Why You Can Trust CNET Streaming Services You Should Keep or Cancel in May 2024
With Star Wars Day, Bridgerton and live events, there's lots to stream, but you can be frugal, too.
- Though Kourtnee hasn't won any journalism awards yet, she's been a Netflix streaming subscriber since 2012 and knows the magic of its hidden codes.
It's Polin time when Bridgerton season 3, part 1 arrives on Netflix.
Before we kick off the summer blockbuster season with upcoming movies like Deadpool 3, May's streaming lineup is here to serve as a bridge. Disney Plus is hitting us with a new show to celebrate May the Fourth with Star Wars: Tales of the Empire, but in addition to streaming for Star Wars Day, you can watch new TV and movie releases, finales, live comedy specials and sports events like NBA semifinals this month. May includes a Katt Williams stand-up set on Netflix, the Kentucky Derby, season 3 of Bridgerton and the season finale for X-Men '97. And after a lengthy hiatus, Evil is coming back to Paramount Plus with its fourth and final season.
With so much good stuff to stream, you may need to decide each month if you want to cancel a service because of costs, the content that's available or both. With that in mind, I'd like to offer one tactic: Churn like ice cream. In other words, rotate your services.
Curate your own streaming schedule and budget by subscribing, canceling, watching other services and then resubscribing, ensuring the platforms you want are on rotation. Rotating streaming services can mix things up and save money when Netflix, Hulu, Max and others don't have content you want to watch at a given time. (Just remember to shut off autorenewal for your monthly subscriptions.) This method may not fly if you're sharing your streaming accounts, but if you can work it out, go for it.
Below are my suggestions for which streaming services to keep or cancel for May, based on new shows and movies coming to each platform, with live streaming services left out of the equation. I also typically don't include niche services like Crunchyroll on these lists, but this is the month when you want to have your subscription active. Why? Demon Slayer and My Hero Academia return, so it'll be worth the $8 bucks a month if you're a fan.
Your preferences may be different, but if nothing else, I urge you to embrace churning for savings. It's simpler than you may realize, and don't forget, a VPN can come in handy, too.
Read more: 50 TV Shows We're Looking Forward to Watching in 2024
Tales of the Empire comes to Disney Plus.
May 2024 streaming rotation
| Keep | Cancel | |
|---|---|---|
| Disney Plus | X | |
| Max | X | |
| Netflix | X | |
| Apple TV Plus | X | |
| Starz | X | |
| Peacock | X | X |
| Paramount Plus | X | X |
| Prime Video | X | |
| Hulu | X |
Streaming services to keep in May
Disney Plus: Just in time for May the Fourth, Star Wars: Tales of the Empire premieres with all episodes on May 4. The month also brings Monsters at Work, season 2 on May 5 and the X-Men '97 finale. The three-part arc titled Tolerance is Extinction will wrap season 1 on May 15. A new season of Doctor Who debuts on May 10 with three episodes. On the documentary front, you can catch stories about The Beatles in Let it Be (May 8), The Beach Boys (May 24) and Jim Henson (May 31).
Netflix: Bridgerton is back! And the Netflix Is a Joke Fest will feature several live events, including live streams from Katt Willams and John Mulaney. Season 2 of Blood of Zeus and Jerry Seinfeld's Unfrosted are also among the hot titles dropping this month, so you may want to add all of these to your watchlist:
- T P Bon: A new anime series (May 2)
- A Man in Full (May 2)
- Unfrosted: A star-studded movie from Seinfeld about Pop-Tarts (May 3)
- Selling the OC, season 3 (May 3)
- Katt Williams, Woke Foke (May 4)
- Roast of Tom Brady (May 4)
- Bodkin (May 9)
- Mother of the Bride: Starring Brooke Shields and Miranda Cosgrove (May 9)
- Blood of Zeus, season 2 (May 10)
- Bridgerton, season 3, part 1 (May 16)
- Atlas: Starring Jennifer Lopez (May 24)
- Eric: Featuring Benedict Cumberbatch (May 30)
Max: Max has live NBA playoff games on tap with its B/R sports tier, but this month, you can also stream The Iron Claw (May 10), Turtles All the Way Down (May 2) and season 3 of Hacks. The comedy series will debut on May 2 and air its season finale on May 30. The animated My Adventures with Superman is back with season 2 on Adult Swim on May 25 and will stream on Max the next day.
Hulu: FX's The Veil with Elisabeth Moss streams through the month. If you want to watch network shows, then Hulu has new season premieres on deck. Jeopardy! Masters, season 2 arrives on May 2, and other releases include Gordon Ramsay's Food Stars (May 23), Beat Shazam season 7 (May 29) and Master Chef season 14 (May 30). You can also stream Prom Dates (May 3), Under the Bridge, Welcome to Wrexham or Abbott Elementary.
Prime Video: Prime Video includes original releases and feature films. You probably have this service with your Prime membership, but don't forget Amazon now charges $3 per month if you want to stream ad-free. Look out for these May releases: The Idea of You (May 2), Maxton Hall: The World Between Us (May 8), American Fiction (May 14), Outer Range, season 2 (May 16) and The Blue Angels film from JJ Abrams and Glen Powell (May 23).
Peacock: It's a keep/cancel toss-up, but Peacock is the place if you want to watch the Kentucky Derby (May 4), Indy 500 (May 26) or the Eurovision contest (May 7) live. And you may want to keep your subscription to stream The Tattooist of Auschwitz on May 2, The Society of Magical Negroes on May 3 and the season premiere of The Real Housewives of New Jersey on May 6. If none of these pique your interest, skip Peacock for now.
Paramount Plus: I'll start by saying you can wait until June for Paramount Plus if you want to binge Evil, but some fans may want to watch Leland's antics when it debuts on May 23. This final season will have 14 episodes, so it's up to you if you want Paramount Plus for May.
You can probably hold off on these services
Starz: I'm holding off on Starz until June when Power Book II returns. But BMF and Mary & George will be available to binge in May. The biggest streaming release on the platform is The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes on May 14.
Apple TV Plus: Fans of the Dark Matter novel may want to stream the TV series adaptation hitting Apple TV Plus on May 8. The series will have nine episodes total, but if you'd rather binge it, you can wait until June or July. Other arrivals include Acapulco, season 3 (May 1), The Big Cigar (May 17) and season 4 of Trying (May 22).
Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Connelly star in Dark Matter, but you can opt to binge it later this summer.
Patience will save money on streaming
If FOMO isn't a thing for you, waiting until most or all of the episodes of your favorite series are available on a service is a wise strategy. That way, rather than pay for a service for several months to cover the six- to 10-week run of a show, you can catch up on everything by subscribing for one month. And then repeat the cycle again. This works well if you don't mind being a binge-watcher.
For example, Doctor Who season 14 will have eight episodes that stream into June, and Star Trek: Discovery's final season will end on May 30, so why not wait until June to get Disney Plus or Paramount Plus? The same goes for Apple TV's Dark Matter. I love Evil, but with weekly drops, you can wait for all 14 episodes in August. Avoid paying for two or three months of these services when you can wait to watch these shows in full anytime this summer.
Evil, season 4, will get an extended season for its final run.
Think about how much you're paying per month for each streaming service you have, and do the math. Netflix is $7 to $23 (plus extra member fees), and Paramount Plus starts at $6. Apple TV Plus is $10. Disney Plus is anywhere from $2 to $25 depending on bundles, Max costs $10 to $20, Hulu starts at $8 and Starz runs $10. Peacock has a base rate of $6 a month -- until the price hike hits in July. Should you decide to rotate, set yourself a calendar reminder to alert you when it's time to re-subscribe or cancel.
Don't miss June's streaming service breakdown, which will be packed with news on House of the Dragon and more.