May
Entertainment Featured

[Trailers] New Releases Streaming May 1

Phyllis Coley @phyllis_coley

Don’t worry, after more than a month under stay-at-home orders, it only feels like you’ve already watched everything on Netflix Inc. But May is bringing a new crop of shows and movies to binge, with some big names behind them.

Among the most anticipated new offerings streaming May 1 on Netflix, Amazon Prime,  and HBO.

HOLLYWOOD: Season 1

Follows a group of aspiring actors and filmmakers in post-World War II Hollywood as they try to make it in Tinseltown — no matter the cost. Each character offers a unique glimpse behind the gilded curtain of Hollywood’s Golden Age, spotlighting the unfair systems and biases across race, gender, and sexuality that continue to this day. … Hollywood exposes and examines decades-old power dynamics, and what the entertainment landscape might look like if they had been dismantled.

 

  • Genre: Drama
  • Network: Netflix
  • Premiere Date: May 1, 2020
  • Creators: Ryan Murphy, Ian Brennan
  • Stars: Darren Criss, Patti LuPone, Jeremy Pope, Laura Harrier

ALL DAY AND A NIGHT

As soft-spoken Jahkor Abraham Lincoln (Ashton Sanders, Moonlight) struggles to keep his dream of rapping alive amidst a gang war in Oakland, his ill-fated life and real-world responsibilities drive him further and further across the line of right and wrong with tragic consequences. Landing in prison beside his father, J.D. (Jeffrey Wright, Westworld) whom he never wanted to be like, Jahkor embarks on an unlikely journey of self-discovery, exploring the events that unite them, in hopes of helping his newborn son break a cycle that feels unavoidable. A powerful film from Black Panther co-writer Joe Robert Cole, ALL DAY AND A NIGHT is produced by Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson (The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story), and Jared Ian Goldman (Ingrid Goes West).

The drama co-stars Isaiah John (Snowfall), Kelly Jenrette (The Handmaid’s Tale), Shakira Ja’Nai Paye (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse), Regina Taylor (The Unit), Christopher Meyer (The Affair) and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Watchmen).

 

  • Rating: R (for strong violence, pervasive language, drug use, and some sexual content/nudity)
  • Genre: Drama
  • Directed By: Joe Robert Cole
  • Written By: Joe Robert Cole
  • On Disc/Streaming: May 1, 2020
  • Studio: Netflix

UPLOAD

Upload, from Emmy-Award-winning writer Greg Daniels (The Office; Parks and Recreation), is a new sci-fi comedy series set in a technologically advanced future where hologram phones, 3D food printers, and automated grocery stores are the norm. Most uniquely, humans can choose to be “uploaded” into a virtual afterlife when they find themselves near-death. The series follows a young app developer, Nathan Brown (Robbie Amell), who winds up in the hospital following a self-driving car accident, needing to quickly decide his fate. After a rushed deliberation with his shallow girlfriend Ingrid (Allegra Edwards), he chooses to be uploaded to her family’s luxurious virtual afterlife, the Horizen company’s “Lakeview.” Once uploaded in Lakeview, Nathan meets his customer service “Angel” Nora Anthony (Andy Allo), who at first is his charismatic concierge and guide, but quickly becomes his friend and confidante, helping him navigate this new digital extension of life.

An Amazon Original, Upload is a ten-episode sci-fi comedy series starring Robbie Amell (Code 8), Andy Allo (Pitch Perfect 3), Kevin Bigley (Undone), Allegra Edwards (New Girl), and Zainab Johnson (American Koko). The series was created by Greg Daniels who also serves as executive producer along with Howard Klein (The Office).

 

  • Genre: Comedy
  • Network: Amazon
  • Premiere Date: May 1, 2020
  • Creator: Greg Daniels
  • Stars: Robbie Amell, Andy Allo, Kevin Bigley, Allegra Edwards, Zainab Johns

BETTY

Betty, an HBO comedic drama series written by Crystal Moselle and Lesley Arfin, focuses on a diverse group of young women who navigate their lives through the male-dominated world of skateboarding in New York City. The series is a spinoff of Moselle’s 2018 film Skate Kitchen. the series includes most of the cast of the original movie and consists of six episodes. ‌Starring Dede Lovelace, Moonbear, Nina Moran, Ajani Russell, and Rachelle Vinberg, from Crystal Moselle’s original film Skate Kitchen.

 

  • Genre: Comedy, Drama
  • Network: HBO
  • Premiere Date: May 1, 2020
  • Creator: Crystal Moselle, Lesley Arfin
  • Stars: ‌Starring Dede Lovelace, Moonbear, Nina Moran, Ajani Russell, Rachelle Vinberg

THE HALF OF IT

Shy, straight-A student Ellie is hired by sweet but inarticulate jock Paul, who needs help winning over a popular girl. But their new and unlikely friendship gets complicated when Ellie discovers she has feelings for the same girl. Stars: Leah Lewis, Daniel Diemer, Alexxis Lemire 

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    • Rating: NR
    • Genre: Comedy, Romance
    • Directed By: Alice Wu
    • Written By: Alice Wu
    • On Disc/Streaming: May 1, 2020
    • Studio: Netflix