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 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, with 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, 2019
47 Ronin, 2013
Assassins, 2020 (HBO)
At Close Range, 1986 (HBO)
An Autumn Afternoon, 1962
The Big Sleep, 1946
Back To School, 1986
Bottle Rocket, 1996
Calladita, 2020 (HBO)
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, 1968 (HBO)
Child 44, 2015 (HBO)
Chungking Express, 1994
The Color Purple, 1985
Conan The Barbarian, 2011 (HBO)
Devil in A Blue Dress, 1995
Dodes ‘Ka-Den, 1970
Domino, 2019 (HBO)
Downhill, 1927
Dragnet Girl, 1933
Early Spring, 1956
Early Summer, 1951
The End of Summer, 1961
Equinox Flower, 1958
Eraser, 1996
Fallen Angels, 1995
Floating Weeds, 1959
FRIDA, 2002 (HBO)
The Fugitive, 1993
Furry Vengeance, 2010 (HBO)
Gang Related, 1997 (HBO)
Good Morning, 1959
Hard Rain, 1998 (HBO)
Hart’s War, 2002 (HBO)
High and Low, 1963
Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius, 2001 (HBO)
Julie, 1956
Killers, 2010 (HBO)
Language Lessons, 2021
Love and Baseball, 2021
The Machine That Kills Bad People, 1952
Masters Of The Universe, 1987 (HBO)
The Missing, 2003 (HBO)
The New Guy, 2002 (HBO)
North Dallas Forty, 1979 (HBO)
Not Easily Broken, 2009
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, 2012
Poseidon, 2006
Red Beard, 1965
Ringo and His Golden Pistol, 1966
Rugrats Go Wild, 2003 (HBO)
Rugrats In Paris: The Movie, 2000 (HBO)
The Rugrats Movie, 1998 (HBO)
The Sapphires, 2012 (HBO)
Sense and Sensibility, 1995
Sliding Doors, 1998
St. Elmo’s Fire, 1985
The 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, 1957
Top Secret!, 1984 (HBO)
Transporter 3, 2008 (HBO)
Unbroken, 2014
Underworld, 2003
Underworld: Awakening, 2012
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, 2009
Welcome to the Dollhouse, 1995
W.E., 2011 (HBO)
What To Expect When You’re Expecting, 2012 (HBO)
The Wild Thornberrys Movie, 2002 (HBO)
You, Me and Dupree, 2006
Young Adult, 2011 (HBO)
Zathura: A Space Adventure, 2005
Arriving May 5
Las Bravas F.C., Max Original Season 1 Premiere
Queen Stars Brazil, Max Original Season 1 Premiere
The Staircase, Max Original Limited Series Premiere
Arriving 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 C
Arriving May 9
Get Hard, 2015
Arriving May 10
Catwoman: Hunted, 2022
The Matrix: Resurrections, 2021 (HBO)
Sesame Street Mecha Builders Season 1 Part A
Robot Chicken Season 11 Part B
Arriving May 12
Hacks, Max Original Season 2 Premiere
Who’s By Your Side, Max Original Season 1 Premiere
Arriving May 13
Hank Zipzer, 2014
Old, 2021 (HBO)
Smalls, Season 4
Arriving May 15
The Time Traveler’s Wife, Drama Series Premiere (HBO)
Arriving May 17
Sesame Street Mecha Builders, Season 1 Part B
The Mule, 2018 (HBO)
Arriving May 20
Identidad Tomada, 2020 (HBO)
Arriving May 22
Fast Foodies, Season 2
Arriving May 23
Teen Titans Go! Season 7 Part B
Arriving May 26
Navalny
That Damn Michael Che, Max Original Season 2 Premiere
Tig n’ Seek, Max Original Season 4 Premiere
Arriving May 27
Blippi Special
Blippi Visits
Blippi Wonders
Blippi: Learn With Blippi
Ghost, Season 1
Ghost, Season 2
Stath Lets Flats
Arriving May 29
The Misery Index Season 3 Part B, 2021
Arriving 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, 2008
Dr. Dolittle 2, 2001 (HBO)
Enough Said, 2013 (HBO)
Extract, 2009 (HBO)
Fatal Attraction, 1987
Frontera, 2014 (HBO)
Gloria, 1999 (HBO)
Godsend, 2004 (HBO)
How To Be Single, 2016
Insomnia, 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, 1994
Stoker, 2013
Super 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, 1987
The 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)