The best music films on Netflix: Woodstock, Fyre to Taylor Swift and Lewis Capaldi
May 12 | 4 min readNetflix is home to thousands of TV shows and movies, including award-winning dramas, binge-worthy documentaries and original movies. And more and more shows and films are new on Netflix UK every month.
This month sees the first Bridgerton spin-off, Queen Charlotte, which takes us back in time to pre-Lady Whistledown days to discover how the world of the Ton came to be.
Fans of action thrillers can enjoy two very different offerings: there's the return of Arnold Schwarzenegger as a retiring CIA officer in eight-part comedy Fubar, while Jennifer Lopez shrugs off the romcom roles to play a deadly assassin hell bent on protecting her daughter in the movie The Mother.
Finally, a treat for documentary fans. Get up close and personal - if you dare - with UFC legend Conor McGregor as he hits the comeback trail in McGregor Forever, or take a fresh look at the legend of one of Egypt's greatest rulers in Jada Pinkett Smith's Queen Cleopatra.
We list the best new Netflix releases in our May Netflix TV guide, below.
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Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story
As Bridgerton fans eagerly await season 3 of Netflix's hit Regency drama, the streamer has a six-part treat in store in the shape of Queen Charlotte's origin story.
Centered on Charlotte's rise to prominence and power, the series tells the story of how the young Queen's marriage to King George III sparked both a great love story and a societal shift, creating the world of the Ton inherited by the characters in Bridgerton.
Golda Rosheuvel reprises her Bridgerton role as the gossip-hungry Queen Charlotte, with India Amarteifio (Sex Education) playing the younger Charlotte as she sets out on her path to the throne.
Adjoa Andoh, Ruth Gemmell and Hugh Sachs also return as their Bridgerton characters, joined by Corey Mylchreest, Arsema Thomas and Sam Clemmett as the lead characters in the pre-Bridgerton scenes.
Watch Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story on Netflix from 4 May.
Queen Charlotte: All you need to know about the Bridgerton prequel
Queen Cleopatra
From executive producer Jada Pinkett Smith comes a documentary series exploring the lives of prominent and iconic African Queens.
This first season will feature Queen Cleopatra, the world’s most famous, powerful, and misunderstood woman - a daring queen whose beauty and romances came to overshadow her real asset: her intellect.
Often portrayed in spectacular style in Hollywood, Cleopatra’s heritage has been the subject of much academic debate which has often been ignored by the movies. This four-part Netflix series sets out to re-assess this fascinating part of her story.
Watch Queen Cleopatra on Netflix from 10 May.
The Mother (film)
After showcasing her comedic chops in the action-comedy Shotgun Wedding earlier this year, Jennifer Lopez now brings the grit to play a deadly assassin in The Mother.
Netflix describes The Mother as the story of a “deadly female assassin who comes out of hiding to protect the daughter that she gave up years before, while on the run from dangerous men”.
The trailer reveals that Lopez’s character strikes a deal with the FBI to stay away from her daughter to keep her safe from bad guys Hector (Gael Garcia Bernal) and Adrian (Joseph Fiennes).
However, when her daughter (Lucy Paez) is tracked down, Lopez’s character comes out of hiding to rescue the 12-year-old and train her up to survive in a brutal world.
Watch The Mother on Netflix from 12 May.
The Mother: All you need to know about J.Lo's action thriller
McGregor Forever
As UFC champion Conor McGregor embarks on the most important point of his career, McGregor Forever charts his epic journey back to the top of the UFC ladder.
This documentary series is an all-access look at this controversial superstar, along with the deeper history of what brought him to this point.
Watch McGregor Forever on Netflix from 17 May.
FUBAR
Arnie - true to his word - is back! Terminator legend and former Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger is making a comeback in new comedy action series FUBAR.
The action movie legend (Last Action Hero, Commando, Predator, Total Recall, The Running Man, Red Heat) will be making his first starring role on screen since Terminator: Dark Fate in 2019.
The eight-part series has the classic action movie storyline of a hero on the verge of retirement.
Schwarzenegger plays a CIA operative who is all set to retire before he discovers a family secret and is forced to go back into the field for one last job.
Netflix’s description of the show says the series will explore “universal family dynamics” alongside a “backdrop of spies, action and humor”.
Monica Barbaro (Top Gun: Maverick) will play Schwarzenegger’s daughter, who has secretly been working the same job as her father.
Watch FUBAR on Netflix from 26 May.
FUBAR: All you need to know about Arnold Schwarzenegger's action comedy
Everything new on Netflix in May 2023
- Love Village - 2 May
- The Tailor - 2 May
- Jewish Matchmaking - 3 May
- Sanctuary - 4 May
- Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story - 4 May
- Hannah Gadsby: Something Special - 9 May
- Queen Cleopatra - 10 May
- Dance Brothers - 10 May
- Missing: Dead or Alive - 10 May
- Royal Teen: Princess Margrethe - 11 May
- Ultraman - 11 May
- Black Knight - 12 May
- The Mother - 12 May
- Queer Eye season 7 - 12 May
- Anna Nicole Smith: You Don't Know Me - 16 May
- McGregor Forever - 17 May
- Rhythm + Flow France - 17 May
- Working: What We Do All Day - 17 May
- XO, Kitty - 18 May
- Yakitori: Soldiers of Misfortune - 18 May
- Selling Sunset Season 6 - 19 May
- Wanda Sykes: I'm An Entertainer - 23 May
- MerPeople - 23 May
- Victim/Suspect - 23 May
- The Ultimatum: Queer Love - 24 May
- FUBAR - 25 May
- Blood & Gold - 26 May
Read more: What's on Prime Video, NOW and Sky Cinema this month >
Don't miss these April launches on Netflix
Obsession
Netflix
Obsession tells the story of the enigmatic Anna Barton (Charlie Murphy) and an illicit love affair she embarks on with her fiancé’s father William (Richard Armitage).
William becomes obsessed with their forbidden relationship, but keeping their relationship secret is a thrilling and dangerous game.
Based on Josephine Hart’s 1991 novel Damage, about a British politician who causes his own downfall with an inappropriate relationship, the four-part drama co-stars Rish Shah and Indira Varma, and was written by Benji Walters (Noughts and Crosses) and Morgan Lloyd-Malcolm.
Watch Obsession on Netflix now.
Obsession: All you need to know about Netflix's erotic thriller
The Diplomat
Netflix
In the midst of an international crisis, a career diplomat lands in a high-profile job she’s unsuited for, with huge implications for her marriage and her political future.
Crisis zone specialist Kate Wyler (Keri Russell) is set for a move to Afghanistan but suddenly finds herself thrust into the role of the new US Ambassador to the UK.
Kate will have to diffuse international crises, forge strategic alliances in London, and adjust to her new place in the spotlight, all while trying to survive her marriage to fellow career diplomat and political star Hal Wyler (Rufus Sewell).
Created by Debora Cahn (The West Wing, Homeland), The Diplomat is a high-stakes, contemporary political drama about the transcendence and torture of long-term relationships, between countries and people.
Also stars David Gyasi, Ali Ahn, Rory Kinnear, and Ato Essandoh.
Watch The Diplomat on Netflix now.
The Diplomat: Is is the new West Wing? Read the reviews and meet the cast
Lewis Capaldi: How I'm Feeling Now (film)
In this revealing access-all-areas documentary, we find chart-topping Scottish singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi at a pivotal moment in his career.
The film follows Lewis over several years as he emerges from his sudden rise to global fame and embarks on a World tour before he returns home to his parents' house to begin work on that traditionally tricky second album.
After achieving unbelievable global success, Lewis attempts to reconnect with his old life in Scotland and the family and friends he left behind.
The documentary also chronicles his struggles with Tourette's syndrome, something which he opened up about in September 2022.
Lewis Capaldi: How I’m Feeling Now is directed by Joe Pearlman, whose candid 2018 documentary Bros: After the Screaming Stops won BAFTA, RTS and National Film Awards.
Watch Lewis Capaldi: How I'm Feeling Now on Netflix now.
All you need to know about Netflix's Lewis Capaldi documentary
