New on HBO Max in May 2022: All the new movies and shows

Jean Smart as Deborah Vance in Hacks season 2

(Image credit: HBO Max)

There's a whole load of new HBO Max movies and shows to enjoy in May, from the likes of Old, Dear Evan Hansen, and The Matrix Resurrections, to acclaimed classics The Color Purple, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and Miami Vice. TV lovers are sure to get their fill, too, what with new miniseries The Staircase, starring Toni Collette, Sophie Turner, and Colin Firth, and Hacks season 2 set to premiere in the coming weeks.

If thought-provoking documentaries are more your jam, then Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood may be the pick for you, or maybe you're a comic book enthusiast and Catwoman: Hunted might tickle your fancy.

Whatever your personal tastes, there's bound to be something for everyone. Ahead of the new month, we've rounded up a list of everything that will find its way onto the service by the time May 31 rolls around. Check it out...

The Staircase – May 5

Colin Firth and Toni Collette in The Staircase — (Image credit: HBO)

Colin Firth and Toni Collette star in The Staircase, a new miniseries based on a grisly real-life murder trial and Jean-Xavier de Lestrade's French show of the same name, which was released in 2004.

In 2003, novelist Michael Petersen was convicted of killing his wife, Katherine, after she was found dead in their North Carolina home. This eight-parter examines whether Katherine really did fall down the stairs, as Petersen claims, or whether he bludgeoned her to death and staged the accident.

Game of Thrones' Sophie Turner, Michael Stuhlbarg, Dane DeHaan, Tim Guinee, Juliette Binoche, and Parker Posey also feature, while The Devil All the Time helmer Antonio Campos directs.

The Matrix Resurrections – May 10

Directed by Lana Wachowski, The Matrix Resurrections sees Carrie-Anne Moss and Keanu Reeves reprise their iconic roles as Trinity and Neo, respectively. Set sixty years after Revolutions, it reintroduces the latter as a video game developer who is struggling to distinguish between reality and fantasy.

His seemingly ordinary life is disrupted, though, when a group of rebels, led by a programmed version of Morpheus (Ambulance's Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), free Neo from a new version of the Matrix, and task him with saving Trinity from a new enemy. Neil Patrick Harris, Jessica Henwick, Priyanka Chopra, Jonathan Groff, and Jada Pinkett Smith round out the star-studded cast.

Hacks season 2 – May 12

Hannah Einbinder and Jean Smart in Hacks — (Image credit: HBO Max)

Hacks, a new comedy series starring Hannah Einbinder and Jean Smart, came out of nowhere last year, and wound up being one of HBO Max's most beloved releases of 2021. It earned SAG, Critic's Choice and Primetime Emmy awards for Smart, and gongs for its creators Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky, too, so it's hardly surprising that the streaming platform is wasting no time bringing out another season.

In it, Smart stars as Deborah Vance, a legendary Las Vegas stand-up, whose diva tendencies lead her employers to team her up with Ava Daniels, a down-on-her-luck writer who just might have what it takes to calm Deborah down.

Teasing season 2 at the SCAD TVFest, Downs said: "What we were most interested in exploring was what it's like for someone like her to keep bombing. What is it like when you're on the road in small venues and not doing well? What does that do to your spirit, and what does that do to your relationship, and what does that do to your psyche?"