This Week in WCIW #19: What's new in May 2021?

Welcome to the April 28, 2021 edition of This Week in WCIW, the (usually) weekly newsletter from Where Can I Watch – covering the latest news on where TV shows and movies will be available in Canada.

What's new in May 2021?

We're going to try something a little bit different this month, giving a bit more space for programming listings for the coming month as opposed to the fairly condensed version we've used in the past. We're still not posting the entire list of programming coming to each service, but we'll point out titles that we think are notable, and point you to where you can find more details.

This post has been updated from our original newsletter, as noted where relevant below, most recently on May 1 to update Prime Video programming.

Netflix

Netflix Canada posts its monthly listings on its Twitter account, and sends additional details to media outlets on its mailing list. Since we aren't on that list yet, we've cross-referenced against some of these other posts as well as other sources. New programs are normally released at 3:00 a.m. ET (midnight PT) on the date indicated, unless otherwise noted.

Notable original series

• Selena: The Series (part 2) – May 4
• The Sons of Sam: A Descent into Darkness (documentary miniseries) – May 5
• Girl from Nowhere (continuation of series originally commissioned by GMM 25 Thailand – season 2) – May 7
• Jupiter's Legacy (season 1) – May 7
• Money, Explained (documentary miniseries) – May 11
• Castlevania (anime – season 4 [final season]) – May 13
• Halston (miniseries) – May 14
• Haunted (season 3) – May 14
• Love, Death & Robots (volume 2) – May 14
• Who Killed Sara? (Mexican series – season 2) – May 19
• Special (season 2) – May 20
• Master of None Presents: Moments of Love (technically season 3 of Master of None) – May 23
• Eden (anime – season 1) – May 27
• Ragnarok (Norwegian series – season 2) – May 27
• The Kominsky Method (season 3) – May 28
• Lucifer (season 5, part 2) – May 28

Notable exclusive-distribution "original" series

• Black Space (appears to be a limited drama series, commissioned by Reshet 13 Israel) – May 27
• Close Enough (commissioned by HBO Max U.S. – season 2) – date TBA

Notable original films

• Monster (legal drama based on the book by Walter Dean Myers; premiered at the 2018 Sundance festival and previously set for 2019 theatrical release) – May 7
• Oxygen (French-language science fiction thriller) – May 12
• The Woman in the Window (psychological thriller starring Amy Adams; previously set for 2019 theatrical release by 20th Century) – May 14
• Army of the Dead (zombie heist movie directed and co-written by Zack Snyder) – May 21
• Nail Bomber: Manhunt (documentary) – May 26
• Blue Miracle (drama starring Dennis Quaid) – May 27

Notable licensed programming

• First Blood, Rambo: First Blood Part Ⅱ, and Rambo Ⅲ – May 1
• On the Basis of Sex (2018 Focus Features film, moving from Crave) – May 1
• Total Drama Island and its sequels / spin-offs up to and including The Ridonculous Race – May 1
• The Upside (2019 STX / Elevation Pictures film, moving from Prime Video) – May 1
• Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir (documentary) – date TBA; also premiering in the U.S. on PBS on May 3
• Brightburn (2019 Screen Gems film, moving from Crave) – May 5
• Shaft (2019 Warner Bros. film, moving from Crave) – May 10
• Little (2019 Universal film, moving from Crave) – May 16
• Annabelle Comes Home (2019 Warner Bros. film, moving from Crave) – May 17
• Men in Black: International (2019 Columbia film, moving from Crave) – May 18
• Us (2019 Universal film, moving from Crave) – May 23

Notable departures

• Sherlock (seasons 1-3 [of 4] of the 2010-17 BBC series) – May 14
• American Crime (2015-17 ABC series) – May 21
• Full House (the full original series, but not Fuller House) – May 31

Disney+

Disney+ sends its Canadian monthly listings to media outlets on its mailing list, which does not currently include WCIW, so again we are relying on these outside posts. New programs are normally released at 3:00 a.m. ET (midnight PT) on the date indicated, unless otherwise noted.

Premier Access films

• Cruella (101 Dalmatians prequel starring Emma Stone) – available beginning Friday, May 28 for an additional $34.99 charge in Canada; also released in theatres the same day. Will be made available to all Disney+ subscribers at a later date (likely late August or early September).

Notable Disney+ original series

• Star Wars: The Bad Batch – premieres May 4; new episodes weekly on Fridays starting May 7
• High School Musical: The Musical: The Series – season 2 premieres May 14; new episodes weekly on Fridays
• Inside Pixar: Unpacked (part 4 of the Inside Pixar documentary series with five new episodes) – May 21
• Launchpad (short films anthology) – May 28
• Ongoing, new episodes weekly: Big Shot (Fridays), The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers (Fridays)

Notable Star original series

• M.O.D.O.K. (Marvel adult animation series commissioned by Hulu; not a Marvel Cinematic Universe series) – premieres May 21 with new episodes on Fridays
• Ongoing, new episodes weekly: Solar Opposites (season 2 – Fridays)

Notable library programming

• American Horror Story, seasons 1-3 (Murder House, Asylum and Coven) – May 7
• Ferdinand (2017 Blue Sky animated film) – May 7
• Murder on the Orient Express (2017 film) – May 7
• The Crossing (2018 ABC series) – May 21
• Deep State (2018 British series, previously aired in Canada on Super Channel) – May 21
• Pitch (2016 Fox series) – May 21

Crave

Crave's full list of arrivals for May is posted on Bell Media's press site. New programs are normally released at midnight ET on the date indicated (equivalent to 9:00 p.m. PT on the previous date), unless otherwise noted, except for HBO Max programs which are released at 3:00 a.m. ET. Some programs are only included in Crave's Movies + HBO tier which is an extra charge on top of Crave's base package. Starz is dealt with in a separate section below.

Original programming

• Dark Side of the Ring (co-production with Vice TV U.S. – season 3A) – episodes released Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. EDT starting May 6
• Way Over Me (French: Sortez-moi de moi) (French-language drama series, available in both English dubbed and subtitled versions) – all episodes released Friday, May 7 at 8:00 p.m. EDT

Showtime original programming

• Ziwe (variety series starring Ziwe Fumudoh) – Sundays at 11:00 p.m. ET starting May 9
• The Chi (season 4) – Sundays at 9:00 p.m. ET starting May 23
• Black Monday (season 3) – Sundays at 10:00 p.m. ET starting May 23
• Flatbush Misdemeanors (comedy series starring Dan Perlman and Kevin Iso, based on a 2017 short film) – Sundays at 10:30 p.m. ET starting May 23
• Lavell Crawford: The Comedy Vaccine (stand-up special) – Friday, May 28 at 10:00 p.m. ET
• Ongoing, new episodes weekly: City on a Hill (Sundays at 9:00 p.m. ET through May 16), Desus & Mero (Sundays and Thursdays at 11:00 p.m. ET through May 6)

Other notable licensed programming in base tier

• [Update] RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under (Australian / New Zealand spin-off of the drag competition series) – May 1
• Shrill (season 3 [final season]) – May 7
• Doing the Most with Phoebe Robinson (season 1, previously aired on CTV Comedy) – May 14
• Wipeout (season 1, episodes 1-5, previously aired on CTV Comedy) – May 14
• Ongoing, new episodes weekly: The Handmaid's Tale (Wednesdays at 9:00 p.m. ET)

New release movies (in Movies + HBO tier)

• Odd Man Rush (2020 hockey comedy, via Pacific Northwest Pictures [PNP]) – May 7
• Tenet (2020 Warner Bros. thriller directed by Christopher Nolan) – May 7
• Breaking Surface (2020 Scandinavian drama) – May 14
• Sound of Metal (2020 drama starring Riz Ahmed, via PNP) – May 14
• Dog Days (2018 romantic comedy, via Elevation Pictures) – May 21
• I Propose We Never See Each Other Again After Tonight (2020 Canadian drama, via Mongrel Media) – May 21
• Wonder Woman 1984 (2020 Warner Bros. / DC superhero film starring Gal Gadot) – May 21
• I Am Hitchcock (2021 Canadian documentary) – May 24
• The Climb (2019 dramedy, via Sony Pictures Classics / Mongrel Media) – May 28
• The Personal History of David Copperfield (2019 dramedy directed by Armando Ianucci, via Searchlight Pictures) – May 31

Notable library movies (in Movies + HBO tier)

• Inception (May 7)
• Field of Dreams (May 7)
• The Iron Giant (May 14)
• A number of other family films are being added throughout the month, including several from the Stuart Little and Garfield franchises (May 7).

HBO original programming (in Movies + HBO tier)

• The Crime of the Century (two-part documentary miniseries) – May 10 and 11 at 9:00 p.m. ET
• In Treatment (season 4; four episodes per week) – Sundays and Mondays at 9:00 & 9:30 p.m. ET starting May 23
• Oslo (original film starring Andrew Scott and Ruth Wilson, based on the play by J.T. Rogers – May 29 at 8:00 p.m. ET
• Ongoing, new episodes weekly: The Nevers (Sundays at 9:00 p.m. ET through May 16); Mare of Easttown (Sundays at 10:00 p.m. ET through May 30); A Black Lady Sketch Show (Fridays at 11:00 p.m. ET through May 28)
• Weekly topical programming (new episodes air "live" on the HBO linear channel and are available on-demand the next day): Real Time with Bill Maher (Fridays at 10:00 p.m. ET, no episode May 28); Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (Sundays at 11:00 p.m. ET, no episode May 30); Axios (resuming May 23; Sundays at 6:00 p.m. ET)

HBO Max original programming (in Movies + HBO tier)

• Legendary (season 2) – Thursdays starting May 6
• That Damn Michael Che (sketch comedy series starring the SNL performer) – debuts Thursday, May 6; not yet clear if episodes will be made available weekly or all at once
• [Update] Hacks (dark comedy series starring Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder) – debuts Thursday, May 13; not yet clear if episodes will be made available weekly or all at once
• Ongoing, new episodes weekly: The Big Shot with Bethenny (Thursdays through May 20); Ellen's Next Great Designer (Thursdays through May 20)

That Damn Michael Che and Hacks are the first two HBO Max-commissioned programs produced (and, as far as we know, distributed) by Universal Television, which bodes well for the Crave availability of any future Max Originals from that studio.

Notable depatures (both tiers)

• Picnic at Hanging Rock (2018 Australian series) – May 5
• Red Joan – May 10
• Brightburn – May 11 (moving to Netflix)
• Annabelle Comes Home – May 16 (moving to Netflix)
• Men in Black: International – May 17 (moving to Netflix)
• X-Men: Dark Phoenix – May 31 (likely moving to Disney+)
• Yesterday – May 31 (may have airings on Crave's linear channels after this date; likely eventually moving to Netflix)

Starz

Starz Canada arrivals are including in the Crave listings, but we list them separately here since it's also possible to subscribe to Starz separately from Crave, including through Amazon and Apple.

Starz original series

• The Girlfriend Experience (season 3) – Sundays starting May 2
• Run the World (comedy series starring Amber Stevens West, Andrea Bordeaux, Bresha Webb, and Corbin Reid) – Sundays starting May 16
• Ongoing, new episodes weekly: Confronting a Serial Killer (Sundays through May 16); The Gloaming (Sundays through May 9); Step Up: High Water (Fridays)

Notable library programming

• Wow! Wow! Wubbzy (season 1 of children's series produced by Starz Media and previously aired in Canada on channels like Family Jr.) – May 7
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Ⅰ–Ⅲ (1990–93 New Line film series) – May 21

CBC Gem

CBC Gem's May listings are posted here, and include a few late additions to the April 30 releases.

Notable first-run licensed series

• In My Skin (Wales-set coming-of-age comedy) – May 7
• The Dog House (season 2; previously scheduled for April release) – May 7
• Bad Banks (season 2) – May 14
• DNA (Danish drama) – May 21
• Twenties (comedy created by Lena Waithe) – May 21

Notable licensed documentaries and specials

• Alicia Keys Live in L.A. (BBC-produced concert special) – May 14
• Bad Rap (2016 documentary about Korean-American hip-hop) – April 30
• The Donut King (2020 documentary about the rise and fall of Cambodian entrepreneur Ted Ngoy) – April 30
• Indian Space Dreams (2019 documentary about a Mumbai-built satellite) – April 30
• Matangi/Maya/M.I.A. (2018 documentary about the British rapper) – April 30

Prime Video

Updated May 1: A full listing of Prime Video Canada's new programming for May was emailed to us in late April. We are not including programs on Prime Video Channels add-ons like StackTV (Corus networks) or Starz (noted above).

Notable original programming

• Tom Clancy's Without Remorse (thriller starring Michael B. Jordan; previously intended for theatrical release by Paramount) – April 30
• The Boy from Medellin (documentary about singer J Balvin) – May 7
• Horizon Line (thriller starring Allison Williams and Alexander Dreymon; Prime "original" via STX) – May 14
• The Last Hour (Indian supernatural thriller starring Sanjay Kapoor and Karma Takapa) – May 14
• The Underground Railroad (miniseries adaptation of the book by Colson Whitehead, directed by Barry White) – May 14
• Pink: All I Know So Far (documentary about the singer) – May 21
• Solos (sci-fi anthology series starring Anne Hathaway, Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman, Anthony Mackie and others) – May 21
• Panic (young adult drama based on the book by Lauren Oliver) – May 28
• LOL: Last One Laughing format: Spain – May 14, France – May 28

New release movies

• Wild Mountain Thyme (2020 Irish drama starring Emily Blunt and Jamie Dornan; released theatrically by Elevation on Dec. 11) – May 6
• Waiting for the Barbarians (2019 action film starring Mark Rylance and Johnny Depp; released theatrically by Samuel Goldwyn in August 2020) – May 20

Notable library movies

• May 1: As Good As It Gets, The Craft, Hancock, My Best Friend's Wedding, You Don't Mess with the Zohan

Notable new programming on other channels and services

• FX: Pose (season 3 [final season]) – Sundays at 10:00 p.m. ET starting May 2; Mr Inbetween (season 3 [final season]) – Tuesdays at 10:00 p.m. ET starting May 25
• Super Channel: Mystic (New Zealand-set family drama – Sundays at 8:00 p.m. ET starting May 16
• Hollywood Suite: The Pembrokeshire Murders (British true crime drama miniseries) – premieres Thursday, May 20 at 9:00 p.m. ET
• BritBox: Grace ("Looking Good Dead") – May 4; Line of Duty (series 6) – May 18; Harlots (series 3, previously aired on Super Channel) – May 28
• Smithsonian Channel: Cher & The Loneliest Elephant (documentary about the performer's quest to free an elephant in Pakistan) – Wednesday, May 19 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT
• IFC Films Unlimited: Hunter Hunter (2020 horror thriller, released theatrically by IFC Midnight on Dec. 18) – May 5

Other notes

• Canadian movie distributor Mongrel Media has announced that it is launching a streaming service of its own, Mongrel Home Cinema, with films from both its own library and from American distributor Magnolia Pictures. It will be available starting this Friday, April 30 for $6.99 per month or $69.99 per year, through MongrelHomeCinema.com (not yet live) and new mobile device apps. It looks like the focus, at least initially, will be on library films like The Rider and Boyhood, as opposed to newer Mongrel films that currently go to Crave in the pay-1 window.
• Some interesting statistics about SVOD service uptake in Canada from this summary of a recent report from the CBC's Media Technology Monitor division.

Recent updates on WCIW

No major changes this past week apart from updates to our Mortal Kombat post to reflect its availability, and to our Sound of Metal post to reflect upcoming availability on Crave as discussed above.

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