Dutton Ranch to Lord of the Flies: 11 of the best TV shows to watch this May

From the latest Yellowstone spin-off to a new take on William Golding's classic novel about violent schoolboys, and a supernatural series produced by the Stranger Things creators – these are the best series to watch and stream.

Jack Thorne, writer of the brilliant series Adolescence and the hit play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, is the ideal person to take on this adaptation of William Golding's classic 1954 novel about schoolboys stranded on an island. As they try to survive and the social order breaks down, each episode of the show focuses on a different character, including iconic figures like the bullied Piggy (David McKenna) and rival leaders Ralph (Winston Sawyers) and Jack (Lox Pratt). "As a society we're having a conversation right now about boys," Thorne has said, pointing to the timeliness of Golding's story. "We're losing a generation of boys and we're losing it because of the hate they are ingesting – because it is an answer to their loneliness and isolation." Having screened in the UK in February, ahead of its international rollout, the series has already landed on the BBC's list of best TV shows of 2026 so far.

Lord of the Flies premieres 4 May on Netflix in the US and is now on BBC iPlayer in the UK

2. The Other Bennet Sister

Screens are awash in films and series that try to fill in the blanks of Jane Austen's life and work. Many are foolish endeavours, but thanks to a glittering cast this series about Mary, the middle and arguably least memorable of the Bennet sisters in Pride and Prejudice, is utterly charming. Ella Bruccoleri brings the bookish, bespectacled Mary, overshadowed by every one of her sisters, to vivid life. Richard E Grant is dream casting as Mr Bennet, and in Ruth Jones's performance, Mrs Bennet is comically, monstrously selfish. When the plot, based on Janice Hadlow's 2020 novel, goes beyond Austen, Indira Varma and Richard Coyle are standouts as the aunt and uncle who whisk Mary off to live with them in London. In colourful episodes, she experiences romantic ups and downs and must choose between suitors – which leads, of course, to a very Austen-like ending. When the series began its run in the UK in March, it was the biggest premiere in a year.

The Other Bennet Sister premieres 6 May on Britbox in the US and is now on BBC iPlayer in the UK

This high-octane thriller set in the 1990s is based on a wild true story. Regular customs agents were recruited to go undercover, with a minimum of training, to infiltrate powerful gangs smuggling drugs into the UK. Steve Coogan plays the head of operations, with Tom Burke (CB Strike) and Hayley Squires (The Night Manager) as two of the agents he recruits to create new identities or "legends" for themselves and carry them into deadly situations. That's one way to liven up a dull workday. Burke has said of his character's motivations: "He simply needs to do something like this because it's meaningful and purposeful but also because it's dangerous." Inside that regular guy, he added, "there's an adrenaline junkie." The show was created and written by Neil Forsyth, who has a niche. He also created the recent fact-based heist drama The Gold.

Legends premieres 7 May on Netflix internationally

Prime Video's own description calls this series a "college soap", which may be all you need to know about its ambitions. It's based on The Deal (2015), the first in Elle Kennedy's bestselling series of novels about students at the fictional Briar University. Hannah (Ella Bright) is a music major completely uninterested in hockey. Garrett (Belmont Cameli) is the team's star ice hockey player. They make a deal in which she will tutor him to save his failing grades and he will pretend to date her to make the boy she has a........

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