The 10 best Netflix series and shows to watch in May 2026
The creators of Stranger Things are back
Netflix is about to add some fresh TV shows to its library, so if you want to know the best series to stream in May 2026, these are the shows you should check out.
Last month came with two big hitters: Beef season 2 and Siobhan Finneran’s Unchosen.
So, what’s next? Well, we have a British drug thriller based on an untold true story, plus a new series from the creators of Stranger Things.
So, you’re in search of a new TV show that won’t leave you disappointed, you’re in luck. These are the best shows to watch on Netflix this month.
Legends
- Genre: Thriller
- Year: 2026 (premieres on May 7)
- Cast: Steve Coogan, Tom Burke, Hayley Squires
- Creator: Neil Forsyth
- Length: 1 season, 6 episodes
What it’s about: In the early 1990s, Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise was losing its battle with illegal drug smuggling across Britain’s borders.The solution was extraordinary. In a top-secret operation, a small team of Customs employees were sent undercover. Their task – to infiltrate Britain’s most dangerous drug gangs.
Why to watch: There are three appeals to Legends. Firstly, the cast is phenomenal; it’s a meaty role for the ever-excellent Tom Burke, and it’s always a pleasure to see Steve Coogan show off his dramatic chops. Secondly, it comes from Neil Forsyth, who made two all-time BBC dramas (Guilt and The Gold). Thirdly, it’s based on an untold true story. We’re in.
The Boroughs
- Genre: Sci-fi, Drama
- Year: 2026 (premieres on May 21)
- Cast: Bill Pullman, Geena Davis, Clarke Peters, Alfred Molina
- Creator: Jeffrey Addiss, Will Matthews
- Length: 1 season, 8 episodes
What it’s about: In a seemingly perfect retirement community, a grieving newcomer’s monstrous encounter inspires him to join a misfit crew of unlikely heroes who uncover a dark secret that proves their “golden years” are more dangerous, and they are more formidable, than anyone expects.
Why to watch: They may not be the creators, but the fact that the Duffer Brothers are heavily involved in The Boroughs is enough reason to be curious, if not excited. They’ve even said that it shares a lot of DNA with Stranger Things, and it’s “fun, scary, and touching too”. Something Very Bad is Going to Happen has already proven their TV calibre beyond Hawkins – have they made another hit? Time will tell.
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The Little Drummer Girl
- Genre: Drama
- Year: 2018
- Cast: Michael Shannon, Alexander Skarsgård, Florence Pugh, Michael Moshonov
- Creator: Michael Lesslie, Claire Wilson
- Length: 1 season, 6 episodes
What it’s about: In the wake of a series of attacks targeting prominent Jewish figures across Europe, Mossad agent Martin Kurtz hires Charlie, a passionate young actress from London, to infiltrate a Palestinian group suspected of plotting a terrorist attack.
Why to watch: If you like The Night Manager, listen up: not only is The Little Drummer Girl also based on a book by John le Carré, but it’s a better, richer, and more sophisticated espionage drama. Its eyebrow-raising, delicately navigated geopolitical story aside, its craft is often staggeringly beautiful and near-immaculate. Plus, it’s helmed by one of our true great directors, Park Chan-wook, and it boasts one of Florence Pugh’s greatest performances.
Prey
- Genre: Drama, Crime
- Year: 2014 – 2015
- Cast: John Simm, Philip Glenister
- Creator: Chris Lunt
- Length: 2 seasons, 6 episodes
What it’s about: In this anthology series, a detective constable is forced to go on the run after he’s accused of murdering his family, and a prison officer falls on the wrong side of the law.
Why to watch: In its lean three-episodes-per-season helpings, Prey is destined to be binged all across the UK. It helps that it features two superb British stars, John Simm and Philip Glenister, and each season is breathless, tightly directed and scripted, and satisfyingly wrapped up.
Yellowstone
- Genre: Drama
- Year: 2018 – 2024
- Cast: Kevin Costner, Luke Grimes, Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley
- Creator: Taylor Sheridan, John Linson
- Length: 5 seasons, 53 episodes
What it’s about: The Dutton family own the largest cattle ranch in Montana. From crooked politicians to rival ranchers, its patriarch and his kids fight to protect their land and way of life from everyone who threatens it.
Why to watch: You could praise Yellowstone for being a Shakespearean drama; it’s ultimately a story about loyalty and bitter betrayal. You could also highlight its spectacular production value, revelling in the dreamy (and dangerous) vistas of Montana.
But there are three reasons why people start Yellowstone and keep watching it: Kevin Costner’s charismatic turn as John Dutton, Beth Dutton being a badass, and its violent, soapy drama.
Baby Reindeer
- Genre: Thriller, Drama, Comedy
- Year: 2024
- Cast: Richard Gadd, Jessica Gunning, Nava Mau, Tom Goodman-Hill
- Creator: Richard Gadd
- Length: 1 season, 7 episodes
What it’s about: Based on the true story of Richard Gadd’s stalking ordeal, Baby Reindeer follows Donny, a struggling comedian who works in a London pub. When he takes pity on an upset woman, she takes a bit of a liking to him, but it spirals into a violent obsession.
Why to watch: Baby Reindeer should be recognised as one of Netflix’s defining achievements: an overwhelming, harrowing, and indelible account of a man’s grief and trauma that took everyone by surprise when it dropped on the platform.
Its aftermath may have overshadowed its success (its alleged real-life subject is suing the streamer), but as Gadd said when he accepted an award for writing the series, “The only constant factor in any success in television is good storytelling.”
This is (almost) as good as it gets. Gadd’s new drama drops this month too: Half Man, which will air on BBC One.
Mr Mercedes
- Genre: Thriller
- Year: 2017 – 2019
- Cast: Brendan Gleeson, Harry Treadaway, Holland Taylor
- Creator: David E. Kelley
- Length: 3 seasons, 30 episodes
What it’s about: Bill Hodges, a retired detective haunted by a brutal unsolved case, begins receiving strange, taunting messages from a psychopath who may be connected to his past.
Why to watch: Four words: Stephen King detective drama. Yes, Mr Mercedes is an adaptation from the master of horror’s archives, and while it doesn’t fit the tidy, typical confines of the genre, it’s intense, eerie, and very bingeable.
ER
- Genre: Drama
- Year: 1994 – 2009
- Cast: George Clooney, Julianna Margulies, Noah Wyle
- Creator: Michael Crichton
- Length: 15 seasons, 331 episodes
What it’s about: In Chicago’s Cook County General Hospital emergency room, nurses and doctors do everything they can to save lives (and have lives of their own).
Why to watch: ER is the greatest medical TV drama of all time, bar none. Try as other shows – like Casualty, Grey’s Anatomy, House, and even The Pitt – might, its influence and impact cannot (and will not) be matched. If you didn’t watch its original run, prepare to be consumed by it.
That said, if you’re frustrated at having to wait for new episodes of The Pitt season 2, this should plug its gap nicely.
Benidorm
- Genre: Comedy
- Year: 2007 – 2018
- Cast: Siobhan Finneran, Steve Pemberton, Johnny Vegas, Sheila Reid
- Creator: Derren Litten
- Length: 10 seasons, 74 episodes
What it’s about: Every year, British holidaymakers descend upon an all-inclusive resort in Benidorm, where petty rivalries, poolside mayhem, and other antics ensue.
Why to watch: If you’re a Brit who’s ever holidayed in a hotel like the one in Benidorm, the experience of watching it is two-fold: it’s hilarious, but it’s also painfully accurate about all of its mundane joys and tedious beefs. The first few seasons are incredibly addictive, and Siobhan Finneran and Steve Pemberton’s family are the best characters in it.
The Gentlemen
- Genre: Comedy, Crime
- Year: 2024 – present
- Cast: Theo James, Kaya Scodelario, Giancarlo Esposito, Daniel Ings
- Creator: Guy Ritchie
- Length: 1 season, 8 episodes (renewed for season 2)
What it’s about: Eddie Horniman, a soldier and aristocrat, unexpectedly becomes his family’s new Duke. This means he inherits an enormous estate – and the drug empire that comes with it, dropping him straight into the criminal underworld.
Why to watch: The Gentlemen is long-form Guy Ritchie with all of the trimmings; a naughty, nasty, and electrically scripted sojourn into a world of verbal gymnastics and pound-of-flesh justice.
But it’s not just potty-mouthed, violent frivolity: his post-RocknRolla career has been a bit disappointing, but this show’s Ritchie’s evolution as a filmmaker and storyteller. You’ll be desperate for Season 2 – and you’re in luck, because it’s coming out in 2026.
Read more: The best movies to watch on Netflix right now
