Long-Awaited Returns of 'Hacks,' 'Evil' & 'Doctor Who' Highlight May Streaming

by Julian Spivey

Photos: Netflix, BBC/Disney, Paramount & HBO/Max

Hacks: Season 3 (Max) – Thursday, May 2
The long-awaited third season of Max’s Emmy-nominated comedy series “Hacks” is finally upon us and if you’re expecting a fall in quality don’t as critic Brian Tallerico is calling season three the show’s best yet (which is terrific but also a bit hard to believe). Jean Smart’s twice-Emmy-winning performance as comedian Deborah Vance is back on top of the comedy game after a successful comedy special but has cut ties with her much younger writing partner Ava, the exquisite Hannah Einbinder (this better be the year she wins the Emmy!), who is now working for a ‘Daily Show’-esque show and is bitter about being cut off by Deborah. “Hacks” has always worked best with Deborah/Ava as frenemies so this seems like a perfect place to start the third season. 

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Unfrosted (Netflix) – Friday, May 3
Jerry Seinfeld has had the most peculiar career for a man who was on the top of the world with his ‘90s NBC sitcom “Seinfeld.” Since then, he hasn’t done a whole lot other than return to what he was in the first place, a stand-up comedian. His forays into other forms of pop culture have been head-scratchers: “Bee Movie,” a reality series about arguing married couples. His short-form love of comedy, coffee and cars series “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” has been pretty cool though. His latest foray outside of stand-up is the original Netflix film “Unfrosted,” which he directed and stars in, about Kellogg’s and Post in a “space race”-like battle to create the Poptart that is very loosely based on reality. The comedy co-stars Melissa McCarthy, Jim Gaffigan, Sarah Cooper, Hugh Grant and Amy Schumer. 

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Dark Matter (AppleTV+) – Wednesday, May 8
Last year as part of my monthly book club we read Blake Crouch’s 2016 sci-fi novel Dark Matter. It was an interesting tale of a man kidnapped and forced to find his way back home through alternate versions of his life. The novel has been turned into an AppleTV+ limited series starring Joel Edgerton as the lead character Jason Dessen. There’s not a whole lot one can say without giving away too much about “Dark Matter,” but it should be a thrilling ride for viewers. 

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Bodkin (Netflix) – Thursday, May 9
Will Forte’s terrific, but unfortunately canceled before it wrapped up Fox sitcom “The Last Man on Earth” was one of my favorite comedies of the last decade. I’ve been longing for him to get another interesting look series – and sorry Peacock’s “MacGruber” wasn’t it. In the Netflix original “Bodkin,” Forte is an American podcaster looking to discover his Irish roots but winds up meeting an Irish journalist, played by Siobhan Cullen, and teaming up to discover mysterious disappearances from a charming, yet dark Irish town. “Bodkin” is billed as a dark comedy, something I know Forte can be terrific in.  

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Doctor Who (Disney+) – Friday, May 10
“Doctor Who” fans should be excited for the new season featuring the time-traveling alien as it will be something of a restart for the series, which struggled a bit under previous showrunner Chris Chibnall. Russell T. Davies, who brought the show back to television in 2005, is back at the helm and with an exciting new actor Ncuti Gatwa taking over the controls of the TARDIS as The Doctor. Gatwa’s official debut in the 2023 Christmas special and his instant chemistry with new companion Ruby Sunday, played by Millie Gibson, was a nice start. I’m excited to see what Davies, Gatwa and Gibson can do with a full season. 

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Evil: Final Season (Paramount+) – Thursday, May 23
The long-awaited fourth season of the excellent Paramount+ horror-drama series “Evil,” which is hard to believe began as a CBS series, is a bit of a bittersweet thing as it was announced it would also be the show’s final season – and unfortunately, that decision wasn’t made until the season was almost completed. Thankfully, Paramount gave the series a few extra episodes to wrap things up but I can’t help but feel things might be a bit rushed toward the finish line. The show, which stars Katja Herbers as a skeptic and Mike Colter as a priest tackling cases in the spiritual realm, has been one of the underdog triumphs on television since its debut. It’ll be interesting to see if good can conquer evil in the final season but when it comes to Robert and Michelle King’s series it’s likely to be a toss-up. 

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We Are Lady Parts: Season 2 (Peacock) – Thursday, May 30
Earlier this year I finally got around to watching “We Are Lady Parts” on Peacock, even though it had been more than two years since its debut. What I found was one of the loveliest shows I’d seen in quite some time. “We Are Lady Parts” is the story of a group of Muslim women who form a kickass punk band and seem on the precipice of something big with the least punk person possible, Amina (played by Anjana Vasan) joins as lead guitarist. The chemistry between the bandmates, Vasan, Sarah Kameela Impey (as Saira), Juliette Motamed (as Ayesha), Faith Omole (as Bisma) and Lucie Shorthouse (as Momtaz) is unbelievable in the first season, especially for only being a six-episode season. I can’t wait to see what Lady Parts has in store for us in season two.