Choice streaming this May mixes old (“Tales From The Crypt,” 1960s Czech fantasy) with new (a Duffer Brothers-produced horror series, a Nicolas Cage Spider-Man).  But don’t forget to check out new seasons of such returning favorites as “Rivals” and ”Deli Boys.”

Fried Green Tomatoes (Netflix)--Elderly Ninny Threadgoode (Jessica Tandy) regales timid Evelyn Couch (Kathy Bates) with tales of the residents of the long-abandoned town of Whistle Stop.  Centering the stories is the lesbian relationship between tomboyish Idgie Threadgoode (Mary Stuart Masterson) and straitlaced Ruth Jamison (Mary-Louise Parker).  The stories will eventually involve domestic violence, attempted kidnapping, and a popular barbecue cafe.  Celebrate the 35th anniversary of this lesbian film classic.

Joy Ride (Hulu)--Ambitious attorney Audrey travels to China along with struggling artist Lolo and the K-pop obsessed Deadeye.  Joined by actress Kat, the quartet are on a trip that’s both business and personal for Audrey.  At the core of the trip: Audrey’s hope to finally meet her birth mother.  But the quartet encounter such misadventures as consuming way too much cocaine and a little too much partying with Baron Davis’ basketball team.

Maya, Give Me A Title (Criterion Channel)--Who knew the co-creator of “Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind” could do a children’s movie?  Michel Gondry and his daughter Maya live on two different continents.  To stay in touch with her, they have a nightly ritual where the child gives her father the idea for a script starring her.  In return, Gondry uses colored paper, scissors, Scotch tape, and a camera to bring Maya’s ideas to life.  

A Passage To India (Hulu)--David Lean’s final film was this adaptation of E.M. Forster’s titular novel.  Adela Quested (Judy Davis) travels with her prospective mother-in-law Mrs. Moore (Dame Peggy Ashcroft in an Academy Award-winning performance) to India to see if she’d enjoy life in that country’s British community.   Both women are disappointed to discover the British residents openly alienate themselves from the native Indians.  A desire to see the “real India” eventually leads to an ill-fated excursion to the Marabar Caves that winds up inflaming British vs. native Indian antagonism.

Past Lives (Kanopy)--12-year-old Seoul classmates Nora and Hae-sung might have feelings for each other, but the Canadian emigration of Nora’s family causes the two to lose contact.  Over the next 24 years, as they fail to physically connect again their lives take different paths.  In 2023, Hae-Jung gets together with Nora during a trip to New York City.  But is it already too late for their supposedly fated love story?   

The Spirit Of ‘45 (Criterion Channel)--When the wartime government of Winston Churchill was replaced by Clement Atlee’s Labor government in 1945, the new government brought in nationalized mines and railways and, most importantly, the National Health Service.  Ken Loach’s documentary shows how these advancements improved what had previously been a hellish existence for the country’s working class.     

Tales From The Crypt The Complete Series (Shudder)--This popular anthology of EC horror comics adaptations featured  appearances by such actors as Tom Hanks, Ke Huy Quan, Brooke Shields, Benicio del Toro, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Brad Pitt.  Shudder will release a new season weekly until all seven seasons are available.

Travels With Agatha Christie And Sir David Suchet (Britbox)--Sir David Suchet, who famously played the Christie character Hercule Poirot, retraces the mystery writer’s 1922 tour of the then British Empire journey in this docuseries.  There will be stops in such places as South Africa, New Zealand, and Canada as the viewer sees how these places influenced her works.

Under The Skin (Netflix)--Scarlett Johansson stars in Jonathan Glazer’s (“The Zone Of Interest”) disturbing science fiction tale of an alien who disguises herself as an attractive woman to prowl the evening streets of Glasgow to pick up lone men for “processing.”  Trouble comes when she starts to empathize with her prey and even wants to experience life as a human. 

Horror Noire: A History Of Black Horror (Shudder)--This documentary adaptation of Robin R. Means’ book looks at the evolution of the Black horror genre.  For way too many decades, Blacks were invisible, treated as token characters, or were alluded to as monsters.  How and when this sorry state of affairs changed will fascinate the viewer.

The Golden Fern (Ovid)--A seed from the titular plant is said to protect a person from harm.  Handsome young shepherd Jura’s decision to steal the plant brings a confrontation with the forest sylph Lesanka/  The duo wind up falling in love.  But a conscription into the Holy Roman Empire’s army and encounters with the army general’s haughty daughter will reveal Jura to be a fickle and unfaithful lover.  Jiri Weiss’ dark fairy tale is a forgotten classic of Czech cinema.

Worst Ex- Ever Season 2 (Netflix)--It’s the return of this true crime docuseries about relationships ruined by betrayal, violence, and deceit.  This season’s subjects include the “Handsome Devil Killer” Wade Wilson and Geoffrey Paschel of “90 Day Fiancee.”

Legends Season 1 (Netflix)--In the early 1990s, British Customs and Excise was losing its battles to take down drug smugglers.  So an unorthodox operation was hatched: take a group of ordinary Customs employees, give them some basic training, and then send them undercover to infiltrate Britain’s most dangerous drug gangs by building new underworld identities for themselves.  Those identities were called legends.  Based on a true story.

My Dearest Assassin (Netflix)--Lhan’s birth parents were murdered in a bid to gain control of the girl’s highly coveted rare blood type coveted by many.   Fortunately, the secretive assassin clan known as House 89 rescue the grieving child and raise her themselves.  But the killer of Lhan’s parents never abandoned his search…and he’s now connected Lhan with House 89.  However, despite living with assassins, Khan never picked up any killing skills…

The Mysterious Castle In The Carpathians (Ovid)--While traveling through the Carpathian countryside, famed opera singer Count Felix Teleke of Toloke investigates a supposedly haunted castle that’s actually the lair of Baron Robert Gorc of Gorcena, who’s dreaming up terrible schemes with the help of the mad scientist Professor Orfanik.  The Count and the Baron were once romantic rivals for the late Primadonna Salsa Verde…but there are signs she may not be as dead as popularly thought.  Think of a Jules Verne-inspired fantasy musical.

Prague Nights (Ovid)--In this Czech horror film anthology, a coquettish blonde regales a foreign businessman looking for a good time with a trio of macabre tales of lust, revenge, and feminine wiles.  The stories are: a young rabbi tries to create a Golem for a goyim king; a hedonistic 18th century countess encounters a satanic shoemaker; and a woman deliberately poisons her many suitors for their jewels.

The Terror: Devil In Silver (Shudder)--The new season of this horror anthology series adapts Victor LaValle’s novel of the same name.  Moving man Pepper gets wrongfully committed to a psychiatric hospital, where he finds himself under threat on two fronts.  There are frights springing from his mental health issues and the dubious attempts to cure them.  Then there’s the supernatural creature wandering the hospital’s halls at night.  

Everyone Is Doing Great (Netflix)--In this dark comedy, Jeremy and Seth are actors who have been out of work for the last five years.  Back when both of them starred in the vampire drama “Eternal,” they were teen heartthrobs.  Now they’re different degrees of hot messes: Seth is trying (and failing) to get back on the acting and dating horses while Jeremy has let himself go so much he regularly forgets to buy toilet paper.  

In Search Of Darkness: 1990-1994 (Shudder)--Fans of horror cinema commonly see the 1990-1994 period as the genre’s cinematic wasteland.  But as this exhaustive documentary shows, it was anything but.  While there were no new franchises, there were important genre films such as “Dead Alive” and “Nightbreed.”  Horror also began having a distinct influence on 1990s television.  Finally, the move away from practical effects to CGI began being felt in film. 

The Split (Hulu)--This British drama from Abi Morgan (“The Hour”) is set in the world of high-end family law.  Hannah has just left Defoes, the firm founded by her parents, after her mother Ruth breaks a promise to let Hannah succeed her.  But the eldest daughter finding herself on the opposite side of a divorce case from her younger sister Nina is just the beginning of the drama here.  There’s also Defoes poaching a big client from Hannah and the so-far unexplained return of Hannah and Nina’s father Oscar (Anthony Head) after a 30-year absence.     

Anxious In Beirut (Ovid)--Zakaria Jaber’s personal essay film examines life in Lebanon from the 2019 - 2022 period by looking at the causes of anxiety among Beirut’s inhabitants.  This is a city that has seen revolution, destruction, and protest even before Israel began its land grab campaign in the country.  Voices of generations and considerations of public vs. private spaces help the director to understand the city’s essence. 

The Bus: A French Football Mutiny (Netflix)--This documentary recounts the 2010 s**tshow that was the French national team’s World Cup soccer bid.  Contributing to the mess were a headline-grabbing bus strike, the controversial firing of striker Nicolas Anelka, and the professional impotence of French coach Raymond Domenech.

Soul Mate (Netflix)--Guilt over inadvertently ruining his best friend’s life propels Ryu Narutaki to abandon his promising ice hockey career and flee Japan to Berlin,  Wandering Berlin’s streets, he’s nearly killed in a deadly church fire.  Ryu’s savior is Johan Hwang, a Korean boxer dealing with an enemy out to ruin him..  Despite the language barrier, the threads of fate will bind these two lonely souls together over the next decade and through multiple cities.

Welcome To Wrexham Season 5 (Hulu)--This Emmy Award-winning docuseries follows the efforts of actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney to lift Wrexham’s male English football team out of the National League to eventually reach the Premier League.  In the new season, Wrexham is no longer considered an underdog team.  But now it’s in a tough new league with a mostly new squad whose pricey new players haven’t gelled together yet.   

The Crash (Netflix)--This true crime documentary recounts the Mackenzie Shirilla case.  She was driving boyfriend Dominic Russo and his friend Davion Flanagan home from a Strongsville, Ohio party.  Along the way, Shirilla’s car crashed into a brick building at 100 MPH, the impact killing both Dominic and Davion.  What was initially treated as a tragic accident soon became seen as a calculated act of cold-blooded murder.

Rivals Season 2 (Hulu)--It’s the new season of this popular adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s boinkbuster novels.  Who will get the Central South West television franchise:  Corinium or Venturer?  If Corinium owner Lord Baddingham (David Tennant) has anything to say about it, his company will.  To ensure that outcome, he’s ruthlessly willing to weaponize scandal and manipulate those closest to him.

The Voices (Kanopy)--Jerry Hickfang (Ryan Reynolds) looks like an ordinary plumbing fixtures factory worker.  But he struggles with schizophrenia, manifested in his conversations with his friendly dog Bosco and his anti-social cat Mr. Whiskers.  An accidental encounter with co-worker Fiona leads to a dying talking deer and an unfortunate death.  From there, things get crazier with, among other things, memories of a twisted childhood and a stomach-churning use for Tupperware.

True Romance (Netflix)--Elvis Presley fanatic Clarence Worley (Christian Slater) gets a vision from The King to kill the abusive pimp of his new wife ex-sex worker Alabama Whiting (Patricia Arquette).  Doing so leads to the couple coming into possession of a large amount of cocaine  and a trip to Los Angeles to sell it.  However, mobster Blue Lou Boyle already had dibs on the drugs and will have people killed to get the dope back. Quentin Tarantino wrote the script.

Alien: Romulus (Hulu)--In this film set between “Alien” and “Aliens,” orphaned miner Rain Carradine along with family and acquaintances hope to escape the clutches of Weyland-Yutani by commandeering a hauler to reach Yvaga III, a planet not affiliated with the corporation.  But an attempt to steal cryostasis supplies from an abandoned Weyland-Yutani station accidentally results in the release of reverse-engineered facehuggers and an impending planetary collision.  

The Boroughs Season 1 (Netflix)--The Duffer Brothers produced this science fiction series set at the titular New Mexico desert retirement community.  New resident Sam Cooper (Alfred Molina) isn’t keen on moving to a place where  he has to figure out what to do with the time he has left on earth.  But getting fellow Boroughs residents together to fight monsters threatening the community definitely wasn’t on his bingo card.

Mating Season Season 1 (Netflix)--This new adult animated cartoon from the “Big Mouth” creators deals with love, sex, relationships, and the need to find a mate to perpetuate the species.  That’s because the setting is a forest where viewers will see bears, foxes, raccoons, and other animal denizens trying to get it on.

Descendant (Hulu)--Sean is a school security guard whose wife Andrea is expecting their first child.  One night, he tries to fix a defective light on their house’s roof.  But a mysterious blast of white light causes him to fall off the roof and get sent to the hospital.  Shortly thereafter, the guard starts drawing strange images.  Do they reflect his anxieties about Andrea’s pregnancy, or was he actually abducted by aliens?

My 2 Cents Season 1 (Netflix)--It’s the new animated series from Italian cartoonist Zerocalcare.  Zero runs a small bar with Cinghiale.  But financial troubles, misunderstandings, and complicated personal lives start stressing them out.  New responsibilities and the unexpected return of someone from Zero’s past make the situation so dire that hard choices must be made.

Spider-Noir (Amazon)--In 1930s New York, cynical gumshoe Ben Reilly (Nicolas Cage) thought he had left his past as The Spider behind him.  But a series of assassination attempts on gangland boss Silvermane (Brendan Gleeson) turns out to be connected to Reilly’s origins.

Dead Man’s Wire (Netflix)--On February 8, 1977, a mortgage broker appointment turns into a hostage situation when “customer” Tony Kiritsis takes broker Richard Hall hostage with a shotgun dead man’s switch.  Kiritsis wants to expose Hall and his father for cheating him on a land deal that left him millions in the hole.  But the police are more interested in finding a way to extract Kiritsis and his hostage from the kidnapper’s booby-trapped apartment.  Directed by Gus van Sant.

Deli Boys Season 2 (Hulu)--In the new season, Pakistani-American brothers Mir and Raj Dar discover that inheriting their late father’s secret drug empire Dark DarCo turned out to be the easy part.  Now every sketchy Philadelphia operator is interested in Dark DarCo.  The Dars’ consigliere Aunt Lucky has a situationship with brilliant but unhinged casino king Max Sugar (Fred Armisen).  And an ambitious D.A. hopes to bust the Dars’ operation. 

Murder Mindfully Season 2 (Netflix)--Bjorn Tremel thinks he has achieved control of his life by, among other things, mindfully disappearing a couple of mafia bosses.  Yet his failure to enjoy his current situation comes from his inner child still hurting from old unresolved wounds.  Not only must he make peace with his past, he must also fend off helicopter parents and police investigators.   

Star City Season 1 (Apple)---This spinoff from “For All Mankind” shares the similar setting of an alternate world where the global space race never ended.  Here, though, the events of the earlier series are told from the Soviet perspective.