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What to Stream This Week: May 18–24, 2026
35 new releases across Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max & Apple TV+ — The Boroughs (Netflix, 89%), Alien: Romulus (Hulu, 80%), True Romance (93%), and The Bride! arrives Friday.
Netflix's Duffer Brothers (Stranger Things) return with a brand-new show, a Tarantino cult classic and a Jordan Peele sci-fi horror both land on the platform, and Hulu quietly picks up last year's best Alien film in years. HBO Max's Mon–Thu window is all unscripted fare — but Friday brings Maggie Gyllenhaal's most ambitious project to date. Apple TV+ finally has something new. Here's everything scored, sorted, and verdicted.
Top picks this week
Three titles worth rearranging your weekend for:
The Boroughs (Netflix, Thursday) — The Duffer Brothers' first new show since Stranger Things, an 89% sci-fi drama about elderly residents of a retirement community facing a supernatural threat. Lead cast: Alfred Molina, Geena Davis, Alfre Woodard, Bill Pullman. 1
Alien: Romulus (Hulu, Thursday) — The 2024 theatrical sequel that Ridley Scott produced and Fede Álvarez directed finally hits streaming. Bridges the gap between Alien and Aliens, earns 80% Certified Fresh, and delivers on the franchise's promise better than any entry since the 1986 sequel. 2
True Romance (Netflix, Tuesday) — If you've never seen Tony Scott's 1993 crime thriller written by Quentin Tarantino, this is an extraordinary week to fix that. 93% critics, 93% audience. 3
And if you can hold until Friday: The Bride! (HBO Max, May 22) — Maggie Gyllenhaal's Frankenstein reimagining with Christian Bale, Jessie Buckley, Annette Bening, Penélope Cruz, and Jake Gyllenhaal is the week's most anticipated release. 4
Netflix
Twenty new titles landed Mon–Thu. The two standouts are originals; the two best films are library arrivals.
The Boroughs — Season 1 ✦ Binge-Worthy
Type: Original sci-fi drama series · Premiered: May 21 · Rating: TV-MA
Created by: Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews · Executive produced by: The Duffer Brothers · Directed by: Kyle Patrick Alvarez
In a retirement community buried in the New Mexico desert, a group of unlikely elderly heroes — played by Alfred Molina (Spider-Man: No Way Home), Geena Davis (Thelma & Louise), Alfre Woodard (12 Years a Slave), and Bill Pullman (Independence Day) — discover a supernatural threat targeting the one thing they no longer have in abundance: time. The Duffer Brothers produce here rather than run the room, giving Addiss and Matthews the writer-director freedom that made Finding Ohana and The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance distinctive. The result is a show that carries the Stranger Things warmth without repeating its formula. 15
RT Critics: 89% (Fresh) · Audience: too early to score
"A very charming show! It has a typical Stranger Things charm while also feeling completely different." — Rotten Tomatoes user 1
Verdict: Binge-Worthy — the week's best new show across all platforms.
True Romance (1993) ✦ Binge-Worthy
Type: Movie (library addition, new to Netflix) · Arrived: May 19 · Runtime: 1h 56m · Rating: R
Director: Tony Scott · Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino
Comic-book fanatic Clarence (Christian Slater, Broken Arrow) marries Alabama (Patricia Arquette, Boyhood) on their first night together, accidentally swipes a suitcase of cocaine from her pimp, and drives west to Los Angeles to sell it — with the mob, a dirty cop, and a government task force all in pursuit. Dennis Hopper, Christopher Walken, Brad Pitt, Gary Oldman, and Val Kilmer show up in supporting roles that function as masterclasses in how to own a scene. Tarantino wrote this before Reservoir Dogs and it shows: the dialogue crackles, the violence is stylized without being weightless, and the romance is genuine. 36
RT Critics: 93% (Certified Fresh, 60 reviews) · Audience: 93% (100,000+ ratings)
"Fueled by Quentin Tarantino's savvy screenplay and a gallery of oddball performances, Tony Scott's True Romance is a funny and violent action jaunt." 3
Verdict: Binge-Worthy — one of the 90s' most rewatchable films, and it just landed.
Nope (2022) ✦ Watch It
Type: Movie (library addition, new to Netflix) · Arrived: May 18 · Runtime: ~2h 10m · Rating: R
Director/Writer: Jordan Peele · Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Steven Yeun, Brandon Perea, Michael Wincott
OJ (Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out) and Emerald (Keke Palmer, Hustlers) Haywood run a horse ranch in rural California's Agua Dulce canyon — the same location their family has supplied horses to Hollywood for generations. Something in the sky has been circling the property. A nearby theme park owner (Steven Yeun, The Walking Dead) wants to capture it on camera. Nope is less a horror film than a meditation on spectacle, exploitation, and the American compulsion to turn terror into entertainment — wrapped inside an enormous, expensive, formally bold blockbuster. 67
RT Critics: 83% (Certified Fresh) · Audience: 69% (5,000+ verified ratings)
"Nope adds Spielbergian spectacle to Jordan Peele's growing arsenal." 7
Verdict: Watch It — the critic/audience score gap (83% vs. 69%) tells you what to expect: rewards viewers who engage with the subtext, frustrates those just hunting jump scares.
Wanda Sykes: Legacy ✦ Watch It
Type: Original stand-up comedy special · Premiered: May 19 · Runtime: 1h 4m · Rating: TV-MA
Director: Julie Dash (Daughters of the Dust) · Filmed at: Hampton University (Sykes's alma mater)
Wanda Sykes's third Netflix special covers Trump, RFK, the return of measles, Cybertruck owners, and the general state of the American experiment — filmed at the HBCU where she went to school, which gives the room a particular charge. Director Julie Dash's presence as a filmmaker (rather than a concert-film veteran) lends the special a slightly more cinematic shape than most stand-up specials. Tom's Guide's reviewer notes the show lands hard if your politics lean left, and considerably less so if they don't — that's a fair warning either way. 56
RT Critics: Score pending (premiered this week) · Audience: pending
Verdict: Watch It — with the caveat above.
Also on Netflix this week
| Title | Type | Arrived | RT Critics | RT Audience | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kylie (2026) 8 | 3-ep documentary limited series | May 20 | Pending | Pending | Watch It (for pop fans) |
| Untold UK: Liverpool's Miracle of Istanbul 6 | Sports documentary | May 19 | Pending | Pending | Watch It (for football fans) |
| James. (2026) 9 | 3-ep sports documentary | May 21 | Pending | Pending | Watch It (for football fans) |
| Carizzma — Season 1 6 | Argentine Spanish-language comedy (10 eps) | May 20 | Pending | Pending | Hold for scores |
| Desi Bling — Season 1 6 | Hindi reality series | May 20 | Pending | Pending | Hold for scores |
| Abraham Lincoln S1 / FDR S1 / Grant S1 / Theodore Roosevelt S1 / Thomas Jefferson S1 / Washington S1 / The Great War 6 | History Channel presidential/history docuseries (library) | May 18 | N/A | N/A | Watch It (US history fans) |
| Law & Order — Seasons 23–24 5 | Drama series (library) | May 18 | N/A | N/A | Watch It (completionists) |
| Monday Late Show — Season 1 6 | Japanese variety (NHK co-production) | May 21 | N/A | N/A | Watch It (J-variety fans) |
A note on Kylie: The 3-episode Kylie Minogue documentary was not listed on What's on Netflix's weekly preview article — it was confirmed separately via Netflix Tudum. 8 The doc spans five decades of her career and includes personal archive footage, new interviews, and a chapter on her relationship with INXS frontman Michael Hutchence.
On the sports documentary front: Untold UK: Liverpool's Miracle of Istanbul covers the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final — Liverpool trailing AC Milan 3–0 at halftime, leveling in six second-half minutes, winning on penalties — with the players themselves narrating. 6 James. is a three-episode portrait of Colombian soccer star James Rodríguez, directed by Simón Brand (Bullet to the Head), covering his path from rejection to the 2014 World Cup Golden Boot. 910
HBO Max
The Mon–Thu window on HBO Max is entirely unscripted — storm-chasing reality, airport customs, a cannabis doc, and a conspiracy docuseries. None have Rotten Tomatoes pages. One HBO Original documentary, Slaves of Faith: Heralds of the Gospel, premieres Thursday May 21, though no plot details or press coverage were available at the time of writing. 1112
| Title | Type | Premiered | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| In the Eye of the Storm: Chasers — S1 | Reality docuseries (storm chasing) | May 18 | Hold for reviews |
| Contraband: Seized at the Airport — S2 | Reality series (customs/border) | May 19 | Hold for reviews |
| Dr. Sanjay Gupta Reports: Weed 8: Weed and Women | CNN Original documentary | May 19 | Hold for reviews |
| Baylen Out Loud — S3 | Reality series | May 20 | Hold for reviews |
| Conspiracies & Coverups — S1 | Docuseries | May 21 | Hold for reviews |
| Slaves of Faith: Heralds of the Gospel | HBO Original documentary | May 21 | Hold for reviews |
Coming Friday, May 22: The Bride! ✦ Most Anticipated
Type: Original movie · Premieres: May 22 on HBO Max; May 23 on HBO at 8 pm ET · Director: Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Lost Daughter)
A reimagining of the Frankenstein story — a murdered young woman is revived as a companion for the monster — with a cast assembled as if someone had unlimited goodwill to spend all at once: Jessie Buckley (Women Talking) as the Bride, Christian Bale (The Dark Knight) as the monster, Annette Bening (American Beauty), Penélope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona), and Jake Gyllenhaal (Brokeback Mountain). Gyllenhaal's directorial debut, The Lost Daughter, went 4 for 4 at Sundance in 2021. Critics haven't weighed in yet but this is the week's most credentialed release by some distance. 411
RT Critics: Not yet scored · Audience: not yet scored
Verdict: Watch It — queue it for Friday night.
Also Friday: Josh Johnson: Symphony, an HBO Original stand-up comedy special. 12
Apple TV+
One new release this week: Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed premiered Wednesday, May 20. 13
Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed — Season 1 ✦ Watch It (with caveats)
Type: Original dark comedy thriller series · Premiered: May 20 (first 2 episodes) · New episodes every Wednesday through July 15 · Rating: not yet rated
Creator: David J. Rosen · Director: David Gordon Green (Halloween, Pineapple Express)
Starring: Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black), Murray Bartlett (The White Lotus), Jake Johnson (New Girl), Brandon Flynn (13 Reasons Why), Dolly de Leon (Triangle of Sadness)
Paula, newly divorced, falls headfirst into a rabbit hole of blackmail, murder, and — of all things — youth soccer, convinced she witnessed a crime while already drowning in a custody battle and an identity crisis. Think of it as a Big Little Lies premise run through a dark-comedy blender. The Guardian called it a "totally bingeable thriller that will glue you to your seat." 13 Collider praised Maslany's "charming tour-de-force performance." 13 Radio Times was less convinced, finding the hook insufficient to sustain it long-term.
RT Critics: ~62% (mixed — per third-party reports; official RT page not yet displaying aggregated scores as of May 21) · Audience: not yet scored
Verdict: Watch It (with caveats) — Maslany alone is worth the first two episodes. Whether the conspiracy holds up across a full season is the open question. Check back in two weeks.
Hulu
Hulu's week is thin on originals — six library arrivals and one theatrical film that absolutely counts as a major get.
Alien: Romulus (2024) ✦ Binge-Worthy
Type: Movie (2024 theatrical film, now streaming) · Arrived: May 21 · Runtime: 1h 59m · Rating: R
Director: Fede Álvarez (Evil Dead, Don't Breathe) · Produced by: Ridley Scott
Starring: Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla) as Rain Carradine, David Jonsson (Alien: Romulus) as Andy
Set between the events of Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986), Romulus follows a group of young space colonizers who board a derelict space station looking for equipment to escape their dead-end mining planet — and encounter Xenomorphs, facehuggers, and chestbursters on a station that turns out to be rather more populated than expected. Fede Álvarez strips the franchise back to basics: claustrophobic corridors, practical-effects creature design, and the kind of genuine dread that made the original work. Ridley Scott's producer credit comes with real input — the period-specific aesthetic and lore consistency are noticeable. 214
RT Critics: 80% (Certified Fresh) · Audience: ~85% (third-party data; official RT page audience score unavailable as of May 21)
"Honoring its nightmarish predecessors while chestbursting at the seams with new frights of its own, Romulus injects some fresh acid blood into one of cinema's great horror franchises." — RT Critic Consensus 2
Verdict: Binge-Worthy — the best Alien film since Aliens. No prior Alien knowledge is required, but a quick 5-minute wiki catch-up on the Weyland-Yutani Corporation won't hurt.
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Also on Hulu this week
| Title | Type | Arrived | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Battle of Fates — S1 (Dubbed) 14 | Anime action series | May 18 | Watch It (anime fans) |
| The Nightmare Upstairs: What Happened to Ty and Bryn? 14 | True crime docuseries | May 19 | Hold for reviews |
| Ndrangheta: World Wide Mafia 14 | Organized crime documentary | May 20 | Hold for reviews |
| How the States Got Their Shapes — S1–2 15 | History Channel documentary (library) | May 21 | Watch It (US history fans) |
| The Ultimate Guide to the Presidents — S1 15 | History Channel documentary (library) | May 21 | Watch It (US history fans) |
| United Stats of America — S1 15 | Documentary series (US statistics) | May 21 | Hold for reviews |
On Hulu Friday, May 22: Arco — an Oscar-nominated and Golden Globe-nominated animated film from director Ugo Bienvenu, with Natalie Portman, Will Ferrell, and Mark Ruffalo providing voices. A 10-year-old from a peaceful future accidentally lands in 2075, teams up with a girl and her robot, and tries to get home. 16
Quick-reference: everything verdicted this week
| Title | Platform | Type | RT Critics | RT Audience | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Boroughs S1 1 | Netflix | Original sci-fi drama | 89% | Pending | Binge-Worthy |
| True Romance (1993) 3 | Netflix | Movie (library) | 93% | 93% | Binge-Worthy |
| Alien: Romulus (2024) 2 | Hulu | Movie | 80% | ~85% | Binge-Worthy |
| Nope (2022) 7 | Netflix | Movie (library) | 83% | 69% | Watch It |
| Wanda Sykes: Legacy 5 | Netflix | Stand-up special | Pending | Pending | Watch It |
| Kylie (2026) 8 | Netflix | Documentary limited series | Pending | Pending | Watch It (pop fans) |
| Untold UK: Liverpool's Miracle of Istanbul 6 | Netflix | Sports documentary | Pending | Pending | Watch It (football fans) |
| James. (2026) 9 | Netflix | Sports doc limited series | Pending | Pending | Watch It (football fans) |
| Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed S1 13 | Apple TV+ | Original dark comedy thriller | ~62% (mixed) | Pending | Watch It (w/ caveats) |
| The Bride! 4 | HBO Max | Original movie (Fri May 22) | Pending | Pending | Watch It (anticipated) |
| Slaves of Faith: Heralds of the Gospel 11 | HBO Max | HBO Original documentary | Pending | Pending | Hold for reviews |
RT scores current as of May 21, 2026. Early-window premieres may update as more reviews accumulate.
Cover photo via Pexels / Ron Lach
References
- 1The Boroughs Season 1 — Rotten Tomatoes
rottentomatoes.com
- 2Alien: Romulus — Rotten Tomatoes
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- 3True Romance — Rotten Tomatoes
rottentomatoes.com
- 4The Bride! — Warner Bros. Discovery Pressroom
press.wbd.com
- 5
- 6What's Coming to Netflix This Week: May 18th to 24th, 2026 — What's on Netflix
whats-on-netflix.com
- 7Nope — Rotten Tomatoes
rottentomatoes.com
- 8Kylie Minogue documentary — Netflix Tudum
netflix.com
- 9James. — Netflix Official Site
netflix.com
- 10
- 11New on HBO Max May 2026 — Vulture
vulture.com
- 12
- 13
- 14New on Hulu May 2026 — Vulture
vulture.com
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