What's on Disney+ in May

Here’s everything coming to Disney+ in May 2024.

11 May

Doctor Who

Disney+ Original Series Premiere

The Doctor and his companion Ruby Sunday travel across time and space, with adventures all the way from the Regency era in England, to war-torn future worlds. Throughout their adventures in the TARDIS – a time-travelling ship shaped like a police box – they encounter incredible friends and dangerous foes, including a terrifying bogeyman, and the Doctor’s most powerful enemy yet.

23 May 

The Kardashians: Season 5

Star Original Series 

Premiere

Just when you think life can’t get any faster in the Kardashian-Jenner family, they punch it into overdrive. From the big screen to baby bliss, the family continues to defy expectations in all their endeavours. Cameras roll as Kourtney, Kim, Khloé, Kendall, and Kylie navigate contentious sister dynamics, all under the watchful eye of everyone's favourite matriarch, Kris.

8 May

Let It Be

Disney+ Premiere

Available for the first time in over 50 years, “Let It Be” is Director Michael Lindsay-Hogg’s original 1970 film about The Beatles. First released in May 1970 amidst the swirl of The Beatles’ breakup, “Let It Be” now takes its rightful place in the band’s history. Once viewed through a darker lens, the film is now brought to light through its restoration and the context of revelations brought forth in Peter Jackson’s multiple Emmy Award®-winning docuseries, “The Beatles: Get Back.” Released on Disney+ in 2021, the docuseries showcases the iconic foursome’s warmth and camaraderie, capturing a pivotal moment in music history.

3 May

FX’s Welcome to Wrexham: Season 3

Star Original Series

Premiere

In 2020, Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds teamed up to purchase the 5th tier Wrexham Football Club in the hopes of creating an underdog story the whole world could root for. The world took notice and change is afoot. After 15 painful seasons in the National League, the Club finally achieved promotion back into the English Football League. Will Wrexham AFC stand up to the challenge and rise again?

24 May

The Beach Boys

Disney+ Original

Premiere

A celebration of the legendary band that revolutionised pop music, and the iconic, harmonious sound they created that personified the California dream, captivating fans for generations and generations to come. The documentary traces the band from humble family beginnings and features never-before-seen footage and all-new interviews with band members and other luminaries in the music business.

1 May

Shardlake

Star Original Series

Premiere

Drenched in mystery, suspense and deception, Shardlake is a compelling whodunnit based on the internationally popular Tudor murder mystery novels by C.J. Sansom. The year is 1536. Matthew Shardlake, a brilliant lawyer with an acute sense of justice, finds his life turned upside down when Thomas Cromwell, Henry Vlll’s right-hand man, sends him to the remote monastery of Scarnsea to investigate a murder, and to ultimately claim its wealth for the King. Accompanied by the arrogant and ambitious Jack Barak, it becomes clear that the death they are investigating is not the first. Facing hostility and suspicion at every turn and unsure of Barak’s true intentions, Shardlake is drawn into a web of lies, deceit and corruption that threatens not only his integrity but his life.

4 May

Star Wars: Tales of the Empire

Disney+ Original Series

Premiere

A journey into the fearsome Galactic Empire through the eyes of two warriors on divergent paths.

5 May

Monsters at Work: Season 2

Disney+ Premiere

Tylor Tuskmon’s journey as a Jokester and his friendship with Val face the ultimate test. When new doors of opportunity unexpectedly open at rival energy company, FearCo, Tylor’s co-workers at Monsters Inc. begin to question his loyalty. As his Laugh Floor partnership with Val is pushed to the brink, Tylor must discover where he really belongs.

31 May

Jim Henson Idea Man

Disney+ Original

Premiere

"Jim Henson Idea Man" takes us into the mind of this singular creative visionary, from his early years puppeteering on local television to the worldwide success of "Sesame Street," "The Muppet Show," and beyond. Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Ron Howard captures Henson's restless creativity, ambition, and artistic evolution in the style and spirit of his complex subject, an artist who revolutionised television, inspired generations, and created some of the world’s most beloved characters. Featuring new interviews with Henson's closest collaborators and children, as well as never-before-seen materials from his personal archives—including home movies, photographs, sketches, and diaries— Howard brings us an entertaining and insightful look at a man whose boundless imagination changed the world.

Also in May…

3 May

Series

Godfather of Harlem: Seasons 1-3

3 May

Star Original

Prom Dates

Movies

Beneath the Planet of the Apes

Conquest of the Planet of the Apes

4 May

Series

How Not to Draw: Seasons 1-2

10 May

Star Original

International

Past Lies: Season 1

14 May

Star Original

International

Crash: Season 1

15 May

Star Original

International

Uncle Samsik: Season 1

Movie

Queen Rock Montreal

17 May

Special

Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story

22 May

Disney+ Original

Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of X-Men '97

Chip 'n' Dale: Park Life: Season 2: New Episodes

Star Original

Pauline: Season 1

Series

Mickey Mouse Funhouse: Season 3

New Episodes

FX's The Veil New episodes weekly on Tuesdays, finale 28 May

We Were the Lucky Ones New episodes weekly on Wednesdays, finale 22 May

Vanderpump Villa New episodes weekly on Mondays, finale 20 May

Grey's Anatomy: Season 20 New episodes weekly on Thursdays

Star Wars: The Bad Batch: Season 3 Finale 1 May

X-Men '97 New episodes weekly on Wednesdays, finale 15 May

The Simpsons: Season 35 New episodes weekly on Wednesdays

The Fable New episodes weekly on Saturdays

Tracker: Season 1 New episodes weekly on Wednesdays

Not Dead Yet: Season 2 New episodes weekly on Wednesdays, finale 15 May

Chief Detective 1958: Season 1 2 x new episodes weekly on Saturdays and Sundays, finale 19 May

Blood Free: Season 1 2 x new episodes weekly on Wednesdays, finale 8 May

Undead Unluck: Season 1 New episodes weekly on Wednesdays, finale 22 May

Station 19: Season 7 New episodes weekly on Thursdays

Sand Land: The Series Finale 1 May

Will Trent: Season 2 New episodes weekly on Wednesdays

Spidey and His Amazing Friends: Season 3 New episodes 1, 15 and 29 May

House of the Owl New episodes weekly on Wednesdays, finale 8 May

Mission: Yozakura Family New episodes weekly on Sundays

PJ Masks: Power Heroes: Season 1 13 x new episodes 15 May

Alice's Wonderland Bakery: Season 2 5 x new episodes 8 May

Dino Ranch: Season 3 5 x new episodes 15 May

Firebuds: Season 2 3 x new episodes 22 May

Go! Go! Loser Ranger! New episodes weekly on Sundays

What's on DocPlay in May

This May, we’re thrilled to champion high-quality Australian films. Our AFTRS Shorts showcase champions the work of six emerging documentary filmmakers from Australia’s premiere film school. We collaborate with another celebrated Australian institution, the National Film and Sound Archive, to present the streaming premieres of two iconic local docs - Bob Connolly's Rats in the Ranks and Facing the Music.

Other highlights for the month include the Syrian Oscar-nominated film For Sama, and Kash Kash, a cinematic portrait of Beirut, and its surprising community of men who love pigeons.

Decades in Colour  |  2 May  |  Series

Mixing lost images sourced from everyday New Zealanders alongside new interviews, Decades in Colour traces from the post-war suburbia of the 50s, to rugby, racing and beer in the 60s, to emerging challenges to cultural norms in the 70s, as jet travel and TV broadened perspectives and a more independent national identity emerged.

Citizen K  |  13 May

Oscar-winning documentarian Alex Gibney (Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room) examines Russia's power, president Vladimir Putin's political dominance, and Mikhail Khodorkovsky—a former Siberian prisoner who continues to challenge Putin's reign.

AFTRS Shorts  |  20 May  |  Shorts

Six of Australia’s finest emerging documentary filmmakers present new works that span diverse stories including the pro-life movement; migrant mothers; the Australian poet Robert Adamson; and one man’s mission to teach a million people how to perform CPR.

For Sama  |  23 May 

This Oscar-nominated documentary follows one woman's journey through love, motherhood, war and survival during the Syrian conflict.

Kash Kash  |  23 May

A vital portrait of Beirut, and its surprising community of pigeon lovers.

Rats in the Ranks  |  27 May

This remarkable film takes a behind-locked-doors look at how politicians get the numbers. Every September Sydney's Leichhardt Council elects its mayor. Incumbent Larry Hand was popular with citizenry, but they don't vote for the position of mayor - the 12 councillors do - and after three years of Larry some of them are after his job.

Facing the Music  |  27 May

In their fifth major film together, acclaimed documentary makers Bob Connolly and Robin Anderson step inside the halls of Sydney University’s Music Department, where sublime music is being made in a setting that’s far from serene.

All of Us Strangers: Disney+ Movie Review

Cast: Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, Claire Foy, Jamie Bell

Director: Andy Haigh

A haunting and heartbreaking piece about what it means to be gay, All of Us Strangers draws an incredible performance out of Sherlock and Fleabag star Andrew Scott.

Scott is Adam, a writer who spends his days trying to concoct a screenplay while sequestered in his apartment in a high-rise building. With only one other inhabitant in the building, Adam's days are consumed with staring at a blank screen, watching daytime TV and consuming biscuits.

But when a fire alarm forces him out of the tower block building and he sights Paul Mescal's Harry, the two start a tentative relationship, which compels Adam to head back to see his parents (Foy and Bell) at his childhood home.

It's best to go into All of Us Strangers cold, as the screenplay, which bases itself on Strangers by Taichi Yamada, has a few twists and is open to much discussion post-viewing.

What's not up for discussion though is Scott's performance, an internalised slow-burn of a turn that delivers as much heartbreak as it does pain for Adam as he deals with his past, perceptions of how gay life was and is now and tries to negotiate his way in a world that changed within a generation.

A tale of grief and trauma, All of Us Strangers is tied together with some ethereal cinematography, a clever soundtrack that both signposts and propels the narrative and Scott's performance, which is largely done behind his eyes and whose subtleties mask an unenviable pain that can spin on a dime to joy as well. Scott is stunning in this - and while Mescal has picked up the chatter for his role, it's a lesser performance from him, but one that builds on the quiet accomplishments he imbued his character with in Aftersun.

Both Foy and Bell excel too, in largely sympathetic and empathetic performances as Adam's parents, echoing both the cares and concerns of families and expectations; there's much done with little here and it's incredibly moving to watch.

Ultimately, All of Us Strangers is a heartwarming and heartbreaking tale of human connection, of seeking to find answers in life and of finding love and peace within. Its ending will lead to plenty of discussion, thanks to breathtaking visuals and ideas that dabble in fantastical edges, but there's no mistaking All of Us Strangers will be part of the awards discussion come 2024.

All of Us Strangers streams on Disney+ from Wednesday April 24.

Boy Kills World: Movie Review

Cast: Bill Skarsgard, Jessica Rothe, Sharlto Copley, H Jon Benjamin, Famke Janssen, Michelle Dockery, Brett Gelman, Isaiah Mustafa, Andrew Koji

Director: Moritz Mohr

Landing somewhere in the middle of Scott Pilgrim vs The World, The Raid and The Hunger Games seems like an odd start for directors Boy Kills World.

Yet it seems tonally appropriate for a film that essentially is an off-kilter revenge tale writ large, with IT's Bill Skarsgard playing the deaf and dumb Boy, a weapon shaped for chaos after the ruling Van Koy family murdered his family.

Set in a post apocalyptic world and on the eve of the annual Culling where 12 random people are selected for death on television to ram him the barbarian rule of the Van Koys, Boy Kills World is a mix of cartoonish humour, ACME level gags and intensely shot fight sequences.

With frenetic editing and a tongue-in-cheek script, there's an anarchic edge to Boy Kills World that does set it outside of the norm. With a Hunger Games edge and a inner voice from Bob's Burgers star Benjamin, the film does play with expectations to a large degree.

And while some of the violence is well-choreographed and provides a point of difference to the norm with its opening training montage of its titular character thrusting you into the middle of a story , in parts it feels somewhat akin to The Raid as waves of bad guys are taken down by Boy.

Happy Death Day's Rothe is a strong addition with her character being given an iconic outfit aimed at cosplayers, but most of the sideplayers really don't figure too highly in the film's final mix.

Whilst it gets points for setting a long action sequence to an utterly demented winter wonderland that's mixed with a cereal commercial, the film unfortunately does feel a little bloated in its middle section and really only ups the ante in a final showdown that's exhausting, exhilarating and enjoyable. There are moments of originality too, including various cheese grater takedowns that may make audiences wince.

It's here that Boy Kills World shows it has promise - and while Skarsgard marks out his action hero much like Hammer Girl did in The Raid 2 in his fight against fascism, the narrative thread isn't quite strong enough to pull the movie all the way through. 

It's enjoyable enough, but with a tighter edit and a keener eye, this film could have been shaped into a cinematic weapon on a mission too - to entertain jaded action movie audiences satiated on the likes of John Wick, The Raid et al.

Back to Black: Movie Review

Cast: Marisa Abela, Jack O'Connor, Eddie Marsan, Lesley Manville

Director: Sam Taylor-Johnson

The legacy of Amy Winehouse once again comes under the spotlight in director Sam Taylor-Johnson's biopic which only soars in parts thanks to an utterly compelling lead in relative unknown Marisa Abela.

Taking a very much once-over-lightly approach to Winehouse's life, the film details the flaky start she faced as she pursued her jazz singer/ pop star dreams, the love affair she had with Blake Fielder-Civil (O'Connor in full Pete Doherty wideboy mode) and her ascent while battling addictions.

You'd be wise to have some idea of times in Winehouse's life because the film is less interested in connecting the dots and timelines together, and is more concerned with providing a vibe to proceedings, rather than making something that's critical. (For that, it's possibly best to spend time with director Asif Kapadia's excellent doco, Amy).

As a result, Back to Black feels more like a jukebox musical with key songs being rolled out not by backing tracks but by a stellar performance from Abela, who in some scenes seems on the verge of dislocating her own jaw due to the emphasis required.

She, in fact, is the sole reason to stick with the two hour film.

Despite being saddled with an extremely formulaic and weak script that's filled with holes (and was okayed by Winehouse's estate), Industry star Abela makes her Winehouse a little more than a mannequin wearing some of the singer's iconic outfits.

There's a fragility to her Winehouse as she battles against herself - and conversely, there's an utter joy when she chases her own personal highs throughout. A pub-set initial meeting with O'Connor's Blake lays all the seeds for a soulmate meeting (albeit one that would turn toxic) and both O'Connor and Abela fizzle with natural chemistry here.

But it's in the quieter moments with her beloved Nan (played with great dignity by the ever-brilliant Manville) that Winehouse's tenderness comes to the fore, thanks to Abela's performance. It is here the humanity shines through and the singer gains more grounding than a million shots of singing and crowd montages could ever make or fake.

As a superficial take on the Amy Winehouse story, director Sam Taylor-Johnson's film is beautifully shot, with a richness emanating from the screen.

But as a celluloid representation of her legacy, it is perhaps left found wanting - even with its superb lead, when it comes to the pantheon of great musical drama biopics, this seems destined to sadly fade Back to Black.

The Lie: Movie Review

Director: Helena Coan

Making great fist of CCTV footage throughout, director Helena Coan builds a strong picture of 21-year-old UK backpacker Grace Millane's final days before her brutal murder in 2018 in Auckland.

With much of the footage having been seen for those who followed the trial, and with the constant swirl of news being reported at the time, there is perhaps a feeling the Grace Millane case is still too recent a memory to provide the backbone of a documentary.

However, Coan smashes all of those perceptions away as she paints a truly chilling portrait of a murder and how a life was snatched away by a calculating killer.

Jesse Kempson was jailed for her death, despite claiming he had accidentally killed her during a "rough sex" session. 

Beginning with a drone shot above a road through the hills of the Waitakeres and finishing with a YouTube video from Millane herself, there's plenty of footage that will leave any rational people with their blood boiling. Wisely, Coan steers away from editorialising or sensationalising the case, preferring instead to comb through hours of CCTV footage to show how a killer operates.

It's frightening stuff in parts - whether it's footage from inside a hotel lift or at a DIY store, Coan manages to turn the seemingly mundane movements of Kempson into something chilling.

While Coan has plenty of material and media coverage to call on from before the trial and after, it's in the silences that Coan really shows her stripes as a director.

Deploying silence when needed, or simply letting the sound from the CCTV footage or from inside a police interview, Coan's innate skill lies in letting the pictures tell the story. It's an important distinction for a documentary like this - even if there is a nagging feeling that it would work better as a small screen piece.

While the consent/ rough sex debate is only raised six minutes from the end of the piece, and could warrant a wider discussion in a public forum, The Lie is not a film about that.

At its heart, The Lie is a clarion call and warning over how brutally a life can be ended, but with moments such as Detective Inspector Scott Beard's emotion in parts, as well as the harrowing effect it had on the Millane family, it is a film that has control and precision in its narrative - and more importantly than all of that, sensitive respect for its victim and memory.

The Fall Guy: Movie Review

Cast: Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Hannah Waddingham, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Winston Duke, Teresa Palmer
Director: David Leitch

Mixing both meta touches over the state of the industry, the introduction of AI and the continual ignoring of the stunt community with a romantic comedy and mystery all prove to be relatively fertile ground for The Fall Guy.

With only the slightest hint of narrative DNA from the 80s show, which starred Lee Majors, coursing through its veins, Leitch's film focuses on a ridiculously charismatic Ryan Gosling's stuntman Colt Seavers.

When Seavers is injured in a career-ending moment, he goes AWOL, ghosting both the apparent love of his life Jody (Blunt, who blazes strongly in the beginning before fading toward the end) and his beloved job.

Tempted back in, Seavers soon finds himself framed while shooting Metalstorm (a riff on the Australian-shot Mad Max film from George Miller) and blamed for the death of another stuntman....

The Fall Guy is a film that goes on too long and tries to stretch its wafer-thin plot as far as it will go, but it never fails to offer much more than a good time at the movies, with a ridiculously high level of stunts involved for all to enjoy.

It's squarely a love letter to the stunt community, but also one that plays with the tropes of the genres, and does so lovingly and with free abandon. Central to its success is the charm of Gosling, who channels both the comedy of his Nice Guys movie character and the charisma that's been deployed to maximum effect prior to this. It helps that initially Blunt proves to be an excellent sparring partner - in one early scene alone, the pair battle through their issues on an open set mid-shot, a quickfire rattle of a sequence that's both well written and well directed.

But ultimately, The Fall Guy becomes a victim of its own intentions.

Discussions within the film about how to solve Metalstorm's problematic third act seem to permeate much of The Fall Guy's third act, and the film collapses into a mess of action sequences that exist solely to provide an 80s-style OTT ending that Fall Guy creator Glen A Larson would no doubt be proud of.

Perhaps that's the point of The Fall Guy - to simultaneously send up the romantic comedy genre it's from and to inject commentary on today's cinema-making processes while doing so. That's no bad aim, and there's no denying The Fall Guy is a blockbuster piece of entertainment that has its heart aimed at showcasing the craft of movie-making with a star who continues to be endlessly watchable.