity edition of RuPaul’s Drag Race. The first episode in this four-part series debuted in April and though most fans posting on social media felt the word “celebrity” was applied generously, the episode wasn’t that bad. Yes, the three “celebs” are barely C-list but the Drag Race casting directors did a good job finding professional actors and comedians able to bring it in the maxi challenge while also having dramatic enough back stories to ensure the requisite tears on the runway. The producers clearly set out to make these guys look as ridiculous as possible – and the contestants seemed totally game. May 2
Tom Henry: 66 Jokes
With comedy clubs currently closed, Crave’s growing library of stand-up specials is becoming an essential service these days. And the addition of local stand-up Tom Henry’s act – taped at Montreal’s Just For Laughs – should bring him lots of new fans. His performance style is unique, with a calm, almost expressionless delivery that catches up on you. Expect to laugh at least 66 times. May 15
I Know This Much Is True
This series is based on Wally Lamb’s 22-year-old Oprah’s Book Club bestseller of the same name. Written and directed by Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine), the six-episode adaptation stars Mark Ruffalo as twin brothers Dominick and Thomas Birdsey, who are grappling with mental illness and PTSD in Gulf War-era America. This is an epic family saga so naturally the cast is equally epic: Melissa Leo, Rosie O’Donnell, Archie Panjabi, Imogen Poots, Juliette Lewis and Kathryn Hahn are among the supporting players. May 10
SOLID BETS
James Vs. His Future Self
Written by director Jeremy LaLonde and producer/star Jonas Chernick, this time-travel romantic comedy finds a nifty new spin on Back To The Future, with neurotic present-day physicist James (Chernick) confronted by an older version of himself (Daniel Stern) who’s determined to get him to abandon his research into time travel, and also maybe act on that torch he carries for his co-worker (The Last Man On Earth’s Cleopatra Coleman). It’s a surprisingly sweet project for both LaLonde and Chernick, who last collaborated on How To Plan An Orgy In A Small Town – and who discussed the curveball of releasing this movie during the pandemic in a recent episode of the NOW What podcast. May 15
Ready Or Not
Part of the same wave of underclass cinema that includes Joker, Knives Out, Parasite and The Hunt, this scrappy comic thriller from the Radio Silence collective stars Samara Weaving as a very nice young woman who’s just married a board-game heir (Goalie’s Mark O’Brien) … only to find his entire family trying to kill her in order to fulfill some kind of weird ritual. Unapologetically silly, occasionally shocking and packed with talented character actors – including Wynonna Earp’s Melanie Scrofano and Orphan Black’s Kristian Bruun – it’s an awfully entertaining way to kill an evening, especially if you’re spending that evening stuck indoors with your own extended family. May 15
Downton Abbey
This two-hour feature movie is a sequel to the beloved period TV drama, and it’s the cinematic equivalent of comfort food. In other words: exactly what we need to watch right now. Set in 1927, it chronicles the fictional visit of King George V to the abbey and all the excitement – both political and sexual – that entails. A high-toned soap opera that’s great fun. Read our review here. May 8
Parasite
It seems like a lifetime ago that Bong Joon-ho’s brilliant, barbed social study blew up the Academy Awards by becoming the first foreign-language film to win best picture – and in a lot of ways, it was. When Parasite won four Oscars in the before-time of February, it was seen as the culmination of the movie’s stampede through festivals, critics’ guilds and the global box office: a movie that made socioeconomic commentary the stuff of giddy, daring entertainment. Now, with the coronavirus acting as a highlighter to the inequality around the world, Bong’s sense of a coming storm seems even more prescient. But amazingly enough, the jokes still land. May 29
Joker
Joaquin Phoenix won an Oscar for his unimpeachable performance as a tortured stand-up comedian whose obsession with appearing on a late-night talk show will eventually lead him to become Gotham City’s clown prince of crime … but the movie Todd Phillips built around him is just an empty feature-length mash-up of Taxi Driver and The King Of Comedy, offering an entirely superficial answer to the question of what a Martin Scorsese Joker movie would look like. Anyway, if you missed it it’s on Crave now. May 22
Full list of new titles available in May, by date. The + symbol indicates a TV show or movie that is only available on Crave+ . The * symbol indicates a TV show or movie that is only available with the Starz add-on.
TV SHOWS
May 1
Betty (season 1, episode 1)+
Drunk History (season 6B)
Harry & His Bucket Full Of Dinosaurs (season 2)
May 2
The Good Doctor (season 3)
RuPaul’s Drag Race (season 12, episode 10)
RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race (season 1, episode 2)
May 3
Atlanta’s Missing And Murdered: The Lost Children (season 1, episode 5)+
Billions (season 5, episode 1)
Insecure (season 4, episode 4)+
Penny Dreadful: City Of Angels (season 1, episode 2)
Run (season 1, episode 4)+
Vice (season 1, episode 6)
Vida (season 3, episode 2)*
Westworld (season 3, episode 8)+
May 4
Desus & Mero (season 2, episode 21)
Human Nature
My Brilliant Friend (season 2, episode 8)+
May 5
Cardinal (season 4, episode 5)
Dark Side Of The Ring (season 2, episode 8)
The Bold And The Beautiful (season 33, episodes 160-161)
May 6
The Voice (season 18, episode 13-14)
May 7
Brockmire (season 4, episode 8)
Desus & Mero (season 2, episode 22)
Transplant (season 1, episode 11)
We’re Here (season 1, episode 3)+
May 8
Betty (season 1, episode 2)+
Mighty Planes (seasons 1-4)
Monster High Ghoul School (season 1)
RuPaul’s Drag Race (season 12, episode 11)
RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race (season 1, episode 3)
May 10
Billions (season 5, episode 2)
I Know This Much Is True (season 1, episode 1)+
Insecure (season 4, episode 5)+
Penny Dreadful: City Of Angels (season 1, episode 3)
Run (season 1, episode 5)+
Vice (season 1, episode 7)
Vida (season 3, episode 3)*
May 11
Desus & Mero (season 2, episode 23)
May 12
Cardinal (season 4, episode 6)
Dark Side Of The Ring (eason 2, episode 9)
May 13
The Voice (season 18, episode 14-15)
May 14
Desus & Mero (season 2, episode 24)
Transplant (season 1, episode 12)
We’re Here (season 1, episode 4)+
May 15
Betty (season 1, episode 3)+
Good Talk With Anthony Jeselnik (season 1)
Peg & Cat (season 2)
RuPaul’s Drag Race (season 12, episode 12)
RuPaul’s Celebrity Drag Race (season 1, episode 4)
Tom Henry: 66 Jokes
May 17
Billions (season 5, episode 3)
I Know This Much Is True (season 1, episode 2)+
Insecure (season 4, episode 6)+
Hightown (season 1, episode 1)*
Penny Dreadful: City Of Angels (season 1, episode 4)
Run (season 1, episode 6)+
Vice (season 1, episode 8)
Vida (season 3, episode 4)*
May 18
Desus & Mero (season 2, episode 25)
May 19
Dark Side Of The Ring (season 2, episode 10)
May 20
The Voice (season 18, episode 16-17)
May 21
Desus & Mero (season 2, episode 26)
Transplant (season 1, episode 13)
We’re Here (season 1, episode 5)+
May 22
Betty (season 1, episode 4)+
Heavy Rescue: 401 (season 2-3)
Squish (season 1B)
Watts On The Grill (season 1)
RuPaul’s Drag Race (season 12, episode 13)
May 24
Billions (season 5, episode 4)
I Know This Much Is True (season 1, episode 3)+
Insecure (season 4, episode 7)+
Hightown (season 1, episode 2)*
Penny Dreadful: City Of Angels (season 1, episode 5)
Run (season 1, episode 7)+
Vice (season 1, episode 9)
Vida (season 3, episode 5)*
May 25
Mary’s Kitchen Crush (season 1B)
May 28
We’re Here (season 1, episode 6)+
May 29
Betty (season 1, episode 5)+
Jesus Trejo: Stay At Home Son
Ramy (season 2)*
RuPaul’s Drag Race (season 12, episode 14)
Zig & Sharko (season 1)
May 31
I Know This Much Is True (season 1, episode 4)+
Insecure (season 4, episode 8)+
Hightown (season 1, episode 3)*
Vida (season 3, episode 6)*
MOVIES
May 1
Basketball County: In The Water
Cowboys And Aliens*
Don’t Think Twice*
The Goldfinch+
Stuart Little*
Stuart Little*
The Break-Up*
The Way, Way Back*
Western Stars+
May 2
Hall Pass*
May 3
East Of Eden*
May 5
Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind+
May 7
The Good, The Bad, The Weird*
Lady Vengeance*
Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance*
Thirst*
May 8
August Osage Country*
Bulletproof 2: Rematch+
Downton Abbey Movie+
Driven+
Ever After: A Cinderella Story*
Parental Guidance*
Philomena*
May 9
Beautiful Creatures*
May 12
Hollow In The Land*
May 14
Restless River+
May 15
Fubar*
Fubar 2*
Goon*
James Vs His Future Self+
Ready Or Not+
Reality Bites*
Shadow Trap+
Unidentified Woman+
May 16
The Hangover 2*
May 18
Big Daddy*
Click*
Endless Love*
Garfield Gets Real*
Garfield Pet Force*
Garfield’s Fun Fest*
Little Women (mini-series)*
May 19
Into The Forest*
May 20
Sunshine*
May 21
Frankie
May 22
Aquamarine*
Come To Daddy+
Cross: Rise Of The Villains+
Darjeeling Limited*
Joker+
Letters To Juliet*
Moonrise Kingdom*
Sexy Beast*
Prime*
May 28
All About Who You Know+
Glass Houses+
May 29
Can You Keep A Secret+
Mr. Peabody & Sherman*
Parasite+
May 30
Grudge Match*
May 31
North By Northwest*
The Firm*
LAST CHANCE
Movies and TV shows leaving Crave this month.
May 2
60 Minutes Sports (season 4, episode 5)
Sea Of Love
May 3
Blood, Sweat & Tools (season 1, episode 4)
May 6
Mayday (season 5)
Song Of Parkland
May 10
Blood, Sweat & Tools (season 1, episode 5)
Kevin Smith: Silent But Deadly
May 11
Halo: Nightfall
May 12
Happy Feet Two
May 17
Blood, Sweat & Tools (season 1, episode 6)
May 21
Death Wish
May 22
O.G.
May 23
Tomb Raider
May 24
Blood, Sweat & Tools (season 1, episode 7)
Kayak To Klemtu
May 25
The Man Who Invented Christmas
Superfly
May 31
All About Steve
American Graffiti
Back On Board: Greg Louganis
Billy Madison
Blood, Sweat & Tools (season 1, episode 8)
Chasing Mavericks
Crooklyn
Do The Right Thing
The First Purge
Examined Life
Fingerlings Tales
First Reformed
Fried Green Tomatoes
Gabrielle
Gods and Generals
Body Of Lies
The Breakfast Club
City Slickers
A Clockwork Orange
The Dish
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
The Fingerlings Show
Happy Gilmore
Here Comes The Boom
I Am The Blues
If You’re Not In The Obit, Eat Breakfast
The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus
The Invasion
It (miniseries)
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
Les Miserables
Machete
Misery
Moneyball
Patch Adams
Paul Blart: Mall Cop
The Price Of Everything
Reelside (season 1)
Rocksteady: The Roots Of Reggae
Rush: Time Machine 2011: Live In Cleveland
Sixteen Candles
The Science Of Sleep (2006)
The Shining (1980)
Skyscraper
This Is 40
Stand By Me
Teen Wolf (season 1-6)
Teletubbies Everywhere (season 1-2)
That’s My Boy
Tideland
Titan A.E.
Twelve monkeys
Unknown
Weirdos
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