May is a month packed with finales for various sci-fi and fantasy shows, but there’s also a couple of big premieres coming to kick off the summer months. Included are premieres for a highly anticipated spinoff show, a wild superhero series, and more. Here’s a look at the major sci-fi/fantasy shows to be checking out in May 2026!
From season 4 (MGM+): Ongoing
From may be the most underrated sci-fi show on television right now. This MGM+ series has carved out a loyal cult audience thanks to its dark, moody tale of people trapped in a small town surrounded by strange monsters. The series has upped the ante for season 4 with elements of time travel and the shocking death of a main character.
The show premiered its fourth season on April 19 and will continue until June 21, so there’s plenty of time to keep up with it. With confirmation that the fifth season will be its last, it’s past time more people tune into From to witness one of the best “folks trapped in a scary location” shows since the heyday of Lost.
From airs new episodes Sundays on MGM+.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season 2 (Apple TV+): Finale on May 1
The second season of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters has been even better than the first. We still get those epic monsters like Godzilla and other Titans to tie into the big-screen Monsterverse films. But the show is doing a great job showcasing the human characters trying to survive this strange world. Rather than being distracting, the time-cutting between the present and the 1950s is well done and adds to the action.
There’s also the genius touch of Kurt Russell as a key character and his real-life son Wyatt playing the younger version in the 1950s. The season 2 finale just dropped on May 1, so if you’ve been missing it, this is a perfect binge for a movie spinoff that works even better on TV.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season 2 can be streamed on Apple TV+.
Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord (Disney+): Finale on May 4
Bringing back Darth Maul was a risk that paid off for Star Wars animation. The compelling former Sith finally gets the spotlight in this series, showing him keeping under the radar as the Empire forms while building a crime cabal. We see Maul in his prime, able to hold his own against multiple enemies and showing his cunning by playing gangsters against each other.
The animation is glorious and the compelling plot line of Maul taking a former Jedi under his wing for his secret purposes. The finale is set for May 4 (a perfect date for Star Wars fans) and with a second season confirmed, we can enjoy one of the better Star Wars shows in a while.
Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord releases its finale on Monday.
Daredevil: Born Again season 2 (Disney+): Finale on May 5
The second season of the revival of the Netflix Daredevil shows has been fantastic. The battle between Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk for control of New York City feels quite timely, with abuses of power and government thugs rounding up civilians. There’s also been some wonderful character development with Matt stepping up both as Daredevil and an attorney, with Karen Page just as strong.
There’s also been the welcome return of Krysten Ritter’s Jessica Jones, which hopefully sets up a full-on Defenders reunion. That’s not mentioning the action, the twisted Bullseye and the season 2 finale likely setting up an epic showdown. This really is one of the best MCU TV shows ever and one can only imagine how it’ll shine in its finale.
Daredevil: Born Again season 2 releases its finale on Tuesday.
The Terror season 3 (AMC+/Shudder): May 7
The Terror started on AMC as a horror anthology and now airs on both AMC+ and Shudder. Season 3 will once again tell a new story, subtitled “Devil in Silver.” It adapts the 2013 novel of the same name, focusing on a former drummer turned moving man (Dan Stevens) who’s put in a psychiatric hospital after fighting with cops. It doesn’t take long for him to realize the facility is home to a strange creature.
While the scares come from that creature, the real horror may be the system itself and how it treats the mentally ill and addicted. The six-episode season promises plenty of moody scares and a supporting cast including the always-wonderful Judith Light. Looks like it’s time to feel The Terror all over again.
The Terror debuts on AMC+ and Shudder on May 7.
Devil May Cry season 2 (Netflix): May 12
The Netflix adaptation of the hit video games has been a pleasant surprise success. The animated Devil May Cry follows the story of Dante, a demon hunter trying to stop the underworld from washing onto Earth. The first season started slow but picked up big time in the latter half, with the anime style perfectly fitting the video game source material with great action.
Season 2 has more action while delivering character development as Dante knows his brother Vergil is still alive, even as he was unjustly imprisoned. The first course of action for Dante is breaking out, then finding his brother while trying to save the world from both demons and a sinister government agency. Having proven they can make the show a frantic ride, the producers seem set to have this Devil cry louder.
Devil May Cry season 2 premieres all episodes May 12 on Netflix.
The Punisher: One Last Kill (Disney+): May 12
MCU fans won’t have to wait long after the Born Again finale for more gritty action. This new special has Jon Bernthal reprising his role as Frank Castle, a.k.a. the Punisher, the brutal Marvel anti-hero. Bernthal himself wrote the script along with director Reinaldo Marcus Green, so he knows all about bringing this character to life. The Punisher’s Netflix series was darker and more brutal than other Marvel shows, which fits him.
This special’s plot is under wraps as it’s hinted Frank is trying to leave his violent past behind, only for it to come back after him. We do know that popular Punisher foe Ma Gnucci will be a character and the title hints that Frank or someone close to him is in for a dark end. At least, seeing another Marvel Netflix character returning is great news for all fans.
Punisher: One Last Kill premieres May 12 on Disney+.
Good Omens (Prime Video): Finale on May 13
Fans of Good Omens feared the fantasy show would end after its second season due to various complications (including the accusations against creator Neil Gaiman). Rather than a full season, we’re getting a 90-minute finale movie. Still, it’s going to be terrific to see demon Crowley (David Tennant) and angel Aziraphale (Michael Sheen) continue their strange bromance. The season 2 finale saw them split when Aziraphale went back to Heaven.
When he learns that the Second Coming will cause chaos on Earth, Aziraphale reunites with Crowley to try and stop it. The trailer shows the same fun banter, heavenly conflicts, great supporting cast and the lovely chemistry of Sheen and Tennant. It may not be the full final season fans wished for, yet it's better to see the story wrap up in some form.
The Good Omens finale premieres May 13 on Prime Video.
Outlander season 8 (Starz): Series finale on May 15
For eight seasons, fans of Outlander have been enthralled by the time-traveling romance between former World War II nurse Claire (Caitríona Balfe) and 18th-century Highlander Jamie (Sam Heughan). The pair have been through countless dangers, wars and more while building a family together. So the question is just how this epic tale will conclude and if it means Jamie is indeed destined to die in the American Revolution. The fact that the finale will deviate from Diana Gabaldon’s books adds to the expectations.
Besides the central pair, we’ll learn the fates of the duo’s daughter Brie (Sophie Skeleton), her husband Roger (Richard Rankin) and the rest of their extended clan. It’ll be a challenge to see how it comes together, but fans who have waited this long are hopeful Outlander goes out in a style all its own for a beautiful fantasy adaptation.
The Outlander series finale airs May 15 on Starz.
The Boys season 5 (Prime Video): Series finale on May 20
The fifth and final season of The Boys has been shocking, including some major character deaths amid the usual insane antics only this show can pull off. The year has built up the Boys facing Homelander and his domination of America, with the increasingly insane supe trying to become a literal god. All of which makes the build to the finale even bigger.
It’s a certainty we’re going to see more characters buy it before it ends. The question is who and if it will include some of our heroes. The final season has been eerily timing in the themes of fascism and the corruption of power, making this show a mirror to our world. One can only dream of how The Boys concludes, but we can be sure it’ll be bloodier and rowdier than any finale in TV history.
The Boys series finale airs May 20 on Prime Video.
The Boroughs (Netflix): May 21
This Netflix show from the Duffer Brothers could be described as “Stranger Things for older audiences.” The Boroughs is set in a retirement community where a new arrival comes across a mysterious threat that forces these elderly folk to try and save the world. It’s a flip on Stranger Things, yet it looks compelling with its mood and refreshing, giving actors of a certain age a bigger stage.
Speaking of said actors, the cast is incredible: Alfred Molina, Geena Davis, Alfre Woodard, Bill Pullman, Jena Malone, Clarke Peters, Denis O’Hare, Jane Kaczmarek, and more. That alone will make this a worthwhile binge and prove the Duffers can make any sort of tale of ordinary people facing the extraordinary into something special.
The Boroughs premieres all episodes May 21 on Netflix.
Spider-Noir (MGM+/Prime Video): May 25
Leave it to Nicolas Cage to make his first-ever TV series a strange one. The Oscar winner reprises his voice role from the animated Into the Spider-Verse films into a new live-action tale. Cage plays Ben Reilly, a jaded private eye in a world that looks like 1930s New York City. While working a case, Ben also handles his role as the masked Spider-Noir, the Spider-Man of this world.
The series will be a mix of super-heroics and classic film noir (there’s even going to be a separate black-and-white version to watch) and will mix in classic Spider-Man foes like Sandman, Silvermane and Tombstone in new ways. The real reason to watch it is Cage himself, as seeing this iconic actor finally leading a TV show is worth the price of watching all by itself.
Spider-Noir premieres on MGM+ and Prime Video on May 25.
The Testaments (Hulu): Finale on May 27
A sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale was a risky proposition. However, The Testaments has more than lived up to the legacy of that earlier dystopian work. We’re thrust once more into the nightmare world of Gilead, only now through the eyes of the young women being taught as the “Aunts” who are meant to “guide” the Handmaids. The contrast between a devout believer and an outsider from Canada shows how twisted this world is.
The show continues world-building, such as an episode that shows Aunt Lydia’s past during the Gilead takeover. It’s building up the interpersonal dramas and the first season finale will likely pave the way for a bigger second season. Like its source material, this is television more gripping in our world and the final episodes will feature more drama.
The Testaments season 1 finale airs May 27 on Hulu.
For All Mankind season 5 (Apple TV+): Finale on May 29
With the word that For All Mankind will be ending with season 6, the currently airing fifth season takes on more pathos. The alternate reality take on a world where the Soviets reached the moon first has become a compelling sci-fi adventure in its own right, from action to politics. The fifth season has addressed the passage of time as hero Ed Baldwin succumbed to old age, ending an era for the show.
There’s been tension of a battle for control of an asteroid colony, addressing issues of class and the rich getting richer, which holds as true in our world as it does here. The finale on May 29 will likely end with one more time jump into the future, as every season of this show has been a step toward one of the best sci-fi shows television has produced.
The For All Mankind season 5 finale airs May 29th on Apple TV+.
Star City (Apple TV+): May 29
Dropping the same day as the For All Mankind finale is the premiere of its spinoff, Star City. It will answer the key question fans of the show have long asked: Just how did the USSR beat the U.S. to the moon in 1969? This new series flashes back to show the events leading to it, exploring the Cold War of this alternate Earth while mixing in some familiar Mankind characters.
It looks to be a fun alternate take on this space race, with the possibility of future seasons continuing to explore the Soviet side of the events of the main show. If you loved For All Mankind, you need to check out Star City to get the full story.
Star City premieres May 29 on Apple TV+.
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