If May is already filling up with plans, we’re about to add to them (or encourage you to cancel them) with some shows that warrant a bit of downtime. We’ve had a sneak preview of all the brilliant TV coming up this month (there’s a lot of it) to bring you the 5-star shows that are worth cancelling everything for.
From Lesley Manville’s return to our screens to a new Yellowstone spin-off and what’s set to be the crime thriller of the year, we’ve got a show that will suit almost any mood. So, calendars at the ready as these are the 10 best shows coming to ITV, Netflix, the BBC and more this May.
Two Weeks in August
What do you do when your dream trip turns into a living nightmare? This eight-part Greece-set series finds a group of friends in exactly that situation. Zoe (Jessica Raine) constantly finds herself pulled in every direction and hopes this will be the holiday she and her family, including her troubled husband Dan (Damien Molony) need. But when they discover they’re trapped on the island they hoped would be paradise, they become faced with real life-or-death situations. Arriving on BBC One and BBC iPlayer this May.
Believe Me
If I Fought the Law was ITV's real-life drama of 2025, this year's is Believe Me. Daniel Mays plays John Worboys, who used his profession as a taxi driver to prey on women and was convicted in 2009 for sexually assaulting 12 women between 2006 and 2008. Rightfully so, the spotlight isn’t on him, it’s on three of his victims - played by Aimée-Ffion Edwards, Miriam Petche and Aasiya Shah - and their fight to heard. Arriving on ITV1 and ITVX at 9pm on Sunday 10th May.
Amandaland
The BBC’s beloved Motherland spin-off is back for a second series and there’s plenty more drama in SoHa. Amanda (Lucy Punch) is juggling her kids, her Senuous brand, and her “co-lab” working at Kitchen’s Bathrooms and Kitchens – and she’s also got her sights set on a big house in the area that’s up for sale. With her mother Felicity (Joanna Lumley) as her only realistic route to get it, things are about to get very interesting indeed. Series 2 is arriving on BBC One and BBC iPlayer at 9pm on Wednesday 6th May.
Citadel
It’s been called better than Slow Horses so, naturally, Citadel is returning to Prime Video for a second series. If you don’t remember the story, series one starred Richard Madden and Priyanka Jonas as spies whose memories were wiped when their agency, Citadel, was destroyed by criminal syndicate Manticore. Lesley played the brilliantly manipulative Dahlia Archer, the UK Ambassador to the US, who was also a Manticore agent. Now, she’s returning to work as Manticore is on the brink of establishing a new world order that has the potential to bring down everything. Arriving on Prime Video on Wednesday 6th May.
Legends
This genuinely jaw-dropping series is inspired by the real-life story of a group of everyday British Customs officers who were given a top-secret mission: to infiltrate the country’s most notorious criminal drug gangs, and help take them down from the inside. Starring Steve Coogan, Victoria's Tom Hughes and You's Charlotte Ritchie, we'll see their dangerous mission play out as they take on new identities and put their lives in danger to become, you guessed it, legends. From the creator of BBC One's The Gold, it’s set to be the crime drama of the decade. Arriving on Netflix on Thursday 7th May.
Monsieur Spade
Fancy a little getaway to France? You’ll find it in this brilliant detective drama - but do be prepared for a side of murder. Legendary Detective Sam Spade (Clive Owen) is trying to enjoy his well-deserved retirement in a seemingly peaceful French village when a heinous crime drags him back into action. It all starts when six nuns are massacred at a nearby convent and, unfortunately for Monsieur Space, the case appears to be connected to his past. Arriving on U&Drama at 9pm on Saturday 9th May.
Dutton Ranch
Yellowstone fans, another spin-off is coming. This latest series brings back fan favourite characters Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) and Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser), heads of the powerful Dutton family. The pair have relocated from Montana to Texas and they’re facing threats to their latest ranch. A ruthless rival ranch will stop at nothing to protect its empire – even if it means taking the Duttons down with it. Arriving on Paramount+ on Friday 15th May.
Rivals
Jilly Cooper’s beloved bonkbuster is back! Cast favourites Alex Hassell, Danny Dyer, Emily Atack and David Tennant will also return, along with some fresh faces in the form of Hayley Atwell and Rupert Everett. Following series 1’s dramatic cliffhanger with Tony’s (Tennant) fate hanging in the balance, Lord Baddingham is out for vengeance and he’ll stop at nothing to keep Corinium’s empire unrivalled. It all sounds rather sinister but it’s safe to say we can expect plenty of scandal… and sex! Series 2 is arriving on Disney+ on Friday 15th May.
Ponies
One that’ll get everyone talking, Ponies is set in 1070s Moscow where Bea (Emilia Clarke) and Twila (Haley Lu Richardson) are working anonymously as secretaries in the US Embassy. But when their husbands mysteriously die, they hang up their secretary shoes to uncover what really happened – and it takes them to the heart of a vast Cold War conspiracy. Deliciously dark and brilliantly addictive. Arriving on Sky Atlantic and NOW on Friday 22nd May.
Star City
Finally, the spin-off of Apple TV+’s acclaimed space race drama For All Mankind is here. The original series explores an alternate history depicting what would have happened if the global space race didn’t ever end. The spin-off will explore the Soviet Union’s side of the alternative-history moon race, showing the lives of the cosmonauts, the engineers and the intelligence officers and the risks they all took to propel humankind forward. Anna Maxwell Martin and Rhys Ifans are among the cast. Arriving on Apple TV on Friday 29th May.
