The Best Entertainment and Culture to Watch in May 2020

What are the best entertainment and culture options to watch while social distancing in the month of May 2020? Our ace correspondent Jillian Tangen has curated a list of the best entertainment and culture offerings this month, including new movies, podcasts, television shows, culture events and live stream concerts to watch this May 2020.

what’s happening in entertainment this may 2020?

While a small portion of the world is beginning to emerge from the coronavirus lockdown, much of it remains on pause. And with it, so do the beloved annual spring events that we anxiously await each May. Like the Met Gala. And the new slate of Broadway shows. The first wave of summer blockbusters at the movie theater. The start of the summer music festival season. You know what we mean. 

But don’t despair, dear reader. Many of our favorite venues and production companies have adapted new ways to ensure your May will still be an enriching and entertaining one.

new movies, television shows and a graduation celebration

On TVs and tablets, streaming services are releasing binge-worthy new series. Like Ryan Murphy’s limited series Hollywood, and the historical costume comedy-drama The Great about the rise of Russia’s Catherine the Great.

This month will also see HBO dip its toe into the streaming wars with its launch of HBO Max.

On the movie front, Amazon will bring 40 independent films and shorts that would have played at this year’s concelled SXSW Film Festival online. And Netflix will release the action-packed rom-com The Lovebirds.

Musicians are organizing regular live streams, as well as full-on concerts and fundraisers to lift spirits. Including the global 24-hour Call to Unite from Josh Groban, Quincy Jones and Questlove.

Facebook and Instagram will host Celebrate the Class of 2020 in honor of graduating seniors, with performances by Miley Cirus, Lil Nas X and a commencement speech by Oprah Winfrey.

And of course, there’s plenty of new podcasts exploring everything from new cooking techniques to to the topic of courage.

Virtual Experiences in the visual and performing arts

Some of the world’s foremost museums, dance companies and classical musicians are also offering virtual experiences.

Our picks include the digital spring season from the New York City Ballet featuring classic performances, workshops and the launch of a new podcast.

Theater lovers will enjoy PBS’s re-release of Great Performances. Classical music enthusiasts can partake in six hours of non-stop music with the Bang on a Can Marathon live streaming from the homes of 41 musicians and composers around the world.

Nashville’s Frist Art Museum will debut the online exhibition We Count: First-Time Voters featuring the work of five local artists inspired by the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment.

Meanwhile, The Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis will live-stream each and every keystroke of Tim Youd’s ongoing 100 Novels Series.

Finally, you can (night) cap it off with The Frick Collection’s Friday evening Cocktails With a Curator.

So if you haven’t gotten in the habit already, be sure to fully charge your phones, tablets and computers. Even though May 2020 may look a little different this year, it will still be an entertaining one.

the best in entertainment and culture this May 2020

1. new movies in may 2020

Nearly 40 independent films and shorts that would have played at this year’s SXSW Film Festival are available for free streaming on Amazon – through May 6

May the Fourth be with you this Star Wars Day as Disney+ releases the final installment of the latest trilogy, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker as well as the series finale of the animated Star Wars: Clone Wars – May 4

Seberg on Amazon Prime stars Kristen Stewart as French New Wave star Jean Seberg in a noir-ish thriller about how the actress’s life and career were ruined by over-zealous FBI surveillance and harassment – May 15

Kumail Nanjiani and Issa Rae star as a couple who get caught up in a murder mystery in the action-packed rom-com The Lovebirds. The film was supposed to be released in theaters in April. It switched to a Netflix release due to the pandemic – May 22

Making its Netflix streaming debut is Adam Sandler’s critically acclaimed, tense crime drama Uncut Gems – May 25

2. new television shows in may 2020

Ryan Murphy’s limited series Hollywood debuts on Netflix and focuses on a group of aspiring actors and filmmakers trying to make it big in the 1940s movie biz. Murphy-series regulars Darren Criss, Dylan McDermott and Broadway icon Patti LuPone star in a glitzy, technicolor extravaganza. It features an alternate history of Hollywood. It is told by outsiders to the traditional system – May 1

Amazon Prime will drop Upload, a sci-fi comedy taking place in a future where consciousness is uploaded to a digital afterlife, and a newly uploaded (aka dead) guy has to adapt to his new “life” while helping solve a mystery back down on Earth – May 1

White Lines on Netflix is a British mystery that follows the tale of a woman who travels to the resort island of Ibiza to investigate her DJ brother’s disappearance. Raves, drugs and murder ensue making for a potentially binge-worthy thrill ride – May 15

Hulu’s The Great is a mash up of a historical costume drama about the rise of Catherine the Great with satirical comedy. Elle Fanning stars as Catherine, with Nicholas Hoult as her husband, the emperor Peter III of Russia – May 15

Janelle Monae replaces Julia Roberts in the new season of Homecoming on Amazon Prime – May 22

HBO Max joins the streaming wars. The long-anticipated service will offer HBO content as well as Warner Bros. movies and TV series from Warner cable networks. Among the original content offered will be Love Life, a romantic-comedy anthology starring Anna Kendrick – May 27

New on Netflix is the comedy Space Force which stars Steve Carrell as a decorated general who dreams of running the Air Force, but instead gets put in charge of creating the new Space Force and getting American boots back on the moon ASAP – May 29

3. best new performing arts in may 2020

This month, you’ll be able to tap into the grace and elegance of the classical dance online as the New York City Ballet takes its spring season virtual by releasing performances each Tuesday and Friday evening at 8pm, new episodes of City Ballet The Podcast and putting on two series of workshops call Ballet Essentials (for all ages) and Ballet Breaks (for children ages 3 to 8) – through May 29

PBS is cracking open its vault to offer free access to five Great Performances versions of major theatrical productions including Much Ado About Nothing from 2019’s Shakespeare in the Park, Kevin Klein’s 2017 revival of Present Laughter, Harold Prince: The Director’s Life, John Logan’s biographical play about the abstract expressionist painter Marc Rothko titled Red and the 2015 UK stage production of The Sound of Music – through May 27

The Bang on a Can Marathon will feature six hours of classical music live streamed from the homes of 41 musicians and composers around the world – May 3

HERE @ Home is unrolling a contemporary cross-genre festival with new streams each Wednesday evening. The Reception, by Sean Donovan and Sebastián Calderón Bentin, is about a party gone wrong. It may now read as a parable of the dangers of standing too close together – May 6

Oslo’s Henie Onstad Kunstsenter has introduced a whole new website that showcases both virtual exhibition walk-throughs and decades of performances. Each week brings new footage: a 1982 performance by Joseph Beuys and a 1990 concert by Yoko Ono

4. best new visual arts activities in may 2020

Nashville’s Frist Art Museum will debut We Count: First-Time Voters, an online exhibition featuring the work of five local artists inspired by the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment. The exhibition will highlight the history and challenges of voting in the United States. It will also highlight the first voting experiences of a diverse group of Nashvillians – May 1

For Tim Youd’s ongoing 100 Novels Series, the artist retypes famous novels on a single sheet of paper, using the same type of typewriter that the author would have used to compose the original. The creation of each work is a performance art piece unto itself. Now, forced to shelter in place at home in Los Angeles, Youd is retyping his 67th novel. It is William Gass’s 650-page novel The Tunnel, from his garage.   The Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, will livestream each and every keystroke – May 1 – 31

The Frick Collection’s Friday-evening Cocktails With a Curator series remotely pairs short lectures on Bellini, Bronzino or Holbein with drink recommendations such as Polish vodka for Rembrandt’s Polish Rider.

In the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s video series 82nd & Fifth, curators and historians choose their favorite artwork or objet d’art from the museum’s collections and give a succinct and passionate argument for the work’s beauty, historical relevance, and craftsmanship

The Louvre Abu Dhabi has launched a series called Art from home: Stories of cultural connections, which delves into the museum’s highlights with audio and video guides. It covers everything from Ancient Egyptian sarcophagi to Yves Klein’s blue paintings. There is also a great feature on how Gauguin was inspired by the Japanese prints of Hiroshige. It comes with a collage activity pack for children

5. best pop music events in may 2020

Josh Groban, Quincy Jones, Questlove and over 200 others are participating in the global 24-hour Call to Unite livestream to offer lessons, performances and conversations aimed to support everyone as they endure challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic and inspire everyone to emerge from the crisis stronger – May 1

The New York Guitar Festival kicks off its daily shows with live performances and appearances at 4:00 p.m. EST each day. Rosanne Cash and John Leventha will open the festival – May 4 – 15

Latin music stars Gloria and Emilio Estefan, Luis Fonsi, J Balvin, Diane Guerrero and Ana Brenda Contreras have teamed for Eva Longoria’s virtual Cinco de Mayo celebration – May 5

Paramore’s singer-songwriter Hayley Williams sets her incisive lyrics and soaring vocals loose in her solo debut titled Petals for Armor – May 8

Miley Cyrus is scheduled to perform her song The Climb during Facebook and Instagram’s Celebrate the Class of 2020 event in honor of graduating seniors who have had their commencement ceremonies canceled because of the pandemic. The ceremony will also feature words of wisdom from Lil Nas X, Awkwafina and others. Also, a commencement speech by Oprah Winfrey – May 15

Ben Platt Live From Radio City Music Hall on Netflix focuses on Platt’s recent live show at the famed New York venue – May 20

Indie rock band The 1975 is finally releasing their twice delayed album Notes on a Conditional Form – May 22

6. best new podcasts in may 2020

Samin Nosrat’s cookbook, Salt Fat Acid Heat, is a fantastic primer for cooks of all stages.  It is the inspiration for a Netflix series. Alongside co-host Hrishikesh Hirway, Home Cooking aims to help people reacquaint themselves with the kitchen. Expect heartwarming banter as well as helpful cooking lessons perfect for procrastibaking

The Left Right Game began as a viral post on Reddit, where people shared fictional and scary stories. Now, it’s a podcast starring Tessa Thompson and where she voices Alice Sharman. She is a woman who documents her own disappearance after intersecting with a powerful urgent legend

Are you the kind of person who always insists on reading the book before seeing the movie or show? Then The Adaptables is the podcast for you. Hosts and friends Abbe Wright and Emma Shafer will compare a show and the book that inspired it. First up? Hulu’s Little Fires Everywhere

The Dating Game Killer tells the story of Rodney Alcala, a man who fooled people into letting him be a dating show contestant, a summer camp counselor and a newspaper employee – despite also being a serial killer. The chilling show is a reminder of how little we know the people around us

Brené Brown’s new podcast, Unlocking Us, features “conversations that unlock the deeply human part of who we are.” It might just be filled the uplifting message we need right now

the best in home entertainment this may 2020

That’s it. Our top picks for the best in the world of culture and entertainment this May 2020, including new movies, podcasts, television shows, culture events and live stream concerts. Let’s get streaming.

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Jillian Tangen is the Head of Research at Dandelion Chandelier and a former Senior Research Analyst at McKinsey & Co and Analyst at Shearman & Sterling. She is an avid fan of Nordic design, having owned an independent lifestyle store and sales agency focused on emerging Scandinavian design. Jillian lives in New York and is married with three young children. She loves cross-country skiing, the New York Rangers, reading, travel and discovering new brands.

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