I know you are waiting Netflix To hit you with this password sharing fee. Additional fees are due any day now. But if you’re a fan of Bridgerton, Ultraman, or To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, you might want to wait. And Star Wars fans, May the Fourth will be with you as you stream Disney Plus This month too.
Don’t forget, HBO Max is relaunching as Max on May 23rd. Some titles will be released on the HBO Max schedule by May 22, but parent company Warner Bros. Discovery is sharing its new Max lineup later this month with more to watch from Discovery Plus.
Although live sports such as Major League BaseballAnd hockey And Basketball Taking center stage this season, streaming TV has a lot to offer in May. Each month, I advise you which streaming services to cancel or keep based on current price and releases. My strategy: Chuddy like ice cream.
Essentially, you’ll be rolling services in and out. Subscribe for a while, cancel the service(s), stream on a different platform and then resubscribe, keeping a constant collection of favourites. Pick one or two of the year’s must-haves and treat the extras like seasonal add-ons. This helps save money on Netflix, Disney Plus, HBO Max, and others when they don’t have the content you want to watch at a certain time. Just remember to turn off auto-renewing monthly subscriptions. This may not work if you share accounts with anyone outside your household, but if you can come to an agreement with your streaming partners, give it a try.
Here are my recommendations for which TV shows to keep or cancel for the month of May, based on what new TV shows and movies (I didn’t think about live TV services) hitting each platform. Your tastes may be different, but if nothing else, I urge you to at least consider the concept of rotation for the sake of savings. It’s easier than you think.
Rotation service flow for May 2023
| Memorizes | Eliminates | |
| Netflix | X | |
| stars | X | |
| Hulu | X | |
| Apple TV Plus | X | |
| Disney Plus | X | |
| HBO Max/Max | X | |
| Paramount Plus | X | |
| Prime Video | X | |
| peacock | X |
Star Wars Vision returns for a second volume this month on Disney Plus.
Keep Netflix and those others in May
Netflix: Bridgerton’s Queen Charlotte featured here as well as Kitty Covey’s show. For action fans, Jennifer Lopez watching screen and Korean drama, Black Knight, is the dystopian series that can turn you around. Until Squid returns. Here is a screenshot of the May Netflix slate:
- Queen Charlotte: The Bridgerton Story: 4 May
- Queen Cleopatra: May 10th
- Ultraman, final season (anime): May 11
- The Mother (the new J.Lo movie): May 12
- Queer Eye, Season 7: May 12
- Anna Nicole Smith: You Don’t Know Me: May 16th
- XO, Kitty (To All the Boys Spinoff): May 18
- Sale Sunset, Season 6: May 19
- All American, Season 5: May 23
- Fubar with Arnold Schwarzenegger: May 25th
HBO Max: Succession ends this month on May 28th, and Titans Forever concludes on May 11th. Keep streaming Barry and Love & Death if you want to. Here are the newcomers coming to HBO Max by May 22: White House Plumbers (May 1), Spy/Master (May 19) and Love to Love You, Donna Summer (May 20). Shazam! Fury of the Gods lands on Max’s launch day (May 23), but keep an eye on your streamer catalog after that.
Disney Plus: Besides the Star Wars offerings, American Born Chinese and Marvel’s Ant-Man also appeared on Disney Plus this month. Versions include:
- Star Wars: Visions, Volume 2, proper premiere: May 4
- CHARLES: In His Own Words (to royal watchers): May 5th
- Ed Sheeran: The Sum of Everything: May 3
- Star Wars: The Adventures of a Young Jedi: May 4th
- Danger! Masters: May 9
- Muppet Mayhem: May 10
- Crater (Disney Plus original): May 12
- Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania: May 17
- American Born Chinese starring Michelle Yeoh: May 24
Apple TV Plus: Ted Lasso airs the series finale on May 31, so if you’ve been watching, you’ll need to tune in all month long. Otherwise, Silo will premiere on May 5.
starsStarz will broadcast the season finale of Power Book II: Ghost and Blindspotting on May 26. It’s the same day that Run the World Season 2 premieres. So, you can either cancel Starz after the power’s up or binge it all over Memorial Day weekend.
Prime Video: The Citadel premieres with two episodes on April 28. Season 5 of The Marvelous Mrs. Masel will continue its final run. If you have a standalone Prime Video subscription and aren’t a fan or would rather skip Citadel or another Prime show, The Power, cancel this month.
Cancel these after watching what you want
peacock: Bel-Air dropped its season finale on April 27, so unless you want to overdo it in May or watch Ms. Davis, sports, or a reality show, you can give Peacock a break. Those of you still using Black Friday’s $1 for 12 months deal on Peacock should stick with it.
Paramount Plus: binge rabbit hole (which ends this month) or keep streaming Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies. You can also watch Scream 6 now and then cancel the service when you’re done.
Hulu: Danger! The Masters premieres (May 9) alongside FX’s Class of ’09 TV series (May 10) and The Great Season 3 (May 12). A remake of White Men Can’t Jump starring Jack Harlow, Cinqua Walls, Lance Reddick and Teyana Taylor premieres May 19. All episodes of The Great are available this month and you can wait to binge on other shows this summer.
Catch Catherine the Great’s latest exploits in May when the entire third season drops, then cancel Hulu.
Be patient to save the most money
If you are not someone who gets FOMO routinely, a smart way is to wait until the bulk or all episodes of your favorite series are out on the platform. This way, instead of paying for two or three months of service to cover the six to 12 week supply period, you can catch up on everything by subscribing for one month. Then repeat the cycle again.
For example, if you feel compelled to binge-watch The Kardashians season 3, it will have a minimum of 10 episodes starting May 25th. The series will run through July, and all episodes will be available in August. Why pay for three months of Hulu when you can wait for it to air in its entirety any time in August? The same is true for the eight episodes of Class of ’09 on the platform, and May is prime time to catch all episodes of Season 4 on Max if you haven’t watched it already.
Decide if the Kardashians should watch TV for you for months.
Add up how much you pay per month for each streaming service. Apple TV Plus is $7. Netflix is $7 to $20 (until account sharing fees kick in), Disney Plus is $3 to $11 depending on packages, HBO Max is $10 or $16, Hulu starts at $8, and Starz costs $9. Others have a base rate of $5 per month. To avoid paying more, you can check out deals for streaming services here: The best streaming service deals from Verizon, T-Mobile, and more And The best streaming service deals on Hulu, Peacock, Disney Plus, and more.
If you decide to stop, set yourself a calendar reminder to alert you when it’s time to resubscribe or cancel. I’ll be back in June with more tips on streaming.