In my house, we started a new tradition: eat-in-front-of-the-TV Fridays. Most of the days of the week, we have dinner around the table and have the typical family-meal conversation, but we’ve found that we were looking for something easier and more low-key after a long week, and we like having a show that we all can watch together. It started as a Stranger Things catch-up for my 10-year-old, but now that it’s finished we’ve really been enjoying the live-action One Piece.

Though the shows (and occasional movies) may have changed over the course of all these Fridays, one thing has remained the same: It’s just been so easy to turn on Netflix and find something to watch together.

For other movie and TV fans looking to start their own TV Friday dinners—or are just looking for something for family movie night, or something to watch during rainy days—these are the best TV shows and movies to watch on Netflix with the whole family in May. To keep it whole-family-friendly, I tried to restrict it to movies that are rated G and PG, and TV shows rated TV-Y, TV-Y7, and TV-PG (which actually elements my beloved One Piece, which is TV-14). Everything is new to Netflix within the past couple of months, and some are premiering in May. There are movies old and new, and series for the littles and for the big kids—consider Friday dinners sorted.

Swapped

swapped a buddy comedy about a small woodland creature (voiced by michael b. jordan) and a majestic bird (voiced by juno temple)—natural sworn enemies of the valley—who suddenly swap bodies and must team up (while walking in each other’s feathers and fur) to survive the wildest adventure of their lives. cr: skydance animation/netflix © 2025
Netflix
Swapped, a new animated body-switching movie, comes to Netflix on May 1.

We seem to be in a golden era of animal body-switching movies. Earlier this year there was Hoppers, where a girl was able to import herself into a robotic beaver’s body and embed herself with the woodland creatures. And now, while we’re still waiting for Hoppers to come to Disney+, there’s Swapped.

In this one, Michael B. Jordan provides the voice of Ollie, a furry forest creature, and Juno Temple is ivy, a bird. In the wild, they’re usually enemies, but when they crash into a mysterious plant they switch bodies and have to learn how to work together. It’s directed by Nathan Greno, who co-directed Tangled.

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More Kids’ Movies on Netflix

Stranger Things: Tales from ’85

stranger things tales from '85 l to r jolie hoang rappaport as max, luca diaz as mike, braxton quinney as dustin, brooklyn davey norstedt as eleven and odessa a'zion as nikki in stranger things tales from '85 cr courtesy of netflix © 2026
Netflix
The gang handles previously untold monsters in a new chapter in the Stranger Things universe.

In my family, last year was The Year of Stranger Things, culminating in us taking a trip to see the Broadway show and watching the finale in the movie theater. Since then, my daughter still enjoys things that take her back to Hawkins, be it through collecting Stranger Things Care Bears or reading books that take place between seasons.

For those with a similar fan at home, Stranger Things: Tales from ’85 is a nice little grace note to the finale. It takes place between season 2 and season 3—the Starcourt Mall isn’t finished being built yet!—and the whole thing covers a standalone mystery/adventure that the Hawkins Investigator Club has to unravel. (Bet you can guess who’s in that club.) It’s also done in an animation style that feels both contemporary and like it fits right in with the ’80s milieu (available now, rated TV-PG).

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Series to Watch With Little Kids

Series to Watch With Big Kids