Audrey Niffenegger’s 2003 novel The Time-Traveler’s Wife was a book that seemed aimed particularly at me. It’s set in Chicago, where I was living when it came out, and I enjoyed following along as the characters rode my busses and ate at my favorite brunch spot. It’s a closed-loop time travel story, which is the best kind (“Whatever happened, happened,” for you lingering Lost fans out there). And it’s a slightly sappy romantic tearjerker, and I am a slightly sappy romantic.
I was jazzed when the 2009 film adaptation was announced, and Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana seemed like really good casting as a couple whose relationship is fated to end from the start (though in a way, aren’t they all?) due to the latter’s uncontrollable, temporal genetic condition that causes him to bounce uncontrollably back and forth across his own timeline. That the movie was disappointing—a Cliff’s Notes version of the book—didn’t mean I didn’t cry at the end.
When does The Time-Traveler’s Wife premiere on HBO Max?
The Time-Traveler’s Wife is getting another chance, and with more room to breathe, as a six-episode HBO series from regular Game of Thrones director David Nutter and a script from Doctor Who’s Steven “Timey-Wimey” Moffat. My initial assessment is that the trailer isn’t “Chicago-y” enough, but the jury is still out until the first episode drops on May 15.
Other highlights from the May streaming schedule: The divisive fourth and almost certainly final film in The Matrix series, The Matrix: Resurrections, returns to HBO Max on May 10 after a few months off; both the haters and the rapturous adherents have had some time to cool off and reassess, so the discourse may proceed. You can also finally see meme machine Dear Evan Hansen (May 6) for yourself while you wait for season two of Hacks (May 12), a very good show starring Jean Smart as an aging comedian trying to stay relevant with the help of a Gen-Z comic.
Here’s everything coming to HBO and HBO Max in May. Titles with (HBO) next to them are available on HBO and HBO Max; everything else is exclusive to HBO Max.
What’s coming to HBO Max in May 2022
Arriving May 1
Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood, 201947 Ronin, 2013Assassins, 2020 (HBO)At Close Range, 1986 (HBO)An Autumn Afternoon, 1962The Big Sleep, 1946Back To School, 1986Bottle Rocket, 1996Calladita, 2020 (HBO)Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, 1968 (HBO)Child 44, 2015 (HBO)Chungking Express, 1994The Color Purple, 1985Conan The Barbarian, 2011 (HBO)Devil in A Blue Dress, 1995Dodes ‘Ka-Den, 1970Domino, 2019 (HBO)Downhill, 1927Dragnet Girl, 1933Early Spring, 1956Early Summer, 1951The End of Summer, 1961Equinox Flower, 1958Eraser, 1996Fallen Angels, 1995Floating Weeds, 1959FRIDA, 2002 (HBO)The Fugitive, 1993Furry Vengeance, 2010 (HBO)Gang Related, 1997 (HBO)Good Morning, 1959Hard Rain, 1998 (HBO)Hart’s War, 2002 (HBO)High and Low, 1963Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius, 2001 (HBO)Julie, 1956Killers, 2010 (HBO)Language Lessons, 2021Love and Baseball, 2021The Machine That Kills Bad People, 1952Masters Of The Universe, 1987 (HBO)The Missing, 2003 (HBO)The New Guy, 2002 (HBO)North Dallas Forty, 1979 (HBO)Not Easily Broken, 2009The Perks of Being a Wallflower, 2012Poseidon, 2006Red Beard, 1965Ringo and His Golden Pistol, 1966Rugrats Go Wild, 2003 (HBO)Rugrats In Paris: The Movie, 2000 (HBO)The Rugrats Movie, 1998 (HBO)The Sapphires, 2012 (HBO)Sense and Sensibility, 1995Sliding Doors, 1998St. Elmo’s Fire, 1985The Stepford Wives, 2004 (HBO)Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, 2009 (Extended Version)Terminator 2: Judgment Day, 1991 (Director’s Cut) (HBO)Tokyo Twilight, 1957Top Secret!, 1984 (HBO)Transporter 3, 2008 (HBO)Unbroken, 2014Underworld, 2003Underworld: Awakening, 2012Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, 2009Welcome to the Dollhouse, 1995W.E., 2011 (HBO)What To Expect When You’re Expecting, 2012 (HBO)The Wild Thornberrys Movie, 2002 (HBO)You, Me and Dupree, 2006Young Adult, 2011 (HBO)Zathura: A Space Adventure, 2005Arriving May 5
Las Bravas F.C., Max Original Season 1 PremiereQueen Stars Brazil, Max Original Season 1 PremiereThe Staircase, Max Original Limited Series PremiereArriving May 6
Dear Evan Hansen, 2021 (HBO)Entre Nos: Carmen and Alfred (HBO)La Afinadora De Árboles, 2019 (HBO)Arriving May 7
We Baby Bears, Season 1 Part CArriving May 9
Arriving May 10
Catwoman: Hunted, 2022The Matrix: Resurrections, 2021 (HBO)Sesame Street Mecha Builders Season 1 Part ARobot Chicken Season 11 Part BArriving May 12
Hacks, Max Original Season 2 PremiereWho’s By Your Side, Max Original Season 1 PremiereArriving May 13
Hank Zipzer, 2014Old, 2021 (HBO)Smalls, Season 4Arriving May 15
The Time Traveler’s Wife, Drama Series Premiere (HBO)Arriving May 17
Sesame Street Mecha Builders, Season 1 Part BThe Mule, 2018 (HBO)Arriving May 20
Identidad Tomada, 2020 (HBO)Arriving May 22
Arriving May 23
Teen Titans Go! Season 7 Part BArriving May 26
NavalnyThat Damn Michael Che, Max Original Season 2 PremiereTig n’ Seek, Max Original Season 4 PremiereArriving May 27
Blippi SpecialBlippi VisitsBlippi WondersBlippi: Learn With BlippiGhost, Season 1Ghost, Season 2Stath Lets FlatsArriving May 29
The Misery Index Season 3 Part B, 2021Arriving May 30
Spring Awakening: Those You’ve Know, Documentary Premiere (HBO)Arriving May 31
Miami Vice, 2006 (Extended Version)What’s leaving HBO Max in May 2022
May 14
Cry Wolf, 2005 (Extended Version) (HBO)May 24
Cinderella Man, 2005 (Extended Version)The 40-Year-Old Virgin, 2005 (Director’s Cut) (HBO)May 25
Curious George, 2006 (HBO)Two For The Money, 2005 (HBO)May 27
Doom, 2005 (HBO)Pride & Prejudice, 2005 (HBO)May 31
27 Dresses, 2008 (HBO)The Animal, 2001 (HBO)A Perfect Murder, 1998 (HBO)A Very Brady Sequel, 1996 (HBO)Adult Beginners, 2014 (HBO)Army Of Darkness, 1992 (HBO)Billy Elliot, 2000Bully, 2001 (HBO)Changing Lanes, 2002 (HBO)Clueless, 1995 (HBO)Control Room, 2004 (HBO)Cymbeline, 2014 (HBO)Dead Heat, 1988 (HBO)Dirty Pretty Things, 2002 (HBO)Doctor Dolittle, 1998 (HBO)Doubt, 2008Dr. Dolittle 2, 2001 (HBO)Enough Said, 2013 (HBO)Extract, 2009 (HBO)Fatal Attraction, 1987Frontera, 2014 (HBO)Gloria, 1999 (HBO)Godsend, 2004 (HBO)How To Be Single, 2016Insomnia, 2002 (HBO)Iris, 2001 (HBO)It Takes Two, 1995 (HBO)Killerman, 2019 (HBO)Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man, 2005 (HBO)Love And A .45, 1994 (HBO)Mama, 2013 (HBO)Mindhunters, 2004 (HBO)Phone Booth, 2002 (HBO)Princess Kaiulani, 2009 (HBO)Pulse, 2001 (HBO)Rubber, 2010 (HBO)Speed, 1994Stoker, 2013Super Capers, 2009 (HBO)The Answer Man, 2009 (HBO)The Benchwarmers, 2006 (HBO)The Conspirator, 2010 (HBO)The Forgotten, 2004 (HBO)The Good Doctor, 2011 (HBO)The Grifters, 1990 (HBO)The Italian Job, 2003 (HBO)The Lawnmower Man, 1992 (HBO)The Rules Of Attraction, 2002 (HBO)The Witches Of Eastwick, 1987The Wolfpack, 2015 (HBO)The Wrecking Crew!, 2008 (HBO)This Is 40, 2012Troll Hunter, 2010 (HBO)Two Lovers, 2008 (HBO)The Two Jakes, 1990Viva, 2007 (HBO)War Horse, 2011War On Everyone, 2016 (HBO)World’s Greatest Dad, 2009 (HBO)Wristcutters: A Love Story, 2006 (HBO)
