What’s Black On Netflix This May & The Lineup Is Exciting

May is here and Netflix is coming through with the goods. If you have been looking for an excuse to stay in, cancel plans and plant yourself on the couch with a snack, consider this your official permission slip. Check out what’s new and Black on Netflix this May inside. 

Between brand new originals, beloved classics making their way back to the platform and a live event that the culture has genuinely been waiting on, this month’s Black content on Netflix is stacked in all the right places and across every genre you could want.

Let us talk about what the month is serving from top to bottom. Things kick off strong May 1 with not one but two titles that deserve your full attention. First, there is Den of Thieves, a high-octane crime thriller featuring a cast that is undeniably ours. Then, there is Green Book — the kind of film that earns its place on a watchlist every single time it cycles back around. 

As Essence puts it, this month leans into variety without overcomplicating things, with comedy fans having plenty to tap into, lighter options for a more relaxed watch, and action and drama rounding out a lineup that offers something for every kind of viewer. 

Mid-month is where the energy shifts into a completely different gear. The Roast of Kevin Hart goes live May 10. If you know anything about how roasts work, you already know this is appointment television. Kevin Hart has spent his entire career making other people laugh, and watching the room turn on him in real time is the kind of event that has the group chat going absolutely feral before it even starts.

Then May 14, one of the most anticipated new series of the entire month drops. Nemesis comes from Power creator Courtney A. Kemp. If that name alone does not have you setting a reminder, you need to recalibrate your priorities immediately. Courtney built a television empire from scratch and she does not miss. 

Following that, on May 19th, Wanda Sykes steps onto the stage with a brand new stand-up special that promises to remind everyone why she has been one of the sharpest voices in comedy for three decades and counting. 

Netflix’s Tudum reports it will close out the entire month with something truly special. On May 31, the platform pays tribute to one of the greatest entertainers ever to grace a stage or screen. The streaming platform confirms that the AFI Life Achievement Award tribute to Eddie Murphy will be available to stream, giving the culture a proper send-off to a month that delivered in every way that mattered. Netflix is not playing around this month, and neither should you be when it comes to clearing your calendar for all of this.