The Morning: What to watch in May

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April 30, 2022

By Melissa Kirsch

Good morning. May's streaming options include new Sally Rooney fare, "Masterpiece" and a second season of "Hacks."

María Jesús Contreras

What's streaming

It's been two years since "Normal People," the series adapted from Sally Rooney's novel of the same name, debuted on Hulu. Depending on how warped your perception of time is lately, that may feel like it was just last week. Or perhaps the experience of watching the show glimmers in your memory like a relic from another lifetime. I'm of the persuasion that it's been just long enough that I'm ready for another Rooney adaptation, so I've been eagerly anticipating "Conversations With Friends," which arrives on May 15.

If that seems far away, you can indulge any hankering for British drama this weekend with the first episode of the four-part "Masterpiece: Ridley Road," about a Jewish hairdresser who infiltrates a neo-Nazi group in 1960s London. Or skip the drama and try Showtime's "I Love That For You," starring "Saturday Night Live" alums Vanessa Bayer and Molly Shannon as hosts on a home shopping network. The second season of the comedy series "Ziwe" premieres this weekend on Showtime as well.

Continuing in the comedy vein, Mike Myers plays multiple characters in the Netflix limited series "The Pentaverate," a spinoff of his 1993 film "So I Married an Axe Murderer," premiering Thursday (May 5, naturally). It also stars Keegan-Michael Key, Ken Jeong, Debi Mazar and Jennifer Saunders. And "Hacks" is back for Season 2 on HBO Max on May 12. (More grist for those of us marveling at the elastic nature of pandemic time: "Hacks" debuted a year ago.)

The absorbing documentary series "The Staircase," about the writer Michael Peterson's trial in his wife's death, is getting the dramatization treatment on HBO Max starting Thursday. Colin Firth and Toni Collette play the couple, but I'm most interested to see Parker Posey portray the prosecutor Freda Black, who was an outsized character in the documentary. "Candy," another true-crime tale, starring Jessica Biel and Melanie Lynskey, arrives on Hulu on May 9.

The real housewives of both Atlanta and Beverly Hills return in May, as do "Basketball Wives" and "RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars." On the documentary front, Netflix has "Meltdown: Three Mile Island," about the 1979 nuclear accident in Pennsylvania, and "Our Father," about the children of a fertility doctor who secretly inseminated patients with his own sperm.

And for those who'd like to escape the space-time continuum — and who can blame them? — there's "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds," starting Thursday, as well as "Obi-Wan Kenobi" and the first part of the fourth season of "Stranger Things," both on May 27.

What are you looking forward to watching this month? Drop me an email.

For more

Where and when to watch all of 2022's TV premieres.
"Conversations With Friends" features a new Phoebe Bridgers track.
Read a profile of Vanessa Bayer, the star of "I Love That for You."
Why does time seem so slippery? We've lost our temporal landmarks.

WEEKENDS ARE FOR …

🍿 Movies: Five horror flicks to stream.

🎭 Theater: "POTUS" is a new Broadway satire about presidential enablers.

🖼 Art: Even the "wrong" Picasso (now in Washington, D.C.) can be right. And Basquiat and Matisse are on offer in New York.

THE WEEK IN CULTURE

Joe Skipper/Reuters

Elon Musk uses Twitter in a way no one else does, and that's informing his plans to buy it, John Herrman writes.
Investigators say they're still waiting for key evidence in the shooting death on the set of the Alec Baldwin movie "Rust."
"The fact that we get to try to entertain you and spend time with you is an absolute privilege": How James Corden announced his planned exit from late night.
An N.F.L. draft fashion scorecard: Self-expression won the night.
Here's what we want to hear from Carnegie Hall's new season.
Esquire picked the 30 best audiobooks of all time.
A miniature book made by the young Charlotte Brontë resurfaced after a century and will head home to the English moors where it was made.

THE LATEST NEWS

A Ukrainian soldier checking a driver's documents in Kharkiv.Tyler Hicks/The New York Times

Russia's offensive in eastern Ukraine is faltering because of logistical issues and Ukrainian resistance, military officials said. Follow our updates.
Governments are holding on to food supplies because of Russia's invasion, amid price increases and shortages.
April was Wall Street's worst month since March 2020. Investors appear to be concluding that the economy is about to take a hit.
Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas has aggressively sought to stop illegal border crossings. He has little to show for it.
The tennis great Boris Becker was sentenced to more than two years in prison after he was found guilty of hiding millions of dollars in assets.
A Minnesota political candidate was in labor while she gave a convention speech. Critics say the proceedings should have been suspended.

Stay informed on the topics you care about most.

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RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.

By Melissa Clark

I got my first bunch of local asparagus this week and put it to excellent use in Eric Kim's recipe for creamy asparagus pasta, with its silky, seaweed-laced sauce. The dish features a speedy and very smart technique: You boil rigatoni in water seasoned with a sheet of dried kelp (such as Korean dasima or Japanese kombu), then add more kelp to garlic- and red onion-spiked heavy cream. Sliced asparagus and slivers of toasted seaweed (gim, nori or seaweed snacks) are folded in right at the end for freshness and crunch. I doubled the asparagus, using the whole big bunch, and there was still plenty of the savory sauce to cover it all. The subtle umami flavor of the seaweed reminded me of a good aged Parmesan — albeit with a delightful saline kick.

REAL ESTATE

Clockwise from left: Michael Bowman for William Pitt Sotheby's International Realty; Daniel McAllister/Daniel McAllister Photography; Damian Vines

What you get for $2.9 million: A country estate in Salisbury, Conn.; a 1992 house in Mountain Brook, Ala.; or a retreat with water views in Bellingham, Wash.

The hunt: They wanted to upgrade their beach retreat. Which home did they choose? Play our game.

Summer on Fire Island: Its fragile beaches are holding up. Residents are trying to preserve its history and make the island more welcoming to people of color. And unearthed cassettes of 1980s and '90s musical performances document a critical juncture in gay history.

LIVING

Tracee Ellis Ross and Marsai Martin in "black-ish."Richard Cartwright/ABC

On screen: Hollywood is showing a new openness to natural Black hairstyles.

Joint pain: Your phone could be wrecking your body.

More children? Not after the last two years, these families say.

Platinum jubilee: London is celebrating Queen Elizabeth's 70-year reign.

Generation ageless: Martha Stewart is the new face of skin care on TikTok.

GAME OF THE WEEKEND

The New York Mets' Eduardo Escobar beat the tag from Philadelphia catcher J.T. Realmuto this month.Laurence Kesterson/Associated Press

Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets, M.L.B.: It's very early. But … the Mets are good. In the latest edition of The Athletic's M.L.B. power rankings, the Mets were No. 2, behind only the powerhouse Dodgers. On Friday, five Mets pitchers combined to throw a no-hitter. And their starter for Sunday, Max Scherzer, hasn't lost a regular-season game since last May. 7 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, ESPN.

For more:

Mets batters keep getting hit by pitches. Could it be the balls?
In The Athletic, Rustin Dodd makes the case for Mets optimism.

NOW TIME TO PLAY

The pangram from yesterday's Spelling Bee was companion. Here is today's puzzle — or you can play online.

Take the news quiz to see how well you followed this week's headlines.

Here's today's Wordle. If you're in the mood to play more, find all our games here.

Before You Go …

If you have 10 minutes, read about a California chef who Googles diners and cancels reservations if he thinks they will be rude or won't enjoy his restaurant.
A visualization of love songs and their sweetest YouTube comments.
Here's Vagabon with Courtney Barnett performing "Reason to Believe."

Thanks for spending part of your weekend with The Times. — Melissa

Claire Moses, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Tom Wright-Piersanti, Ashley Wu and Sanam Yar contributed to The Morning. You can reach the team at themorning@nytimes.com.