10 Netflix Shows You Need to Watch This May
10 Netflix Shows You Need to Watch This May
Madeleine JanzThu, April 30, 2026 at 1:00 PM UTC
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Lord of the Flies - Season 1 - Episode 103; Sacha Baron Cohen as Damien Sachs and Rosamund Pike as Alex Fox in Ladies FirstCredit: J Redza/Eleven/Sony; Rob Youngson/Netflix
It's about to get real on Netflix.
Between a retelling of Lord of the Flies to a new mystery in A Good Girls Guide to Murder season 2, the streamer is chock full of thrilling tension in May 2026. If you're looking for more edge-of-your-seat drama, Netflix is also premiering a new British thriller series called Legends; the six-episode show fictionalizes the true story of undercover customs agents in the 1990s.
And from the mind of Courtney A. Kemp, who created the Power universe for Starz, comes a law thriller called Nemesis, centering two men warring from opposite sides of the legal spectrum.
When it's time for a little break from all the heightened stakes, you can laugh along with Wanda Sykes in her new special, Legacy, and swoon alongside fellow J- and K-drama fans to the boundary-breaking romance series Soul Mate.
Here's every show you need to watch on Netflix in May 2026.
Lord of the Flies (May 1)
Lord of the Flies - Season 1 - Episode 101Credit: J Redza/Eleven/Sony Pictures Television
Ready to head back to the jungle? Netflix is taking viewers to a place most American kids had to go in middle school English class: the land of William Golding's Lord of the Flies.
The new TV show adaptation of the 1954 novel boasts a fresh-faced cast of kids living out the nightmare of surviving a plane crash and having to figure out how to take care of each other.
The series will once again make fans of the book question their own moral compasses as the characters confront philosophical quandaries and fall deeper into chaos looking for their leader.
Watch Lord of the Flies on Netflix on May 1
Legends (May 7)
Tom Burke as Guy, Jasmine Blackborow as Erin, Steve Coogan as Don, Aml Ameen as Bailey, Hayley Squires as Kate, in LegendsCredit: Sally Mais/Netflix
Across the pond, typically quieter government employees are getting their hands dirty in some pretty serious drama.
Legends fictionalizes the true story of British customs employees who went undercover in the '90s to infiltrate drug smuggling gangs. The title nods to each characters' fake backstory, commonly called their legend.
The series is led by British screen stars Steve Coogan and Tim Burke and leans on its ensemble to maintain the high-stakes drama.
Watch Legends on Netflix on May 7
Perfect Match season 4 (May 13)
Kassy Castillo, Jimmy Presnell, and Ally Lewber in season 4 of Perfect MatchCredit: Ana Blumenkron/Netflix (3)
Perfect Match is back for another season in the middle of the month. The reality dating series, from the creators of Love Is Blind, brings together former reality dating show stars to compete in challenges and test their compatibility.
The new season stars Jimmy Presnell from Love Is Blind season 6, and a plethora of Too Hot to Handle and Temptation Island cast members, among others.
Watch Perfect Match season 4 on Netflix on May 13
Nemesis (May 14)
Matthew Law as Isaiah Stiles, Y'lan Noel as Coltrane Wilder in episode 103 of NemesisCredit: Saeed Adyani/Netflix
If you loved Power, Nemesis might be for you. The series, created by Starz writer and producer Kemp, follows Matthew Law as passionate L.A. cop Isiah Stiles and Y'Lan Noel as seemingly reformed criminal Coltrane Wilder.
As Isiah starts to realize, Coltrane is actually still leading a highly violent team of thieves who were responsible for the murder of his partner.
The action has Kemp's signature sexy style and Abbott Elementary fans will delight in seeing Law take on a much different role.
Watch Nemesis on Netflix on May 14
Soul Mate (May 14)
Soul MateCredit: Robot Communications
The Japanese/Korean romance drama Soul Mate has been mostly kept under wraps. Despite the highly-anticipated series coming to Netflix in the middle of May, the platform has yet to release a trailer for the show.
Soul Mate falls into the BL (Boys' Love) genre, which consists of gay romance stories written by and for women. In this series, a tortured man named Ryu (famed Japanese actor Hayato Isomura) flees Japan for Berlin where he is rescued by Korean boxer Johan (K-Pop star Ok Taecyeon).
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While their love story spans a decade, the series stretches across multiple countries, cultures and languages.
Watch Soul Mate on Netflix on May 14
Wanda Sykes: Legacy (May 19)
Wanda Sykes: LegacyCredit: Clifton Prescod/Netflix
Comedy legend Sykes is back for a new special filled with her classic antics and, as the title notes, reflections on her years of experience in the comedy scene. She produced the hour-long joke fest and filmed it at her alma mater, Hampton University.
Expect Sykes' signature impassioned rants and a healthy dose of looking back at her career, too.
Watch Wanda Sykes: Legacy on Netflix on May 19
The Boroughs (May 21)
Clarke Peters as Art, Alfre Woodard as Judy, Alfred Molina as Sam, Denis O'Hare as Wally, Geena Davis as Renee in The BoroughsCredit: Netflix
From the executive producers of Stranger Things comes a story about daring characters on the opposite end of the age spectrum. The Boroughs follows a group of spunky people living in an upscale retirement community.
Alfred Molina, Bill Pullman, Geena Davis, Clarke Peters, Alfre Woodard and Denis O'Hare make up the ensemble of retirees contending with an unknown supernatural foe.
From Indiana to New Mexico, The Boroughs is almost a foil to Stranger Things that will hopefully capture the magic of the Duffer brothers' first Netflix series.
Watch The Boroughs on Netflix on May 21
Ladies First (May 22)
Sacha Baron Cohen as Damien Sachs and Rosamund Pike as Alex Fox in Ladies FirstCredit: Rob Youngson/Netflix
This campy, reality-shifting comedy series questions what would happen if a flaming misogynist woke up in a world that was completely matriarchal and subjugated men based on their gender.
Ladies First stars Rosamund Pike and Sacha Baron Cohen as an employee and nasty boss, respectively, until Cohen's character gets his bell rung and awakens to their roles reversed, with him now facing discrimination in and out of the workplace.
The serious subject matter is punctuated by many very on-the-nose jokes that don't always include enough nuance but, after all, that is kind of the whole point.
Watch Ladies First on Netflix on May 22
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder (May 27)
Yali Topol Margalith as Lauren Gibson, Jude Morgan-Collie as Connor Reynolds, Freddie England as Robin Hastings, Asha Banks as Cara Ward, Emma Myers as Pip Fitz-Amobi, and Zain Iqbal as Ravi Singh in A Good Girl's Guide to Murder: Season 2Credit: Netflix
Pip is back to solve another case in season 2 of the beloved Good Girl's Guide series based on books by Holly Jackson.
Emma Myers and Zain Iqbal return for a new installment after their triumphant discoveries in the case of Andie's disappearance and Sal's apparent suicide.
In season 2, the teen detective is taking on the case covered in Jackson's Good Girl, Bad Blood. The series picks up where it left off, leading Pip on a journey to find a missing key witness for the first season's trial.
Watch A Good Girl's Guide to Murder season 2 on Netflix on May 27
The Four Seasons season 2 (May 28)
Kerri Kenney-Silver as Anne, Marco Calvani as Claude, Tina Fey as Kate, Colman Domingo as Danny, and Will Forte as Jack in Episode 202 of The Four Seasons, Season 2Credit: Emily V. Aragones/Netflix
Tina Fey, Colman Domingo, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Will Forte, Marco Calvani and Erika Henningsen are back for more shenanigans in The Four Seasons season 2 after Steve Carell's character's shocking death in season 1.
After their beloved, but toxic, friend group is shaken to its core by one couple's split and their friend's death, the six adults have to figure out a way to move on.
The comedy's sophomore season, coming just a year after the first, gives them a chance to do just that with plenty of side-splitting jokes along the way.
Fair warning: though the show is billed as a comedy and is chock-full of comedic actors, the subject matter is at times anxiety-inducing and at other times, gut-wrenchingly sad.
Watch The Four Seasons season 2 on Netflix on May 28
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