Best new movies and TV series on Neon: May 2023

Neon continues to bring in a convoy of quality shows and films. See our handpicked highlights below followed by the full release schedule.

Top picks: TV

White House Plumbers (May 2)

We’re getting a strong Mad Men vibe from this political period piece, starring Woody Harrelson and Justin Theroux as two of Nixon’s operatives responsible for one of the biggest presidential “whoops!” moments in history. While trying to plug up press leaks, these real characters accidentally exposed the very secrets and authority they’d been tasked to protect, putting Nixon, the FBI, and CIA all at risk. Lena Headey and Judy Greer play the guys’ beleaguered wives and the rest of the supporting cast is pretty fab too, including Kathleen Turner and F. Murray Abraham in its retro reputation drama.

Somebody Somewhere: Season 2 (May 5)

We are in Kansas, Toto! Bridgette Everett is back in this Midwestern HBO dramedy, all about an unmoored woman finding purpose in a new group of misfit friends. The bit worth tuning in for (or coming back for, if season one made you feel things) is the joke-a-minute platonic love between Everett and her goofy mate played by Jeff Hiller: both performances are so grounded, to watch is to feel like you’re spying on two weirdo pals sharing the exact same frequency of loneliness and laughs. Season one earned a 100% Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes, so the pathos and character-based comedy can only get stronger from here.

The Great: Season 3 (May 13)

She imprisoned his mates and tried to get him murdered, he’s an unbearable asshole still being haunted by visions of his dad…but against all odds, could Catherine the Great (Elle Fanning) and Peter (Nicholas Hoult) still make their marriage work? In the next season of this zesty period comedy, the question of whether the two battling rulers might make a weirdly good team still hangs over all the rebellion and royal nonsense. Fanning said on Instagram that viewers “are not prepared for this season… it is truly spectacular”, so now could be a good time to catch up on the other short seasons before this next chapter of 10 episodes.

Top picks: Movies

Millie Lies Low (May 17)

It’s thrilling to watch a drama sparked by one big, embarrassing lie—to see a relatable character suspended in a fake reality, waiting for it all to get horribly unravelled before everyone they know. Ana Scotney is that carried-away character in this Aotearoa dramedy about an intern who bails on her exciting new job in New York at the last minute, but keeps up appearances while “laying low” in her hometown. We’ve all been sucked into Instagram wormholes, dreaming of a more impressive life while holed up in bed IRL, so Millie’s escalating charade will be painfully real to stream, after its successful run in cinemas and international film festivals.

Bros (May 25)

With an overly pushy marketing campaign and producer Judd Apatow’s typically overlong, indulgent runtime, the gay AF Billy Eichner vehicle Bros had a shaky run in cinemas. But for any queer viewers who’ve been longing for their own big, funny, high-energy rom-com (and really anybody with a soft spot for the genre), I’m here to tell you that Bros is worth a watch. Heaps of gay royalty icons show up to spit fast-paced screwball quips (Debra Messing, even, is surprisingly game), and the film has some surprisingly complex stuff to say about the unfair standards and stereotypes imposed upon queer people—both from a patronising society and from within the communities themselves.

Bodies Bodies Bodies (May 30)

Starring a who’s-who of rising Gen Z talent from Pete Davidson and Amandla Stenberg to Borat 2‘s Maria Bakalova, this thriller watches closely as a party of stranded rich kids devolve into fear, loathing and violence. It’s all sparked by a simple social game, but when a hurricane hits and somebody turns up with a machete embedded in their neck, all the grudges the gang has been quietly brewing over are brought up as murderous motives. She’s an addict, he’s 20 years older than everyone else, her podcast is just a bit too irritating…It’s stressful and raucous, but once you know the characters too well, you’ll be laughing at each new height the slasher suspicion reaches.