What’s coming soon to Sky and NOW TV in May 2016?
David Farnor | On 29, Apr 2016
Game of Thrones may be arriving in weekly instalments for Sky customers and NOW subscribers, but May sees them embrace box sets like never before. The month marks the arrival of everything from Season 5 of Veep and Season 3 of Penny Dreadful to Silicon Valley. But it’s new original series Billions, starring Damian Lewis and Paul Giamatti, that intrigues, as Sky releases the whole show on-demand at the same time as Episode 1.
NOW NOW Cinema Membership subscribers and Sky Movies customers have less to look forward to, with only Ricki and the Flash and Trainwreck as the main highlights. But with Broad City, Wayward Pines and Gomorrah all back on UK TV screens, people signing up to a NOW Entertainment Membership just for Game of Thrones will get their full subscription fee’s worth.
Here’s what’s coming soon to NOW in May 2016:
TV
Veep: Season 5 – 2nd May (Sky Atlantic, 10pm)
Armando Iannucci may have stepped down as showrunner for Season 5, but with Julia Louis-Dreyfus returning as the ever-struggling Selina, you can expect this satire to be no less sweary or witty.
Penny Dreadful: Season 3 – 3rd May (Sky Atlantic, 10pm)
After two seasons of possession, witchcraft, penitence and other assorted horrors, Eva Green returns as Vanessa Ives, friend to the grizzly Ethan Chandler (Josh Hartnett), fellow monster fighter alongside Dr Victor Frankenstein (Harry Treadaway) and daughter to Sir Malcolm Murray (Timothy Dalton) – oh, and acquaintance of Dorian Gray (Reeve Carney), Frankenstein’s monster, John Clare (Rory Kinnear), and the world’s most eccentric egyptologist (Simon Russell Beale).
After Season 2 was stolen by Helen McCrory’s blood-bath-loving Madame Kali, the third season sees Green joined by Dexter’s Christian Camargo and The Outcast’s Jessica Barden. Patti LuPone will also return as a series regular to play Dr. Seward, with Samuel Barnett cast as her young secretary. Most intriguing of all, though, is the introduction of Dr. Henry Jekyll, played by Shazad Latif.
Broad City: Season 3 – 3rd May (Comedy Central, 11pm)
Abbi and Ilana return for a third run of the odd-couple comedy about two best friends navigating their 20s in New York City. As Season 3 begins, Abbi and Ilana experience wardrobe malfunctions, and set out on a desperate search for a public bathroom.
Gomorrah: Season 2 – 11th May (Sky Atlantic, 9pm)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXzwBtxZBiA
Based on the book Gomorrah by Roberto Saviano, this Italian TV series is a gripping, gritty insight into the underworld of Naples. You can catch up with Season 1 on demand now.
Billions: Season 1 – 12th May (Sky Atlantic, 9pm)
Starring Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis., the show is a bold drama set in the ego-driven world of New York high finance. It was created, written and executive produced by Brian Koppelman & David Levien (Ocean’s Thirteen, Rounders) and Andrew Ross Sorkin (Too Big To Fail). All episodes will be available as a box set when the first episode is broadcast.
Silicon Valley: Season 3 – 12th May (Sky Atlantic, 10pm)
From the creator of Beavis and Butt-Head comes this comedy charting the rising fortunes of a socially awkward computer programmer and his company. Episode 1 is already available to watch on demand.
Banshee: Season 4 – 20th May (Sky Atlantic, 10pm)
The fourth season of Banshee airs on Sky Atlantic from Friday 20th May, with two episodes screening back to back at 10pm and 11pm. Seasons 1 to 3 are now available on demand.
Sex and the City: Season 1 to 6 – 5th May
All six seasons of Sex and the City as a box set to binge-watch? Fabulous, darling.
The Catch – 26th May (Sky Living, 10pm)
Shonda Rhimes follows up her other hit shoos with this new series, which follows Alice Vaughn – strong, successful and LA’s top private investigator. But when her fiance cons her out of millions and disappears, Alice goes on a private mission for payback…
Alan Partridge’s Scissored Isle – 30th May (Sky Atlantic, 10pm)
After the success of the second season of his Mid Morning Matters, Alan Partridge is bouncing back again to make a new state-of-the-nation documentary for Sky Atlantic.
The one-off, one-hour special, titled Alan Partridge’s Scissored Isle, will see him attempt to make amends after a controversial on-air incident. Leaving behind his comfortable existence and vast detached house, Alan heads to the north on a deeply personal journey of redemption. With his Land Rover and his dog, he journeys into an unreported Britain inhabited by the very people he had offended to ask whether, in this once united kingdom, a ‘schism’ has formed – a schism or chasm, between the haves and the have-nots (or haven’ts).
Other new and returning box sets in May 2016:
1st May
This Is England: Season 1 to 3
Devious Maids: Season 1 to 3
Peep Show: Season 9
Occupied
5th May
True Detective: Season 1 and 2
Idris Elba: No Limits: Season 1
Beowulf: Season 1
10th May
True Blood: Season 1 to 7
15th May
Manhattan Love Story: Season 1
16th May
Chicago Fire: Season 3
23rd May
The Brink: Season 1
Movies
Ricki and the Flash – 6th May
Meryl Streep stars in this drama about a musician who gave up everything for her dream of rock-and-roll stardom, only to return home and look to make things right with her family.
Two Night Stand – 6th May
Released on the back of co-star Miles Teller’s success with Whiplash, Two Night Stand is the directorial debut of Max Nichols, son of Mike “The Graduate” Nichols. Analeigh Tipton stars as Megan, a New York slacker who decides to get over her recent break-up by hooking up with a random stranger off the internets. Striking it lucky straight away, she schleps over to Brooklyn from the East Village and spends the night with Alec (Miles Teller), a young man who seems to want the same, no-strings encounter that she does. The film swings wildly between astute, smartly written moments and painfully contrived romcom nonsense, but the chemistry between the two leads is charming enough to make it worth your while. Read our full review
Hot Pursuit – 13th May
Reese Witherspoon stars in this comedy about a by-the-book cop who must protect the widow of a drug boss, as they race through Texas pursued by crooked cops and gunmen.
Trainwreck – 20th May
Amy Schumer and Bill Hader star in Judd Apatow’s romantic comedy about a woman who doesn’t believe in monogamy – until she unwittingly falls for a sports doctor.
Other new releases coming soon to Sky Cinema / NOW:
6th May
Friday Down: The Movie – Up All Night
Vendetta
13th May
True Story
We Still Kill The Old Way
Lessons in Love
20th May
Max
The Gallows
Self/Less
27th May
The Bad Education Movie
The Maid’s Room
Forbidden Kingdom
Dope