Starting the month with a public holiday (plus con flu for a lot of us) has thrown things a bit. But the beauty of streaming services, especially Disney+, is that you continually have new entertainment content to watch, not to mention a vast library to catch up on. Below you’ll find our standout additions for May in South Africa, with the caveat that release dates and episode availability are subject to change.
Star Wars: Visions – Volume 2 (Anthology series)
There’s nothing like an animated anthology series for displaying dazzling imagination. Star Wars: Visions brings that concept to the Star Wars universe, with celebrated animation studios around the world tackling the Galaxy Far Far Away from their unique cultural and creative perspective. While Vol. 1 featured shorts made in Japan, the 9-episode Vol. 2 is a global affair, covering the planet from Chile to South Korea. It even features South Africa’s Triggerfish, who made final episode Aau’s Song.
Watch from May the 4th, obviously. And while you’re at it, check out this cool making-of featurette.
Still talking animation, a heads up that American Dad S17, Family Guy S21 and The Simpsons S34 all join Disney+ on 31 May.
A Small Light (Limited Series)
Here’s something a bit different from National Geographic. A Small Light is an eight-episode miniseries based on the true story of Anne Frank and her family. A tale of surprising and inspiring heroism, it looks at historical events from the perspective of carefree young secretary Miep Gies (Bel Powley), who defied the authorities and helped her Jewish employer Otto Frank (Liev Schreiber), his family, and other Jewish refugees hide after the German invasion of the Netherlands in World War II.
Watch the first two episodes from 2 May, with two new episodes every week.
American Born Chinese (Series)
Based on the 2006 graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang, American Born Chinese is a coming of age tale combining family, comedy and kung fu. High schooler Jin Wang (Ben Wang) is just trying to fit in when he meets new student Wei-Chen (Jim Liu), which plunges him into a battle between gods of Chinese mythology. Along with Daniel Wu, look out for Everything Everywhere All at Once alumni Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Stephanie Hsu and James Hong.
All eight episodes are available for American Born Chinese from 24 May.
The Clearing (Series)
Psychological thriller The Clearing takes viewers to Australia for an unsettling fictional tale inspired by one of the few female-led cults in history, The Family – and the book that documented their real-life horror story, In the Clearing by J. P. Pomare. Teresa Palmer stars as a woman forced to revisit the demons of her childhood when a local girl goes missing. Miranda Otto plays the charismatic leader of The Kindred, while Guy Pearce also appears.
Eight-episode The Clearing premieres on 24 May, with weekly episode drops thereafter.