While the TV calendar is now an all-year-round machine, May is still the technical end of the season with many series airing their finales before retreating for summer hibernation. However, in the age of Peak TV, when the TV Gods close one content door, he opens up a million screens. Honorable mentions this month include the arrival of another “Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.” season, the “Karate Kid” TV sequel “Cobra Kai” on YouTube Red, the series finale of “New Girl” on FOX (May 15), and season finales of “Riverdale,” “The Goldbergs,” “Blackish,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “The Flash,” “Roseanne” *(yuck) and “I, Zombie” to name just a few. Now, let’s check out nine of May’s top television premieres:
“Dear White People”
Synopsis: A diverse group of black students navigates various forms of racial discrimination and social injustice at a predominantly white Ivy League college.
What You Need To Know: Justin Simien’s television adaptation for Netflix goes deeper and darker while continuing to pull back the curtain on conscious and unconscious racial prejudice and discrimination. Winchester is still dealing with the aftermath of Samantha’s (Logan White) student protest gone awry where Troy (Brandon P. Bell) was arrested and Reggie (Marque Richardson) was nearly shot. Things heat up exponentially when an anonymous Twitter troll insults Samantha online and paves the way for a group of alt-right students to establish a platform, while Lionel (DeRon Horton) digs deeper into the school’s heritage of oppression. While the issues and questions raised can leave viewer uncomfortable, sad and enraged, “Dear White People” is an example of a series that asks the hard questions that can galvanize people to take action and make change.
Release Date: May 4 on Netflix.
“Sweetbitter”
Synopsis: Shortly after arriving in New York City, Tess lands a job at a downtown restaurant and must quickly learn how to navigate the alluring and punishing life she has stumbled upon.
What You Need To Know: It is no secret that the culinary/foodie world is one of chaos and Stephanie Danler’s adaptation of her novel for Starz captures the fast-paced, tightrope balancing act of working in the industry. Ella Purnell (“Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children”) plays the extremely green Tess who stumbles her way into a back waitress position at a celebrated New York City restaurant and gets caught up in the hedonistic lifestyle and the tangled pas de deux between bartender Jake (Tom Sturridge) and senior server Simone (Caitlin FitzGerald).
Release Date: May 6 on STARZ.
“I’m Dying Up Here”
Synopsis: Set in the celebrated and infamous L.A. stand-up comedy scene of the ’70s, where the careers of most comedy superstars began, “I’m Dying Up Here” delves into the inspired and damaged psyches that inhabit the hilarious, but complex, business of making an audience laugh.
What You Need To Know: Based on William Knoedelseder’s book of the same name, season two of “I’m Dying Up Here” returns us to our struggling comedians. Starring Melissa Leo, Michael Angarano and more, the show is an honest and earnest nod to an iconic time period in stand up history. Our critic who reviewed season one noted the balancing act of tones in this Jim Carrey-produced series, saying, “There is a tightrope to be walked between stating the obvious and falling into outright pretentiousness, but ‘I’m Dying Up Here’ appears willing to make that effort.”
Release Date: May 6 on Showtime.