Best new TV shows in May: Pete Davidson goes Curb-style in Bupkis and the White House Plumbers break in

Find all the latest must-watch TV each month with Watch This!

Last month, I almost included Netflix's The Diplomat in my recommendations of what to watch. I wanted to make an extended joke about it being a Cam'ron bio series, which would make the choice to cast Keri Russell in the lead questionable at best. But I was held back at the last minute when people reminded me that: a) I should only recommend show's I actually believe in, and b) literally no one would get those jokes.

Then I actually dug into the show.

That was a mistake. Because The Diplomat is brilliant. It's my favourite new show this year. Keri Russell is a powerhouse as Kate Wyler, a not-particularly-diplomatic U.S. ambassador to the U.K. who is simultaneously navigating a potential geopolitical crisis as well as the unwinding of her marriage. Rory Kinnear is wonderfully loathsome as the opportunistic upper-class twit of a British Prime Minister. And Michael McKean manages to channel Joe Biden energy without lapsing into full SNL impression territory as the American President.

Next time I get the urge to include a show in here just for the jokes, I'm not letting anyone stop me. Hopefully we didn't miss anything major this month.

Somebody Somewhere

While all eyes are on the massively anticipated final seasons of Succession and Barry, another HBO series that will hopefully continue for many years to come is quietly becoming one of television's best.

Airing right after those noted titans, Somebody Somewhere could not be more different than them. A deeply sweet, effortlessly relatable comedy about finding yourself and your people, the series stars the staggeringly talented Bridget Everett — give her all the Emmys! — as a woman in her 40s who discovers a community of outsiders in her hometown of Manhattan, Kansas. The premise is deceptively simple, as nothing else on TV comes remotely close to understanding the intricacies of living life with an open heart. (Sorry, Ted Lasso!). May it continue to shine its light long after the darkness of Succession and Barry fade. New episodes streaming on Crave every Sunday through May 28.

- Peter Knegt, producer, CBC Arts

Cette Maison

Cette Maison, which translates to "This House," is the best Canadian film to come out in the last year. There, I said it. The Canadian Screen Awards and any other local prize-giving body that ignored Miryam Charles' haunting, mysterious and staggering feature debut can fight me on it.

Charles' documentary, shot on gorgeous 16mm, explores the rift still felt from a horrifying childhood tragedy many years before: her young cousin was murdered when nobody else was home.

The death severed several ties for her family. They no longer feel at peace in their home, where the life was literally taken from it. They also feel disconnected to Haiti, the country they are from and dreamed of revisiting with the child who has been stolen from them. In dreamy and poetic sequences, Charles portrays her young cousin as a lively spectre, haunting her family members who themselves seem to wander around like ghosts, with nothing keeping them anchored to one land or another. They are people without a home.

Charles' storytelling is daring, meditative and abstract, with one particularly adventurous and comical detour going back in time to the 1995 Quebec referendum. Her film latches onto that pivotal moment in Canadian history, fuelled by underlying racist sentiments — an early warning to young immigrants not to get too comfortable in this house. Cette Maison is streaming now on Criterion Channel.

- Radheyan Simonpillai, contributor, CBC Arts

White House Plumbers

The Watergate break-in is the ultimate truth-is-stranger-than fiction-story. A bunch of dudes — including ex-CIA guys, Cuban counterrevolutionaries, and lawyers — conspired to break into the offices of the Democratic National Committee in order to photograph documents and wiretap the phones, to make sure Richard Nixon would win an election he was pretty much guaranteed to win anyway. They were found out when a security guard found they'd put tape on a door frame to not get locked inside. Also, Nixon was so paranoid that he bugged his own office in what turned out to be the ultimate act of self-snitching. You cannot make this stuff up.

The White House Plumbers were a group of Nixon loyalists tasked with ferreting out and fixing information leaks coming out of the White House. (Plumbers, fixing leaks, get it? Get it?) They were technically called the Special Investigations Unit, and had a lot of overlapping membership with another group, the Committee to Re-Elect the President, which had the hilarious acronym CReEP.

The series is based on the memoir of former Plumber Egil "Bud" Krogh. That memoir was originally titled Integrity: Good People, Bad Choices, and Life Lessons from the White House, which is too long for a TV series. Also, naming a series about Watergate "Integrity" would just be weird. The show stars Woody Harrelson as Plumber/Bay of Pigs plotter E. Howard Hunt and Justin Theroux as G. Gordon Liddy, the Plumber who became a star in right-wing circles following his release from prison. I'm not sure how Theroux will top Shea Whigham's performance as Liddy in last year's big Watergate miniseries, Gaslit, but I'm stoked to watch him try. White House Plumbers starts streaming May 1 on Crave.

- Chris Dart, web writer, CBC Arts

Hannah Gadsby: Something Special

Hannah Gadsby, arguably the most brilliant and inviting comic in recent years, is back with her latest stand-up special and it's a considerably lighter affair after Nanette and Douglas. "I dragged you through a bit of my shit over the years," says Gadsby in Something Special, as she instructs the audience to expect good old-fashioned comedy fun without any baggage this time around.

Fair enough: in her 2018 special Nanette, Gadsby pushed what comedians with her platform can do. She lured audiences in with her mischievous and self-deprecating jokes before unpacking her trauma, sharing what it feels like to come face-to-face with bigoted hate and challenging her audience to see what pain lies beyond the jokes. Her post-#MeToo follow-up Douglas was a less confrontational consideration of how deeply ingrained misogyny is in the arts.

Gadsby has inadvertently became an opposing force to Dave Chappelle, whose antagonism of the LGBTQ+ community has become a benchmark for how toxic comedy spaces have become. Chappelle proceeded to throw shots in her direction, joking that Gadsby is not funny, after Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos name-dropped her as a queer-friendly alternative to Chappelle.

But Gadsby seems to ignore all that in Something Special, a sweet, funny comedy special about what it's like to fall in love and the everyday joys and shenanigans that come with making a relationship work while coping with autism. The show is merely a feel good rom-com, Gadsby insists. And it is just that — but just as her existence is political, so is this happy ending to Nanette and Douglas. Hannah Gadsby: Something Special begins streaming on Netflix May 9.

- Radheyan Simonpillai, contributor, CBC Arts

The Muppets Mayhem

Look, I love Kermit and Fozzy and Miss Piggy and Gonzo and all your A-tier Muppets as much as the next man-child who staunchly refuses to embrace adulthood. But I've heard their stories.

The Muppet story I want to hear in 2023 is how Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem adapt to the modern music industry. Do they have a TikTok strategy? Is there a breakout star? Will that cause tension in the band? Will they be forced to sign a shitty 360 deal? Do they go on tour with King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard? Because that tour would be worth it for the tongue twister name alone.

This, apparently, is going to be that story. Also, there is going to be a Steve Aoki cameo and if that doesn't end in an enormous cake fight, I will be deeply disappointed. The Muppets Mayhem starts streaming May 10 on Disney+.

- Chris Dart, web writer, CBC Arts

American Born Chinese

Gene Luen Yang's American Born Chinese is a top-five all-time graphic novel. And I'm going to level with you: when I first saw the trailer for the TV adaptation, I was a little disappointed. The book has a bit of a slow reveal with the mystical elements of the story, where as the TV series looks like it's going to front-end load the supernatural bits. 

Then I remembered that the series features newly minted Oscar winners and certified legends Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan in leading roles, alongside guest appearances from Jimmy O. Yang and Ronny Chieng, both of whom could make me laugh just by reading the phone book, so there's no way it could be bad. Also, it's directed by Shang-Chi's Destin Daniel Cretton and Lucy Liu, so maybe I just need to stop being so precious about screen adaptations of books I love. American Born Chinese starts streaming May 24 on Disney+.

- Chris Dart, web writer, CBC Arts

Bupkis

Pete Davidson is the king of line-cook energy. He is maybe the most regular, relatable guy to ever become famous — if by regular, relatable guy, you mean, "Your friend who describes himself as a crypto influencer, despite having neither crypto nor influence, and is currently at the bar telling a stranger why he's on probation right now." Which I do. He is an inspiration to everyone with more than one joke tattoo.

If there is one person who deserves to play an exaggerated version of himself in a sitcom, Larry David-style, it is Pete Davidson. Not to mention the unbelievable list of co-stars and guests seen in the trailer, which includes Joe Pesci (his first TV role in 37 years!), Edie Falco, Charlie Day, Kenan Thompson, Jon Stewart and John Mulaney. Can't wait. Bupkis premieres May 25 at 9 p.m. on Showcase, streaming on Stackt.

- Chris Dart, web writer, CBC Arts

Little Bird

Jennifer Podemski and Hannah Moscovitch's Sixties Scoop drama is arguably the most anticipated Canadian show of the year; it's got depths of talent tackling an injustice still happening today.

Newcomer Darla Contois stars as Bezhig Little Bird, a Montreal woman raised by a Holocaust survivor who goes searching for the family she was forcibly removed from as a child. It's a fictional story informed by real events, navigating the institutional violence committed by the foster care system, while the legacy of residential schools is always felt. The series also stars Keris Hope Hill — the ray of sunshine from from Gail Maurice's foster care dramedy Rosie — as young Bezhig.

Podemski, who is herself Anishinaabe and Ashkenazi, is The Rez star who has been paving the way for Indigenous-led content since producing Moccasin Flats 20 years ago. She's producing alongside Moscovitch, the acclaimed playwright who recently made her TV debut as part of the writers room for last year's acclaimed Interview With The Vampire reboot.

They've gathered a team that includes directors Zoe Leigh Hopkins (Kayak To Klemtu, Run The Burbs) and Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers (The Body Remembers When The World Broke Open, Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy), who could be counted on to tell this sensitive and traumatic story with love and care. Little Bird begins streaming on Crave and APTN Lumi May 26.

- Radheyan Simonpillai, contributor, CBC Arts