What’s leaving Sky and NOW TV in May / June 2017?
James R | On 22, May 2017
With Twin Peaks back on our screens for the first time in a quarter of a century, it’s easy to miss some of the other TV shows available on Sky Box Sets. With the end of May approaching, though, several of them are disappearing, which makes it even more important not to miss such gems as Big Little Lies or The Trip to Spain.
For Sky Cinema fans, there are some equally sad farewells on the cards, from Mad Max: Fury Road and British indie sci-fi Robot Overlords to a chance to catch up with the previous Pirates of the Caribbean movie, before Jack Sparrow returns to the big screen.
Not a Sky customer? You can get access to both Sky Box Sets and Sky Cinema through contract-free streaming service NOW, which costs £6.99 a month (for an Entertainment Membership, including Sky 1, Sky Atlantic, FOX UK and more) or £9.99 a month for the whole Sky Cinema catalogue. Whichever you subscribe to, this is your last chance to stream the following:
TV
Big Little Lies – 24th May
Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon star in HBO’s excellent miniseries about three mothers whose apparently perfect lives unravel to the point of murder. Written by David E. Kelley and directed by Dallas Buyers Club helmer Jean-Marc Vallée, this is a gripping showcase for four complex female characters.
Inside No 9: Season 2 – 29th May
Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton’s horror/comedy anthology is some of the best British TV of recent years – surprising, gripping, scary and sublime.
Inside Amy Schumer: Season 1 to 4 – 1st June
Who is Amy Schumer and why is everything talking about her? All four seasons of her laugh-out-loud comedy series will answer all your questions.
24: Legacy: Season 1 – 2nd June
Corey Hawkins proves a worthy successor to Kiefer Sutherland’s Jack Bauer in this uneven but entertaining spin-off from real time thriller 24.
True Detective: Season 1 – 3rd June
It’s never too late to catch up on the superb first season of HBO’s crime drama, which sees Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey on blistering form.
Billions: Season 2 – No Longer Being Removed
Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis deliver scintillating performances in this second season of Showtime’s bold drama set in the ego-driven world of New York high finance. Season 1 is also available.
The Trip To Spain – No Longer Being Removed
Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan are as laugh-out-loud as ever in the third season of their post-modern comedy-drama about fictionalised versions of themselves touring restaurants. Come for the Michael Caine impressions, stay for the nuanced observations on success and ageing.
Wild Things: Season 3 – 13th June
Is there any night of the week that can’t be improved by people dressing up in giant animal costumes and running through obstacle courses? Sky 1’s family game show is enjoyably daft stuff.
Victoria: Season 1 – 14th June
Jenna Coleman is magnificent in ITV’s royal drama. Missed it when it was on Freeview? One really should catch up while they can.
Other TV shows leaving in May / June 2017:
22nd May
The Durrells: Season 1
Monsignor Renard: Season 1
DCI Banks – Aftermath: Season 5
Harry Price: Ghost Hunter
Knowing Me, Knowing You: Season 1
25th May
Gold Rush: Parker’s Trail: Season 1
Finding Carter: Season 2
It’s Not Me, It’s You: Season 1
26th May
Teen Mom 2: Season 7
Unforgotten: Season 2
27th May
Chicago Fire: Season 1 and 2
Now That’s History!: Season 1
28th May
Strip The Cosmos: Season 1
The Last Alaskans: Season 1
Stan Lee’s Lucky Man: Season 1 and 2
29th May
Cilla: Season 1
Terry Pratchett’s Going Postal
Video Killed the Radio Star: Season 5
30th May
Carters Get Rich: Season 1
31st May
BalletBoyz: A Chance To Dance: Season 1
Criminal Minds: Season 1 to 11
DCI Banks – Aftermath: Season 1 to 4
Mapp and Lucia: Season 1 and 2
Mrs Biggs: Season 1
Parkinson: Masterclass: Season 1
The Widower
Tina and Bobby
Unforgotten: Season 1
1st June
Gavin & Stacey: Season 1
Idris Elba: No Limits: Season 1
Harley and the Davidsons: Season 1
Detroiters: Season 1
Twisted: Season 1
2nd June
Objects Of Desire: Season 1
Midnight Sun: Season 1
3rd June
Drunk History: Season 3
Animals: Season 1
6th June
Blowing Up History: Season 1
7th June
Diesel Brothers: Season 1
8th June
The Great Fire: Season 1
9th June
Chasing Shadows: Season 1
Paranoid: Season 1
The Borgias: Season 3
10th June
America’s Next Top Model: Season 23
11th June
Mythbusters: The Search: Season 1
13th June
Dogs: The Untold Story: Season 1
14th June
Inside The Freemasons: Season 1
Harlots: Season 1
15th June
Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders: Season 1
Fake! The Great Masterpiece…: Season 1
Movies
Mad Max: Fury Road – 25th May
George Miller’s latest entry in the Mad Max series sees Tom Hardy take over Mel Gibson’s role, but its success lies in another character entirely: Imperator Furiosa, played by Charlize Theron, who leads a string of female prisoners in an escape attempt from their sinister overlord, Immortan Joe. Full of practical stunts, dazzling visuals and burning with a feminist message, this is fantastic, eye-boggling stuff.
John Carter – 25th May
Andrew Stanton’s hugely underrated Disney sci-fi sees Civil War veteran John (Taylor Kitsch) awake on the surface of Mars – only to be caught up in a civil war. The names may be silly, but this manages that rare cinematic feat of capturing the thrill of adventure.
Fantastic Four – 28th May
Missed opportunity of misunderstood? Chronicle director Josh Trank’s reboot of the Fantastic Four franchise (starring Miles Teller, Kata Mara, Michael B Jordan and Jamie Bell) was divisive when first released, but there are intriguing ideas here beneath the hype and backlash.
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides – 31st May
Disney’s pirate franchise finds some gold left in the treasure chest with this enjoyable fourth outing, which swaps the first trilogy’s overwrought plot and romance for Ian McShane and Penelope Cruz in a hat.
Robot Overlords – 31st May
After the hilarious Grabbers, Jon Wright hits yet another winner with Robot Overlords, a sci-fi set in the near future, where Earth has been conquered by alien robots. When a group of kids discover a way to get around their tracking devices, leading to a pint-sized rebellion that is everything you could want from 1980s-style family adventure. Charming stuff.
Mistress America – 6th June
Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach team up once again for this superb comedy about hip New York urbanite Brooke, who takes her wide-eyed future stepsister (Mozart in the Jungle’s Lola Kirke) under her wing. Witty, warm and quietly satirical, this is a hilarious, endearingly scathing look at life, identity and success in the modern world.
Other movies leaving Sky Cinema and NOW in May / June 2017:
24th May
Beaches
Clash of the Titans (2010)
Party Central
27th May
2 Fast 2 Furious
The Fast and the Furious
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
31st May
Big Daddy
Footloose
Gremlins
Gremlins 2: The New Batch
Kingpin
Monster’s Ball
Pride and Glory
Raising Helen
Revenge of the Green Dragons
Son Of A Gun
The Bone Collector
The Captive (2014)
The Sea Inside
Tracers
1st June
Ocean’s Eleven
Terminator Genisys
2nd June
Bedknobs and Broomsticks
Frozen Fever
Superman Returns
6th June
Collateral Damage
9th June
Dumbo
Paper Towns
San Andreas
10th June
Standoff (2016)
11th June
Search Party
13th June
Deja Vu
14th June
Solace
15th June
Knock Knock
The Princess Diaries