April showered us with new content, which has now flowered into a stellar slate of shows to watch in May. This month features the return of some Canadian comedy legends — Mike Myers and the Kids in the Hall — resulting in one absolutely awful series, and another one that's completely fantastic. Can you guess which is which? Read on to find out.
Tune In: The Baby
(Crave)
Premiering a little before Mother's Day, this anti-parenthood horror-comedy chronicles the ways being a mother can overtake everything else in life. In this case, the little bundle of joy is a homicidal maniac who kills everyone in his path, getting passed from one mother to the next and leaving a trail of bodies in his wake.
Tune In: Barry, Season 3
(Crave)
The hitman comedy is back for another season of will-he-finally-get-caught tension. Even more than the jokes or the murders, it's the scene-stealing performances that stand out: Bill Hader is increasingly manic and neurotic as the titular killer, Sarah Goldberg is vain but devastatingly sympathetic as his girlfriend Sally, and Anthony Carrigan is hilariously weird as the childlike mobster NoHo Hank.
Tune In: The Kids in the Hall
(Crave)
I didn't expect so much full-frontal nudity, nor did I expect the Kids to make such an impeccable return after nearly 30 years. Full of meta jokes about their own age and big-name celebrity cameos, the hilarious new season is self-referential without being self-indulgent. I'm crushing your head!
Turn Off: Night Sky
(Prime Video)
Night Sky's neat concept, about an elderly couple with a portal to another planet in their backyard, turns out to be more treacly than it is trippy. The love story between Franklin (J.K. Simmons) and Irene (Sissy Spacek) is written with the manipulative schmaltz of Nicholas Sparks, with stilted dialogue and a mystery that's never quite compelling enough to care about.
Tune In: Old Enough!
(Netflix)
This Japanese reality show has the greatest elevator pitch of all time: toddlers are given an errand to run, and cameras follow them to see if they can do it. We watch adorable little kids, barely older than babies, going to the store and doing chores while a voiceover provides sassy, affectionate play-by-play. The show dates back to the '90s, but it's newly edited and distributed internationally. With episodes lasting around 10 minutes each, it's hysterically funny, unbelievably cute and incredibly comforting.
Tune In: Outer Range
(Prime Video)
Westerns are officially cool again (see also: The Power of the Dog, The Harder They Fall, Cowboys), and Outer Range puts a sci-fi twist on the genre, as a mysterious sinkhole/portal appears on the Wyoming ranch run by the Abbott family. With a rugged performance from Josh Brolin and a compelling mystery involving a hippie camping on the property, it's the kind of thriller series that invites marathon viewings.
Turn Off: The Pentaverate
(Netflix)
In theory, we're ready for a Mike Myers reappraisal — except that The Pentaverate simply isn't funny. Its "characters" are merely an excuse for Myers to do funny accents, every joke gets exhaustingly over-explained, and the depiction of Canadian quaintness is outdated and tone-deaf.
Tune In: The Valet
(Disney+)
This thoroughly charming comedy puts a non-romantic spin on the old rom-com trope of "civilian dates a celebrity," as a movie star pretends to be dating a valet as a way to hide her extramarital affair with a billionaire. The story is a fun bit of fluff, but it's the magnetic and heartfelt performances from Eugenio Derbez and Samara Weaving that make it more touching than expected.
Tune In: We're All Gonna Die (Even Jay Baruchel)
(Crave)
The star of This Is the End hosts a docuseries about the real-life apocalyptic risks facing humanity. Light-hearted and entertaining despite its terrifying subject matter, We're All Gonna Die examines asteroids, aliens, climate change and more. Following LOL: Last One Laughing and the weed podcast Highly Legal, Jay Baruchel continues his transformation from Hollywood actor to Canada's most ubiquitous media personality.
Tune In: The Baby
(Crave)
Premiering a little before Mother's Day, this anti-parenthood horror-comedy chronicles the ways being a mother can overtake everything else in life. In this case, the little bundle of joy is a homicidal maniac who kills everyone in his path, getting passed from one mother to the next and leaving a trail of bodies in his wake.
Tune In: Barry, Season 3
(Crave)
The hitman comedy is back for another season of will-he-finally-get-caught tension. Even more than the jokes or the murders, it's the scene-stealing performances that stand out: Bill Hader is increasingly manic and neurotic as the titular killer, Sarah Goldberg is vain but devastatingly sympathetic as his girlfriend Sally, and Anthony Carrigan is hilariously weird as the childlike mobster NoHo Hank.
Tune In: The Kids in the Hall
(Crave)
I didn't expect so much full-frontal nudity, nor did I expect the Kids to make such an impeccable return after nearly 30 years. Full of meta jokes about their own age and big-name celebrity cameos, the hilarious new season is self-referential without being self-indulgent. I'm crushing your head!
Turn Off: Night Sky
(Prime Video)
Night Sky's neat concept, about an elderly couple with a portal to another planet in their backyard, turns out to be more treacly than it is trippy. The love story between Franklin (J.K. Simmons) and Irene (Sissy Spacek) is written with the manipulative schmaltz of Nicholas Sparks, with stilted dialogue and a mystery that's never quite compelling enough to care about.
Tune In: Old Enough!
(Netflix)
This Japanese reality show has the greatest elevator pitch of all time: toddlers are given an errand to run, and cameras follow them to see if they can do it. We watch adorable little kids, barely older than babies, going to the store and doing chores while a voiceover provides sassy, affectionate play-by-play. The show dates back to the '90s, but it's newly edited and distributed internationally. With episodes lasting around 10 minutes each, it's hysterically funny, unbelievably cute and incredibly comforting.
Tune In: Outer Range
(Prime Video)
Westerns are officially cool again (see also: The Power of the Dog, The Harder They Fall, Cowboys), and Outer Range puts a sci-fi twist on the genre, as a mysterious sinkhole/portal appears on the Wyoming ranch run by the Abbott family. With a rugged performance from Josh Brolin and a compelling mystery involving a hippie camping on the property, it's the kind of thriller series that invites marathon viewings.
Turn Off: The Pentaverate
(Netflix)
In theory, we're ready for a Mike Myers reappraisal — except that The Pentaverate simply isn't funny. Its "characters" are merely an excuse for Myers to do funny accents, every joke gets exhaustingly over-explained, and the depiction of Canadian quaintness is outdated and tone-deaf.
Tune In: The Valet
(Disney+)
This thoroughly charming comedy puts a non-romantic spin on the old rom-com trope of "civilian dates a celebrity," as a movie star pretends to be dating a valet as a way to hide her extramarital affair with a billionaire. The story is a fun bit of fluff, but it's the magnetic and heartfelt performances from Eugenio Derbez and Samara Weaving that make it more touching than expected.
Tune In: We're All Gonna Die (Even Jay Baruchel)
(Crave)
The star of This Is the End hosts a docuseries about the real-life apocalyptic risks facing humanity. Light-hearted and entertaining despite its terrifying subject matter, We're All Gonna Die examines asteroids, aliens, climate change and more. Following LOL: Last One Laughing and the weed podcast Highly Legal, Jay Baruchel continues his transformation from Hollywood actor to Canada's most ubiquitous media personality.