HBO takes a lot of the credit for the rise of prestige TV. Shows such as The Sopranos, The Wire, Sex and the City and Game of Thrones were appointment television, and that tradition lives on with newer series including Industry, House of the Dragon, Euphoria and more. Its streaming service, HBO Max, is also the home of tons of great movies, live sports and excellent documentaries.
May is a big sports month for HBO Max; you can catch the NHL playoffs, the Savannah Bananas and the French Open — all streaming live throughout the month. The streamer will also be premiering tons of movies in May, including the hit romance Wuthering Heights. Fans of travel shows can catch the Jason Momoa-hosted On the Roam, which is also back this month.
Here’s a look at what’s new on HBO Max in May.
TV Shows
May 9
HBO Max’s new Japanese samurai action drama Song of the Samurai is based on the popular manga series Chiruran: Shinsengumi Requiem. Set in Kyoto at the end of the Edo period, the show follows the lives of the Shinsengumi, the samurai warriors that defended Kyoto in the final years of Japan’s shogunate. Originally developed in Japan by the Tokyo Broadcasting System and streaming platform U-NEXT, the new series will debut on HBO Max on May 9.
May 12
- Behind the Bars: Shot in the Spotlight
- U.S. Against the World: Four Years with the Men’s National Soccer Team
May 14
Actor Jason Momoa has several passions (like rock-climbing), and his HBO Max travel series On The Roam allows him to seek out equally passionate people to meet and share their stories. On the show, Momoa travels all over the world, often on his motorcycle, meeting fellow creative minds, like artist and filmmaker Julian Schnabel and Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett, who inspire him. The six-episode season will premiere on May 14 and new episodes drop weekly until June 18.
May 21
- Slaves of Faith: Heralds of the Gospel
May 22
In 2025, HBO released the true crime doc-series The Yogurt Shop Murders, a four-part show about the 1991 murders of four Texas teens. The series aired in the summer of 2025 and posited several theories about who could have committed the unsolved crime, leaving viewers without any real answers… until now.
After the original Yogurt Shop Murders episodes premiered, new DNA evidence was discovered, helping police solve the 34-year-old mystery, and all will be revealed in a brand-new episode of the show that’s coming to HBO Max on May 22.
Movies
May 1
Wuthering Heights is one of the most enduring romance stories of all time, and the 2026 film version starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi has breathed new life into the story of Cathy and Heathcliff. Though Emerald Fennell’s take on the Emily Bronté classic has its critics who don’t love how stylized the film is, there’s no denying that it captures the intense longing of young love (and lust). After hitting theaters earlier this year, the film is available on HBO Max starting May 1.
- Insidious: The Last Key
- Saltburn
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
- Crazy Rich Asians
May 4
May 8
Greenland was a 2020 dystopian drama starring Gerard Butler and Morena Baccarin as husband and wife John and Allison Garrity, whose family survives a comet striking Earth and wiping out much of civilization by holing up in a bunker in Greenland. The film was a hit, and now in the 2026 sequel, Greenland 2: Migration, the Garritys’ secure bunker has been destroyed, forcing them to escape to Europe seeking refuge. You probably can guess, since this a Gerard Butler movie, that the journey won’t be very easy or safe.
May 13
- The A List: 15 Stories from Asia and Pacific Diasporas
May 15
May 27
May 29
- Miss You, Love You
- The Moment
Sports
May 8-23
May 8
- Savannah Bananas vs. The Party Animals (6:30 p.m. ET)
May 15
- Savannah Bananas vs. Loco Beach Coconuts (6:30 p.m. ET)
May 22
- Party Animals vs. Indianapolis Clowns (9:30 p.m. ET)
May 24 – June 7
The French Open marks the second tennis Grand Slam of the season, and this year, the main draw competition begins on May 24. A match schedule is not available yet, but as of now, you can expect to see players such as Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka on the clay courts of Roland-Garros this year. Live matches will air on broadcast television in the US on TNT and TruTV, and they’ll stream live on HBO Max throughout the tournament, which ends June 7.
May 24
- AEW Double or Nothing (pay-per-view, 8 p.m.)
May 30
- Savannah Bananas vs. Indianapolis Clowns, 7:30 p.m.
Comedy specials
May 22
Comedian Josh Johnson might be best known as one of the hosts of The Daily Show (or perhaps you’re one of the nearly 2.5 million subscribers to his YouTube channel), and his first HBO comedy special, Josh Johnson: Symphony, is arriving this month. Johnson’s new batch of material was filmed earlier this year at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles and it premieres on May 22.
Stephan is the sports journalist for the Maple Grove Report.
