Summary

Netflix’s top 10 in the US in May leaned almost entirely on new content, with nine of its ten titles released this year, the highest current-year share of the four platforms. Disney+ sat at the opposite end with just three new titles, and five of its ten titles built around the Bluey franchise. In between, Amazon Prime Video’s top 10 split almost evenly between comedy and drama, and HBO Max’s carried four drama-tagged titles and four documentary-tagged ones.

This month: US shows, May 2026, across Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ and HBO Max.

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"Two things stood out this month: Unscripted proved to be a real force, Worst Ex Ever topped Netflix's entire chart, with documentaries accounting for 2 of the top 3 spots. Additionally, true crime documentaries filled three of Max's ten slots, often outperforming scripted premieres. 

And we saw the halo effect in action again: Euphoria's finale run pulled its 2019 debut season back into the top ten, and The Boys Season 5 did the same for its original season. A relaunch's impact clearly isn't confined to the new episodes alone." - Alex Thompson, Data Analyst.

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1. Netflix

Netflix’s May 2026 performance in the US heavily leaned into recency, with nine of the top ten titles being 2026 releases. True crime and documentaries captured the highest individual engagement figures on the chart, while drama served as the most frequent genre tag, appearing across four titles: Man on Fire, Nemesis, La Brea, and Lord of the Flies.

The unscripted documentary format proved remarkably potent in the US market, with Worst Ex Ever Season 2 leading the chart at 13.2M reach and Should I Marry a Murderer? securing a strong 10.3M reach. Scripted comedy also demonstrated an exceptionally high ceiling, with the new release The Boroughs nearly matching the top spot at 13.1M reach. Meanwhile, the 2021 drama La Brea stood at 8.6M reach, proving that older acquisitions can still compete for major real estate against an otherwise entirely fresh slate of programming.

2. Amazon Prime Video

Comedy and drama ran neck-and-neck as the defining genres on Amazon Prime Video's US chart in May, appearing on four and five titles respectively. The platform leaned steadily into fresh content with six of the top ten slots captured by 2026 releases, while the remaining four slots highlighted the enduring appeal of older library hits and deeply rooted franchises.

The multi-season resurgence pattern was highly pronounced on the chart, with two major franchises driving significant back-catalogue viewing. The premiere of The Boys Season 5 dominated at 12.8M reach, pulling its original 2019 debut season back into the top tier at 4.6M reach. Similarly, the return of Citadel Season 2 (4.3M reach) successfully lifted its 2023 first season right behind it at 3.9M reach. Beyond these tentpoles, high-concept premium dramas like Off Campus (6.7M reach) and Spider-Noir (5.5M reach) proved to be powerful standalone drivers, while iconic legacy assets like SpongeBob SquarePants (1999) maintained an enduring baseline footprint at 1.9M reach.

3. Disney+

Disney+’s May 2026 chart in the US was overwhelmingly dominated by family programming, with only three of the top ten titles coming from brand-new 2026 releases. The rest of the chart leaned heavily into older catalogue assets stretching as far back as 2018, showcasing a platform strategy tightly anchored to long-tail, repeatable viewing. 

The standout feature of the chart was the massive footprint of the Bluey franchise, which remarkably captured five of the ten available slots.  Alongside the main series, two separate installments of Bluey Minisodes also charted simultaneously, with the 2024 first season reaching 2.2M and the new 2026 second season capturing 1.6M. 

4. HBO Max

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Max’s May 2026 chart in the US leaned heavily toward fresh content, with seven of the ten positions held by 2026 releases. Drama ran through four of the ten slots as the primary narrative anchor, while unscripted documentaries carved out significant real estate with four entries of their own, leaving premium comedy to round out the final two positions.

The long-awaited third and final season of Euphoria led the entire platform with a dominant 8.4M reach. True to the broader multi-season resurgence trend, this highly anticipated launch successfully pulled its original 2019 debut season back into the top tier at 1.5M reach. Scripted comedy also performed exceptionally well at the top of the chart, with Rooster capturing 5.0M reach and the fifth season of Hacks securing 3.7M reach. Meanwhile, true crime and unscripted formats established a highly consistent performance corridor further down the rankings, with Hollywood Demons Season 2, Evil Lives Here, and the 2025 library title The Yogurt Shop Murders all matching at an identical 1.7M reach.

5. Where the US platforms diverged in May

The single most striking trend across the US SVOD landscape this month was the heavy reliance on multi-season franchise stacking and long-running animation. No matter the platform's content strategy, established IP with deep catalogues repeatedly forced multiple installments of the same show onto the same top 10 chart at once.

Every single service tracked in the US exhibited this exact viewer behavior:

• Disney+: Witnessed the most extreme version of this trend, with the Bluey franchise locking down five separate slots simultaneously across three main seasons and two distinct Minisodes releases.
• Amazon Prime Video: Saw a double-franchise resurgence, with the premiere of The Boys Season 5 pulling its original 2019 debut back into the top tier, while Citadel Season 2 similarly dragged its first season onto the leaderboard.
• Max: The long-awaited finale wave of Euphoria Season 3 successfully re-ignited interest in its 2019 debut season, causing both to chart together.
• Netflix: While it lacked a multi-season stack this month, it still relied on a similar long-tail behavior, with the 2021 drama La Brea stood at 8.6M reach

6. Ready to track the next wave of streaming trends?

If you want to see how these release-year splits and franchise dynamics shift outside of the US market, get in touch with our team to access our complete international SVOD tracking dashboards. New to The Monthly Podium? The original UK launch piece explains exactly how our cross-platform viewing data is built and analyzed.