All Major New Scripted TV Shows Premiering in May 2026, Ranked

The month of May is usually the time when many network TV shows wrap up their ongoing season. However, the season finales aren’t the only exciting things for series lovers to look forward to next month. Several scripted TV shows are dropping their premiere episode or all of them in May.

From a Marvel Comic-based TV show to a sci-fi thriller starring veterans of Hollywood, there are a lot of great shows arriving on platforms including Netflix, AppleTV, and Prime Video. And a much-awaited Yellowstone spinoff is also kicking off on Paramount+. Here are all the scripted TV shows coming to your home screens in May.

8 Off Campus (Prime Video)

Canadian author Elle Kennedy’s Off-Campus book series was a sensation among the YA fandom. It further expanded into other spinoff novel series. Now, Kennedy’s story is getting a series adaptation on Prime Video, with the title of the show set as Off Campus. Ella Bright and Belmont Cameli play the two leads in the show, which is being helmed by Louisa Levy.

The series follows the usual opposite attracts premise, where the studious Hannah Wells and the cocky hockey team captain Garrett Graham fall for each other. The streamer is very confident that the series will generate massive success, the same as that of the books, as they have already ordered a second season. The announcement came in February 2026, almost three months before the series’ scheduled release in May.

Release Schedule: All eight episodes will be released on May 13, 2026 (Wednesday).

7 Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed (Apple TV)

The director of the new age Halloween and The Exorcist movies, David Gordon Green, serves as the director of this dark comedy series. According to the show’s official description, it follows “a newly divorced mom who falls down a dangerous rabbit hole of blackmail, murder and youth soccer.” She-Hulk star Tatiana Maslany leads the cast, which also includes New Girl‘s Jake Johnson.

Green has also directed comedies like Pineapple Express and Nutcrackers. Besides him, the names behind the show include X-Men writer Simon Kinberg, who developed and executive produces the series with Audrey Chon, and David J. Rosen of Citadel fame, who serves as the creator & showrunner.

Release Schedule: Two-episode premiere on May 20, 2026. The subsequent eight episodes will be released weekly on Wednesdays until July 15.

6 M.I.A (Peacock)

Peacock’s binge drop of the month has a promising premise and a powerful female character at its center. Shannon Gisela plays Etta Tiger Jonze, who comes from a crime family in the Florida Keys. When most of her family gets murdered and their drug-running business is shattered, it is up to Etta to seek vengeance against the men who did it.

Her dangerous journey defines her character and unveils what she is capable of. In a trailer for the show, we see her bloodied and brutalized, but she is determined to make her enemies pay. Gisela is joined by Cary Elwes, Danay Garcia, Brittany Adebumola, Dylan Jackson, and Alberto Guerra in the cast. NBC will telecast the crime drama a week after its Peacock premiere.

Release Schedule: All nine episodes will be released on May 7, 2026 (Thursday).

5 Nemesis (Netflix)

The creator of 50 Cent’s Power franchise, Courtney A. Kemp, is co-creating this Netflix crime drama with Tani Marole. As the name suggests, Nemesis explores the clash between Matthew Law’s Detective Isiah Stiles and Y’lan Noel’s criminal mastermind, Coltrane Wilder. According to the creators and the stars, Nemesis is a character study of the two central characters, who have similar attributes but are on opposite sides of the law (via Tudum).

Detective Stiles is hellbent on his pursuit of Wilder, especially since his partner ended up dead because of Wilder’s crimes. And the criminal mastermind wants to pull off one last big job, six million dollars’ worth of diamonds, before moving on to the next chapter of his life with his wife. Kemp teased about the premise, “I love cat-and-mouse chases. They’re not easy to write because you really have to believe that both people have a shot.”

Release Schedule: All eight episodes will be released on May 14, 2026 (Thursday).

4 The Boroughs (Netflix)

A sci-fi TV show starring veterans Bill Pullman, Geena Davis, Clarke Peters, Alfred Molina, and Denis O’Hare. And it is being produced by the Duffer Brothers. We are in for it! The unlikely heroes hail from a retirement community, and they band together to stop an alien threat.

Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews serve as the creators, showrunners, and executive producers of the show. Even with their reputation being hit after the Stranger Things finale, fans can’t help but get excited for the involvement of Matt and Ross Duffer in this project.

And the Duffers are making a promise. They told Tudum, “This wouldn’t treat aging as a punchline. Instead, it would treat its characters as real people facing real challenges … along with a few supernatural ones. It was exactly the show we’d been dreaming of.”

Release Schedule: All eight episodes will be released on May 21, 2026 (Thursday).

3 Star City (Apple TV)

Fans of Apple TV’s For All Mankind are in for a treat in May, as the show’s Soviet-focused spinoff, Star City, is premiering on the platform on May 29. The original series presented an alternate history where the Soviet Union beat the U.S. to the Moon landing, thus jumping leaps and bounds as a society. It showed the U.S. side of things, where NASA is determined to catch up.

The series presents the Soviet Union’s alternate history through the eyes of Rhys Ifans‘ Chief Designer, who is behind their successful space program. The creators of the original, Ben Nedivi, Matt Wolpert, and Ronald D. Moore, are behind this spinoff as well. The show premiered on Sunday, April 26, at the Canneseries in the out of competition category.

Release Schedule: Two-episode premiere on May 29, 2026. The subsequent six episodes will be released weekly on Fridays until July 10.

2 Dutton Ranch (Paramount+)

The fifth show in the Yellowstone franchise revolves around two of the main characters from the original, Beth & Rip. Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser return in Dutton Ranch, which has changed their setting from the Montana ranch to a new one in Texas. After the events of the original’s finale, Beth and Rip moved to Texas with Carter, but they haven’t changed much of their ranch lifestyle.

In the teaser trailer, the couple is shown to be going up against a rival ranch, headed by the cunning Beulah Jackson, played by Annette Bening. While the hype for the series is already high, fans are a little concerned about what’s happening behind the scenes. Showrunner Chad Feehan has departed the show after the first season. They just hope that things don’t turn messy like the fifth season of the original.

Release Schedule: Two-episode premiere on May 15, 2026. The subsequent seven episodes will be released weekly on Fridays until July 3.

1 Spider-Noir (MGM+, Prime Video)

One of the most anticipated shows of the year arrives on MGM+ and Prime Video this May. Nicolas Cage stars as Ben Reilly, also known as The Spider, in Spider-Noir. This Marvel character is a film noir–inspired reinterpretation of Spider-Man, set in New York during the Great Depression within the Marvel Noir universe. The series is similarly set in an alternate reality within Sony’s Spider-Man Universe (SSU).

Sony has partnered with Amazon MGM Studios to bring this fan-favorite character to the small screen. In keeping with its tone and setting, Spider-Noir will be released in both black-and-white and color versions. The series, which marks Cage’s first leading role in a TV show, is expected to appeal not only to superhero fans but also to those who enjoy investigative thrillers.

Release Schedule: The show will premiere on MGM+ on May 25, 2026 (Monday). All eight episodes will be released on Prime Video on May 27, 2026 (Wednesday).

Rank	TV Shows	Release Date	Platform
1	Spider-Noir	May 25, 2026 (Monday)	MGM+, Prime Video
2	Dutton Ranch	May 15, 2026 (Friday)	Paramount+
3	Star City	May 29, 2026 (Friday)	AppleTV
4	The Boroughs	May 21, 2026 (Thursday)	Netflix
5	Nemesis	May 14, 2026 (Thursday)	Netflix
6	M.I.A	May 7, 2026 (Thursday)	Peacock
7	Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed	May 20, 2026 (Wednesday)	AppleTV
8	Off Campus	May 13, 2026 (Wednesday)	Prime Video

Still have questions? Here are the answers to a few of them.

Are you excited about the TV slate for the month of May? Let us know in the comments below!