May TV preview: Bupkis, a Bridgerton spin-off, and 24 other must-watch shows

The Watergate scandal makes its way to our screens again, this time courtesy of Veep scribes Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck. HBO’s satirical political comedy stars Woody Harrelson as E. Howard Hunt and Justin Theroux as G. Gordon Liddy, with Run’s Domhnall Gleeson, Game Of Thrones’ Lena Headey, and Mad Men’s Kiernan Shipka rounding out the cast. Veep showrunner David Mandel directs the five-episode limited series. [Tim Lowery]

Nat Geo’s partly biographical drama A Small Light, which airs new episodes on Mondays, will also stream on Disney+ and Hulu the following day. (It’s all about that corporate synergy, people.) The show traces the life of Herman Miep Gies (Bel Powley), who is asked by her employer, Otto Frank (Liev Schrieber), to shelter his family during World War II. Miep is the one who found Anne Frank’s (Billie Boullet) diary and decided to preserve it to later share with the world. The eight-episode season also stars Joe Cole and Amira Casar. [Saloni Gajjar]

Pete Davidson is coming for us all. The comedian and actor, who left SNL last year, rolls out a new project with Lorne Michaels. Davidson leads Bupkis, a comedy loosely based on his life that’s apparently not connected to The King Of Staten Island. He plays a heightened fictionalized version of himself here, with Joe Pesci and Edie Falco portraying his mother and grandfather, respectively. Expect appearances from Ray Romano, Jon Stewart, John Mulaney, Bobby Cannavale, Brad Garrett, Steve Buscemi, Sebastian Stan, J.J. Abrams, Nathan Fillion, Machine Gun Kelly, and whatever other white man agreed to make a cameo in Bupkis. [Saloni Gajjar]

A new season of The Other Two? In this climate? Yes, please. Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider’s uproarious comedy returns for a third round after an 18-month gap. The series follows siblings Cary (Drew Tarver) and Brooke Dubek (Heléne Yorke), aspiring creatives struggling to deal with their teen brother’s fame. To top it all off, their mother, Pat (Molly Shannon), becomes a beloved talk-show host. There’s also a time jump in this 10-episode new season, which details how the pandemic lockdown impacted everyone. Bonus: Ken Marino, Josh Segarra, Richard Kind, and Wanda Sykes are back, too. [Saloni Gajjar]

We all know Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel), who presides over the ton and spars with Lady Whistledown in Bridgerton, but what about the girl who came before the Queen? Shonda Rhimes’ new spin-off, Queen Charlotte, follows the young Charlotte (India Amarteifio) in her tumultuous early marriage with King George (Corey Mylchreest). With a young Lady Danbury (Arsema Thomas) by her side, Charlotte will learn to navigate the court politics and become the true ruler we know and love from the Netflix hit. [Mary Kate Carr]

Silo, based on writer Hugh Howey’s Wool stories, takes place in a mysterious future world where the last remnants of humanity live in a gigantic underground facility that protects them from a deadly, toxic surface world … or so everyone thinks. The trailer, featuring stars Rebecca Ferguson, Tim Robbins, Common, and David Oyelowo, heavily leans on the idea that there may be more to this world than it seems—which honestly seems like a given in most post-apocalypse words anyway. [Sam Barsanti]

Brian Tyree Henry is always welcome on our screen. He stars in the eight-episode limited series Class Of ’09, which is set in a near future where the U.S. criminal justice system has been transformed by artificial intelligence (yikes!). The show follows a group of FBI agents who graduated from Quantico in 2009 and reunite after the death of a friend. Class Of ’09 uses three interweaving timelines to examine the nature of justice and humanity. Kate Mara co-stars. [Saloni Gajjar]

Dr. Teeth And The Mayhem finally get their moment in the spotlight with this series, which chronicles Animal, Janice, & Co. as they attempt to record their first-ever album. Lilly Singh, Tahj Mowry, and Workaholics’ Anders Holm play the group’s non-Muppet wranglers and such. And be on the lookout out for cameos from the likes of “Weird Al” Yankovic, Cheech & Chong, and Deadmau5. [Tim Lowery]

Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage (of Gossip Girl and The O.C. fame) deliver another teen drama, albeit one that’s not as soapy or lighthearted as their previous series. Based on Garth Risk Hallberg’s novel, City On Fire takes place after Samantha Cicciaro (Chase Sui Wonders) is shot in New York City. The investigation into her murder reveals the crucial connection between mysterious city-wide fires, the downtown music scene, and a wealthy but secretive (is there another kind?) real-estate family. Wyatt Olaff, Jemima Kirke, Ashley Zukerman, and Nico Tortorella also star. [Saloni Gajjar]

Robert Carlock and Sam Means’ animated series Mulligan has a stacked voice cast: Tina Fey, Sam Richardson, Ayo Edebiri, Daniel Radcliffe, Nat Faxon, and Chrissy Teigen, to name a few. The show centers on working-class everyman Matty Mulligan, who single-handedly saves Earth from an alien invasion. Unfortunately, he’s in over his head as the leader of what’s left of humanity. Mulligan marks Carlock and Fey’s third project with Netflix after Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Girls5eva, which will move from Peacock for its third season. [Saloni Gajjar]

One of Hulu’s most underrated originals is back. Nicholas Hoult and Elle Fanning make a tremendous pair in the historical-facts-be-damned period comedy The Great, which tells the story of Catherine the Great’s quest to wrest control of Russia from her cruel husband, Peter III. In season three, Peter and Catherine attempt to make their marriage work after she tries to kill him and imprison all of his friends. He busies himself with fathering and hunting while she makes a name for herself as a political leader. Phoebe Fox, Sacha Dhawan, Charity Wakefield, and Gwylim Lee co-star. [Saloni Gajjar]

Severance’s Ben Stiller and Patricia Arquette team up for another Apple TV+ original in High Desert. Arquette plays Peggy, a former addict who, after her mother’s death, makes a fresh start by becoming a private investigator. Christine Taylor plays Peggy’s buttoned-up sister, while Matt Dillon portrays her charming ex, Denny. Rupert Friend, Weruche Opia, Brad Garrett, and Bernadette Peters round out the comedy’s cast. [Saloni Gajjar]

Lara Jean Covey (Lana Condor) got her high school romance in To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before. Now, it’s her little sister Kitty’s (Anna Cathcart) turn. Jenny Han returns to helm XO, Kitty, a love story that goes international as her titular character follows in her late mother’s footsteps to attend the Korean Independent School of Seoul. She also has big plans to reunite with her long-distance boyfriend Dae (Minyeong Choi), but as you can imagine, things won’t work out exactly as Kitty planned. [Mary Kate Carr]

Author and journalist Shea Serrano’s Primo is produced by super sitcom creator Mike Schur. Based on Serrano’s upbringing in Texas, Primo is a coming-of-age comedy centered on 16-year-old Rafa (Ignacio Diaz-Silverio), who navigates a hectic home life with his single mother and five uncles while balancing his college aspirations. All eight episodes drop at once. [Saloni Gajjar]

Rose Byrne and Seth Rogen are in a totally, entirely, absolutely platonic relationship in the half-hour comedy called, yes, Platonic. Co-created by Nick Stoller and Francesca Delbanco, the show follows Sylvia and Will who reconnect after a falling out. When their friendship turns into an all-consuming kind, it destabilizes their lives in the process. The ensemble includes Luke Macfarlane, Tre Hale, Carla Gallo, and Andrew Lopez. [Saloni Gajjar]

American Born Chinese, adapted from Gene Luen Yang’s graphic novels, centers on Jin Wang (Ben Wang), a teen struggling with school and home life. But when he bonds with the new foreign exchange student, Jin gets drawn into a battle between the gods of Chinese mythology. This show is a sort of Everything Everywhere All At Once reunion, with Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, and Stephanie Hsu starring alongside with Yeo Yann Yann, Chin Han, and Jim Liu. [Saloni Gajjar]

Based on J.P. Pomare’s bestselling psychological thriller of the same name, The Clearing is an eight-episode fictional series inspired by real-life cults dubbed “The Family.” (So, yes, expect this show to get dark.) Teresa Palmer plays a woman plagued by trauma and nightmares of the groups as she faces demons from her past and tries to stop the kidnapping of children. Guy Pearce, Miranda Otto, and Kate Mulvany co-star. [Saloni Gajjar]

The Governator is back. Arnold Schwarzenegger is ready to take over your screens in the spy thriller Fubar. He plays Luke, a CIA operative lying to his daughter, Emma (Monicaa Barbaro), about his job. The twist? She is also a CIA agent keeping a similar secret from her father. Once they both learn the truth, they realize they know nothing about each other. (That’s kind of what happens when you lie to your family all the time, right?) Jay Baruchel, Aparna Brielle, Fortune Feimster, Gabriel Luna, and Andy Buckley co-star. [Saloni Gajjar]

The best sketch series going is back for round three on Netflix, promising more wonderfully left-field vignettes from creators Tim Robinson and Zach Kanin. (Here’s hoping Bob Odenkirk and Tim Heidecker drop into this new season, too.) And if you’re wondering which bit is officially the greatest, you’re in luck: We’ve ranked every sketch on the show so far. [Tim Lowery]

Taste The Nation With Padma Lakshmi season two (Hulu, May 5)

The Real Housewives Of Atlanta season 15 (Bravo, May 7)

Queer Eye season seven (Netflix, May 12)

Fear The Walking Dead season eight (AMC, May 14)

Mayans M.C. season five (FX, May 24)

Run The World season two (Starz, May 26)

Nancy Drew season four (The CW, May 31)