All the new HBO Max movies and shows streaming in May 2022

Jean Smart as Deborah Vance in Hacks season 2
(Image credit: HBO Max)

There's a whole load of new HBO Max movies and shows to enjoy in May, from the likes of Old, Dear Evan Hansen, and The Matrix Resurrections, to acclaimed classics The Color Purple, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and Miami Vice. TV lovers are sure to get their fill, too, what with new miniseries The Staircase, starring Toni Collette, Sophie Turner, and Colin Firth, and Hacks season 2 set to premiere in the coming weeks.

If thought-provoking documentaries are more your jam, then Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood may be the pick for you, or maybe you're a comic book enthusiast and Catwoman: Hunted might tickle your fancy.

Whatever your personal tastes, there's bound to be something for everyone. Ahead of the new month, we've rounded up a list of everything that will find its way onto the service by the time May 31 rolls around. Check it out...

The Staircase – May 5

Colin Firth and Toni Collette in The Staircase

(Image credit: HBO)

Colin Firth and Toni Collette star in The Staircase, a new miniseries based on a grisly real-life murder trial and Jean-Xavier de Lestrade's French show of the same name, which was released in 2004. 

In 2003, novelist Michael Petersen was convicted of killing his wife, Katherine, after she was found dead in their North Carolina home. This eight-parter examines whether Katherine really did fall down the stairs, as Petersen claims, or whether he bludgeoned her to death and staged the accident.

Game of Thrones' Sophie Turner, Michael Stuhlbarg, Dane DeHaan, Tim Guinee, Juliette Binoche, and Parker Posey also feature, while The Devil All the Time helmer Antonio Campos directs. 

The Matrix Resurrections – May 10

The Matrix Resurrections

(Image credit: Warner Bros.)

Directed by Lana Wachowski, The Matrix Resurrections sees Carrie-Anne Moss and Keanu Reeves reprise their iconic roles as Trinity and Neo, respectively. Set sixty years after Revolutions, it reintroduces the latter as a video game developer who is struggling to distinguish between reality and fantasy.

His seemingly ordinary life is disrupted, though, when a group of rebels, led by a programmed version of Morpheus (Ambulance's Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), free Neo from a new version of the Matrix, and task him with saving Trinity from a new enemy. Neil Patrick Harris, Jessica Henwick, Priyanka Chopra, Jonathan Groff, and Jada Pinkett Smith round out the star-studded cast.

Hacks season 2 – May 12

Hannah Einbinder and Jean Smart in Hacks

(Image credit: HBO Max)

Hacks, a new comedy series starring Hannah Einbinder and Jean Smart, came out of nowhere last year, and wound up being one of HBO Max's most beloved releases of 2021. It earned SAG, Critic's Choice and Primetime Emmy awards for Smart, and gongs for its creators Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky, too, so it's hardly surprising that the streaming platform is wasting no time bringing out another season.

In it, Smart stars as Deborah Vance, a legendary Las Vegas stand-up, whose diva tendencies lead her employers to team her up with Ava Daniels, a down-on-her-luck writer who just might have what it takes to calm Deborah down.

Teasing season 2 at the SCAD TVFest, Downs said: "What we were most interested in exploring was what it's like for someone like her to keep bombing. What is it like when you're on the road in small venues and not doing well? What does that do to your spirit, and what does that do to your relationship, and what does that do to your psyche?"

New on HBO Max in May 2022

New on HBO Max: May 1

  • 47 Ronin
  • Assassins
  • At Close Range
  • An Autumn Afternoon
  • Back to School
  • The Big Sleep
  • Bottle Rocket
  • Calladita
  • Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
  • Child 44
  • Chungking Express
  • The Color Purple 
  • Conan the Barbarian (2011)
  • Devil in a Blue Dress
  • Dodes 'Ka-Den
  • Domino 
  • Downhill (1927)
  • Dragnet Girl
  • Early Spring
  • Early Summer
  • The End of Summer
  • Equinox Flower
  • Eraser
  • Fallen Angels
  • Floating Weeds
  • FRIDA
  • The Fugitive
  • Furry Vengeance
  • Gang Related
  • Good Morning
  • Hard Rain
  • Hart's War
  • High and Low
  • Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius
  • Julie
  • Killers
  • Language Lessons
  • Love and Baseball
  • The Machine That Kills Bad People
  • Masters of the Universe (1987)
  • The Missing
  • The New Guy
  • North Dallas Forty
  • Not Easily Broken
  • The Perks of Being a Wallflower
  • Poseidon
  • Red Beard
  • Ringo and His Golden Pistol
  • Rugrats Go Wild
  • Rugrats in Paris: The Movie
  • The Rugrats Movie
  • The Sapphires
  • Sense and Sensibility 
  • Sliding Doors
  • St. Elmo's Fire
  • The Stepford Wives (2004)
  • Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li
  • Terminator 2: Judgment Day
  • Tokyo Twilight
  • Top Secret!
  • Transporter 3
  • Unbroken
  • Underworld
  • Underworld: Awakening
  • Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
  • Welcome to the Dollhouse
  • W.E.
  • What To Expect When You're Expecting
  • The Wild Thornberrys Movie
  • Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood
  • You, Me and Dupree
  • Young Adult
  • Zathura

New on HBO Max: May 3

  • Spring Awakening: Those You’ve Know

New on HBO Max: May 5

  • Las Bravas F.C.
  • Queen Stars Brazil
  • The Staircase, episodes 1, 2 and 3

New on HBO Max: May 6

  • Dear Evan Hansen
  • Entre Nos: Carmen and Alfred
  • La Afinadora De Árboles

New on HBO Max: May 7

  • We Baby Bears season 1, Part C

New on HBO Max: May 9

  • Get Hard

New on HBO Max: May 10

  • Catwoman: Hunted
  • The Matrix Resurrections
  • Sesame Street Mecha Builders season 1, Part A
  • Robot Chicken season 11, Part B

New on HBO Max: May 12

  • Hacks, season 2 episodes 1 and 2
  • Who's By Your Side 

New on HBO Max: May 13

  • Hank Zipzer
  • Old
  • Smalls, season 4

New on HBO Max: May 15

  • The Time Traveler's Wife, episode 1

New on HBO Max: May 17

  • Sesame Street Mecha Builders season 1, Part B
  • The Mule

New on HBO Max: May 20

  • Identidad Tomada

New on HBO Max: May 22

  • Fast Foodies, season 2

New on HBO Max: May 23

  • Teen Titans Go! season 7, Part B

New on HBO Max: May 26

  • Navalny
  • That Damn Michael Che season 2, episode 1
  • Tig n’ Seek season 4, episode 1

New on HBO Max: May 27

  • Blippi Special
  • Blippi Visits
  • Blippi Wonders
  • Blippi: Learn With Blippi
  • Ghost, Season 1
  • Ghost, Season 2
  • Stath Lets Flats

New on HBO Max: May 29

  • The Misery Index season 3, Part B

New on HBO Max: May 31

  • Miami Vice

If HBO Max isn't the only streaming service you're currently subscribed to, then make sure to check out our lists on what new titles are set to arrive on Netflix and Disney Plus in May, too. 

Amy West

I am an Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, covering all things TV and film across our Total Film and SFX sections. Elsewhere, my words have been published by the likes of Digital Spy, SciFiNow, PinkNews, FANDOM, Radio Times, and Total Film magazine.