Final seasons of Barry & Succession; first seasons of Love & Death, Gaslit, The Tourist & Power Book IV: Force
BARRY S4 | First on Showmax | Binge episodes 1-3 now, with more every Monday
In the fourth and final season of HBO’s dark comedy Barry, Cousineau is hailed as a hero as Barry’s arrest has shocking consequences.
Barry has won nine Emmys and 50 awards for its first three seasons, with its fourth season currently sitting on a 99% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes – the fifth-highest this year.
Bill Hader, who directs all episodes this season, has already won two Emmys as conflicted hitman-turned-actor Barry Berkman, the title character. As his acting coach Gene Cousineau, Henry Winkler has also picked up an Emmy. Anthony Carrigan, Sarah Goldberg and Stephen Root also return in their Emmy-nominated roles as Noho Hank, Sally and Fuches.
Empire Magazine calls the final season, “nerve-shredding, hilarious and emotionally devastating to the very end,” saying, “Season 4 will be remembered as some of the best TV of 2023.” AwardsWatch goes a step further, calling it “truly spectacular… one of the greatest shows of the last century.” And Radio Times says, “If you’re not watching this show, you’re a fool… There’s simply nothing like it.”
LOVE & DEATH | Binge episodes 1-3 from Tuesday, 2 May, with new episodes weekly
Love & Death tells the true story of Candy and Pat Montgomery and Betty and Allan Gore, two churchgoing couples enjoying their small town Texas life … until an extramarital affair leads somebody to pick up an axe …
Written by 11-time Emmy winner David E Kelley (Big Little Lies), directed by Oscar and Emmy nominee Lesli Linka Glatter (Homeland), and executive produced by Oscar winner Nicole Kidman, among others, the seven-episode HBO Max Original limited series co-stars Emmy nominee Elizabeth Olsen (Wandavision) and Oscar and Emmy nominee Jesse Plemons (The Power of the Dog, Fargo).
Also look out for Critics Choice nominee Krysten Ritter (Jessica Jones), Teen Choice nominee Patrick Fugit (Almost Famous, Gone Girl), Emmy nominee Tom Pelphrey (Ozark), Keir Gilchrist (Atypical) and Critics Choice Super nominee Elizabeth Marvel (Helstrom).
Inspired by the book Evidence of Love: A True Story of Passion and Death in the Suburbs and a collection of articles from Texas Monthly (Love & Death in Silicon Prairie, Part I & II), Love & Death had its world premiere at the 2023 SXSW Film & TV Festival and currently has an 8/10 rating on IMDb.
SUCCESSION S4 | First On Showmax | Binge the first five episodes, with more every Monday
Created by Oscar nominee Jesse Armstrong (Veep), Succession has already won over 100 awards, including the Emmys for Outstanding Drama Series in both 2020 and 2022.
In Season 4 of HBO’s smash hit series, the sale of Waystar Royco to tech visionary Lukas Matsson (Emmy winner Alexander Skarsgård from Big Little Lies) is looming ever closer. It’s a prospect that provokes existential angst and familial division among the Roys as they anticipate their diminished cultural and political influence once the deal is completed.
Matthew Macfadyen and Jeremy Strong return to their Emmy-winning roles as Tom Wambsgans and Kendall Roy respectively this season, alongside Brian Cox as Logan Roy, Sarah Snook and Kieran Culkin as Roy siblings Shiv and Roman, Nicholas Braun as Greg Hirsch, and J Smith-Cameron as Gerri Kellman – all Emmy-nominated performances.
Season 4 has a 98% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes – the seventh highest this year – with Vulture calling the family drama series “a shining example of the best qualities of TV” and Indiewire hailing it as “the end all, be all of TV.”
YELLOWJACKETS S2 | First on Showmax | Binge the first five episodes, with more every Tuesday
Yellowjackets follows a high school girls’ soccer team that survives a plane crash in the 90s. The Yellowjackets barely made it through summer, but now, as winter begins to bite, we’ll see if hunger and desperation turn into full-on psychosis. Meanwhile, 25 years later, each survivor must determine if the darkness is coming for them or from them.
Yellowjackets’ first season was named Best Horror at the 2022 Critics Choice Super Awards and Best Drama at the 2022 Critics Choice Awards. It was also nominated for seven Emmys, including Outstanding Drama Series. Season 2 currently has a 96% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes – the 11th highest this year.
The new season sees Melanie Lynskey (Candy, The Last of Us) back in her Critics Choice and Critics Choice Super-winning role as Shauna, alongside Oscar nominee Juliette Lewis (Natural Born Killers) as Natalie, Christina Ricci (Wednesday) in her Emmy-nominated role as Misty, multi-award winner Tawny Cypress (The Blacklist: Redemption) in her Black Reel-nominated role as Taissa, and Jasmin Savoy Brown (Scream, The Leftovers) in her GALECA- and Queerties-nominated role as the young Taissa. This season also introduces Critics Choice winner Elijah Wood (Frodo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings trilogy) as Walter, a citizen detective who seems to know more than he should.
As The Guardian says, “Juliette Lewis is sublime, Christina Ricci finds her perfect co-star [Elijah Wood], and you’re constantly kept on your toes with parallel timelines and tons of creepy thrills. What a follow-up!… This wonderfully imaginative sequel is even better than last time.”
GASLIT | Binge from 22 May
Oscar winners Julia Roberts (Erin Brockovich) and Sean Penn (Milk) star in Gaslit. The show is based on the insane but shockingly true story of the Watergate scandal of the 70s, following the untold stories of the forgotten characters on its periphery, like President Nixon’s attorney general, John Mitchell (Penn), who is swept up in the cover-up, and his outspoken wife, Martha Mitchell, aka “The Mouth from the South” (Roberts).
The eight-episode series was nominated for four Emmys last year and four Critics Choice Awards this year – for Best Limited Series, Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series (Shea Whigham from Boardwalk Empire and Perry Mason), Best Supporting Actress (for Emmy nominee Betty Gilpin from GLOW) and Best Actress for Roberts, who was also nominated for a Golden Globe.
Gaslit has an 89% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with The Guardian hailing it as, “a star-powered Watergate drama that grips and doesn’t let go.”
Based on the first season of the podcast Slow Burn, Gaslit is directed by Cannes winner Matt Ross (Captain Fantastic) and created by SXSW winner Robbie Pickering (Mr. Robot), who exec produces alongside Emmy-nominated Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail.
THE TOURIST S1 | Binge from 15 May
Named Best TV Series at the Monte-Carlo TV Festival, The Tourist stars BAFTA nominee Jamie Dornan (The Fall) as a man who wakes up in the Australian outback with no memory of who he is. He must use the few clues he has to discover his identity before his past catches up with him.
Co-created by The Missing writers Harry and Jack Williams, The Tourist co-stars Danielle Macdonald (Dumplin’) and Shalom Brune-Franklin (Line of Duty).
Nominated for a 2023 BAFTA for its cinematography, The Tourist has a 97% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with The Guardian calling it a “fun, stylish and confident caper” with “numerous twists up its sleeve.”
The BBC has renewed The Tourist for a second season.
POWER BOOK IV: FORCE S1 | Binge from 12 May
Same crazy. Same ruthless. Same fearless. Same deadly. Same Tommy.
The crime drama Power Book IV: Force follows drug dealer Tommy Egan (Joseph Sikora, who starred in Power and Power Book II: Ghost) after he cuts ties and puts New York in his rear-view mirror for good, with plans to become the biggest dealer in Chicago.
Created by Emmy nominee Robert Munic (The Cleaner), the sequel series is the third spin-off to Power, which was nominated for multiple BET, Black Reel and People’s Choice Awards. Power’s creator, Courtney A. Kemp, once again exec produces on Force, alongside Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson.
Already renewed for a second season, Power Book IV: Force has an 8.1/10 rating on IMDb and a 100% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The ensemble cast includes Kris D Lofton (Ballers, Snowfall), Isaac Keys (Get Shorty’s Ed), Lili Simmons (Banshee’s Rebecca) and Tommy Flanagan (Sons of Anarchy’s Filip ‘Chibs’ Telford and Tullk in Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2).
GANGS OF LONDON S2 | Binge the first six episodes now, with more every Monday
London is for the taking. Who will rise?
In the second season of Gangs of London, a new, darker era of chaos and turbulent power struggles comes to London. One year after the death of Sean Wallace, the surviving Wallaces are scattered, the Dumanis broken and estranged, and ex-undercover cop Elliot Finch (Critics Choice Super nominee Sopé Dìrísù from His House) is now being forced to work for the Investors. As the Investors look down on a city sliding into chaos, they decide enough is enough and bring in reinforcements to restore control. Old favourites and new players fight back against the new order, forcing sworn enemies to work together and family members to betray each other.
Nominated in Season 1 for Best Drama at the BAFTAs and an Emmy for its stunts, Gangs of London is created by Gareth Evans and Matt Flannery (The Raid) and stars BAFTA nominees Paapa Essiedu (I May Destroy You), and Lucian Msamati (His Dark Materials, Game of Thrones), as well as multi-award winners like Michelle Fairley (Catelyn Stark in Game of Thrones). BAFTA nominee Waleed Zuaiter (Baghdad Central, Altered Carbon) joins the cast this season.
Gangs of London has an 85% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes. In their four-star Season 2 review, The Independent (UK) says, “The series’ pleasures are unchanged by the years: impeccably choreographed fight scenes, quick-twitch pacing, and clever, immersive direction that takes suspense as its watchword.”
THREE PINES S1 | Binge from 22 May
Three Pines stars Emmy nominee Alfred Molina (Frida, Spider-Man: No Way Home) as Armand Gamache, chief inspector of the Sûreté du Québec police force.
Based on the bestselling novels by Louise Penny, the eight-episode series follows Gamache as he investigates four separate murders in a seemingly idyllic village in Quebec, Canada, as well as the disappearance of a young woman – cases that will uncover long-buried secrets, even as Gamache faces down ghosts of his own.
Executive produced by Emmy winner Andy Harries (The Queen, The Crown), Three Pines’ cast includes the likes of multi-award winners Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers (Night Raiders) and Tantoo Cardinal (Wind River, Dances with Wolves), not to mention Donald Sutherland’s son, Rossif Sutherland (Reign, The Handmaid’s Tale).
Daily Telegraph (UK) says, “Its handsomely shot snowscapes, Christmassy setting and Molina’s beautifully measured performance make it a moreish winter treat.”
THE CALLING S1 | Binge from 26 May
Created by 11-time Emmy winner David E Kelley (Big Little Lies, Love & Death, L.A. Law), The Calling tells the story of NYPD detective Avraham Avraham (Jeff Wilbusch from Oslo and Unorthodox). Guided by a deep sense of spirituality and religious principles, Avraham is left to question his own humanity when a seemingly routine investigation turns upside down.
Based on The Missing File, the first novel in the award-winning Avraham Avraham series of novels by Dror Mishani, the Peacock Original’s cast includes Juliana Canfield (Succession’s Jess Jordan), Karen Robinson (Ronnie Lee from Schitt’s Creek), Michael Mosley (The Girl from Plainville), BAFTA Scotland Award winner Tony Curran (Frankie in Your Honor) and Teen Choice nominee Noel Fisher (Shameless).
Oscar and Emmy winner Barry Levinson (Dopesick, The Survivor, Rain Man) directs the first two episodes.
VAMPIRE ACADEMY S1 | First on Showmax | Two episodes on Fridays from 19 May
Vampire Academy centres on Lissa, a royal vampire, and her protector, Rose, as they navigate romance, ancient magic and their strikingly different social classes at their boarding school, St Vladimir’s Academy, all while facing threats like the bloodthirsty, undead strigoi.
The Peacock Original is based on the bestselling young adult novel series by multi-award-winning author Richelle Mead, and is the second adaptation of the novels following the 2014 film of the same name.
The cast is led by Australian actress Sisi Stringer (Mortal Kombat) as Rose and Daniela Nieves (Every Witch Way) as Lissa, with the likes of Emmy nominee J. August Richards (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Kevin (Probably) Saves the World) and André Dae Kim (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds) also among the cast.
THE MIDWICH CUCKOOS S1 | First on Showmax | Binge eps 1-3 from 5 May, with two episodes on Fridays
The Midwich Cuckoos is a modern-day reimagining of John Wyndham’s sci-fi classic of the same name, known to horror buffs for its two film adaptations as Village of the Damned.
The Sky Original is set in the quiet little English town of Midwich, where nothing much happens – until one summer’s evening, when a mysterious blackout descends on the town, leaving every woman of child-bearing age suddenly and inexplicably pregnant.
Created by Emmy nominee David Farr (The Night Manager), the seven-part series stars three-time BAFTA nominee Keeley Hawes (The Durrells, Line of Duty, It’s a Sin) as Dr Susannah Zellaby, and Max Beesley (Jamestown, Mad Dogs) as local DCI, Paul Haynes.
Evening Standard calls the show, “a fresh and propulsive spin on a familiar story… The suburbs have never seemed scarier.”
AFTER THE TRIAL S1 | Binge from 29 May
In the six-part Australian drama series After the Trial (aka After The Verdict), four ordinary people who have just finished jury duty begin to question their judgment following a high profile murder trial, leading them to launch their own investigation into the case as they try to field the impacts on their own lives.
The series stars AACTA Awards nominee Michelle Lim-Davidson, Astra Award winner Lincoln Younes and multiple Australian awards-nominee Sullivan Stapleton (Animal Kingdom), as well as Nicholas Brown, Teen Choice nominee Richard Brancatisano, and Magda Szubanski, who was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama at the 2022 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Awards for her role.
ROSIE MOLLOY GIVES UP EVERYTHING | First on Showmax | 3 episodes on Mondays from 22 May
Rosie Molloy (BAFTA winner Sheridan Smith) is addicted to everything. Smoking, alcohol, Terry’s Chocolate Oranges, Xanax, Adderall, caffeine… the list goes on.
After an embarrassing incident at her brother Joey’s wedding, she attempts to set forth on a new, much healthier path in life; which, crucially, means giving up. Everything.
In their four star review of Rosie Molloy Gives Up Everything, The Guardian called the Sky Original “hilarious.. with a joke-to-airtime ratio well above the seasonal norm.”
EAST NEW YORK S1 | First on Showmax | Binge eps 1-19 now, with new episodes every Thursday
East New York follows recently promoted police captain Regina Haywood, who leads a diverse group of officers and detectives, some of whom are hesitant to deploy her creative methods of serving and protecting.
Amanda Warren (NCIS: New Orleans) stars as Deputy Inspector Haywood, alongside the likes of Emmy winner Jimmy Smits (NYPD Blue) and Emmy nominee Ruben Santiago-Hudson (Castle), and Screen Actors Guild winners Kevin Rankin (Breaking Bad) and Elizabeth Rodriguez (Orange is the New Black).
Created by Emmy winner William M. Finkelstein (The Good Fight, NYPD Blue, Law & Order, L.A. Law) and Black Reel nominee Mike Flynn (Power Book III: Raising Kanan, Queen Sugar), East New York has an 88% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes. As Variety says, “East New York sets a new course for the broadcast cop drama.”
STREAM THE BEST SERIES OF 2023 SO FAR
Rotten Tomatoes has released its first round-up of the best series of 2023 so far, and 1/4 of the Top 20 are available to stream on Showmax, or will be soon, including:
- #5: Barry S4
- #7: Succession S4
- #10: The Last of Us S1
- #11: Yellowjackets S1
- #18: Mrs. Davis S1 (premiering first on Showmax on 5 June 2023)
EVERYTHING ON SHOWMAX IN MAY 2023
To see everything on Showmax in May 2023, including Kids Choice’ nominee Jurassic World: Dominion, the Oscar-nominated The Triangle of Sadness and Parallel Mothers, the BAFTA-nominated sex comedy Good Luck To You, Leo Grande, and the multi-award-winning Emily The Criminal, click here.
