Series Snapshot ~ 5/21/2026

By: [email protected] on Thu, 05/21/2026 - 12:24

Welcome to the Series Snapshot, a weekly deep dive into the shows topping the streaming charts.

A new high-stakes crime drama, Nemesis takes the number one spot at Netflix this week, as Man on Fire drops off after hitting peak saturation. Matthew Law plays Isaiah Stiles, an LAPD detective obsessed with catching Coltrane Wilder (Y’lan Noel), a supposedly reformed master thief. Their cat-and-mouse dynamic is the main driver of the series, and as they close in on one another, their ethical waters are muddied, forcing the two to choose what they truly value. If you ask critics, the new series is off to an excellent start. Stylistically, Nemesis takes a lot of inspiration from melodramatic 90s crime thrillers, like Heat. Nemesis engages with a lot of tropes in the genre, but critics see this as a self-aware homage to a vintage formula. Audiences feel differently, panning the series as hack, rather than clever tongue-in-cheek irony. Series creators Courtney A. Kemp and Tani Marole have embraced this criticism, stating that their goals were to subvert the original tropes, rather than recreate them one-for-one. Nemesis is not yet greenlit for a second season, but Kemp and Marole are hopeful to continue.

At Hulu, The Testaments proves to have staying power, hitting another week at the top. Audiences who endured the original Handmaid’s Tale were left with an open, and in some ways unsatisfying ending that left the fate of both protagonist June, and Gilead in question. According to the sequel novel by Margaret Atwood, The Testaments will hopefully provide the catharsis that audiences craved: the downfall of Gilead. The Testaments has its season finale set for May 27th, and was recently renewed for a second season, likely to premiere in the spring of 2027. Audiences and critics have warmed up to the show after an early adjustment period. As the series found its voice, viewers adapted to the various shifts from Handmaid’s Tale, the critical consensus for season one is excellent. The Handmaid’s Tale was created by Bruce Miller, and stars Ann Dowd, Lucy Halliday, and Chase Infiniti.

The highly divisive third season of HBO original Euphoria continues to pull big numbers, despite mostly negative reception. The season’s backlash comes from a slew of changes, many fundamental, that have morphed the original thesis of Euphoria into something else. Euphoria connected with an audience in the right place at the right time. Young adults felt seen and represented by the harrowing depiction of adolescence, high-school, relationships and substance abuse, and enjoyed that unsettling presentation. What had once been poignant, stylized commentary has devolved into lazy shock-value sequences, stagnating character development and a core cast that no longer fits the adolescent angst of the earlier seasons. The new Hans Zimmer score also shifts the genre towards crime-thriller, which some feel cost Euphoria its sonic soul. The redeeming element continues to be the performances of Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney, Jacob Elordi, and Hunter Schafer. Euphoria was created by Sam Levinson.

The Boys’ long run has finally concluded, leaving the number one spot to something a little different – new series, Off Campus takes the number one spot. Based on author Elle Kennedy’s hit romance novel series, Off Campus is a steamy college drama centered at a fictional school in Boston, Briar University. A deal is struck between the nerdy Hannah Wells (Ella Bright), and hockey team captain Garrett Graham (Belmont Cameli). In exchange for tutoring Garrett, he will pretend to date Hannah, to make her crush, Justin (Josh Heuston) jealous. But as the ruse develops, the lines between what is real and what is an act begin to blur. The highly bingeable formula is praised by critics as “perfect trash tv”, while also commending the show for its mature takes on modern dating. General audiences find Off Campus easy to pick up, with plenty of spicy thrills to offset some of the cringier dialogue. All eight episodes are available now, and the series has already been renewed for season two. Off Campus was created by Louisa Levy.

At AppleTV, Your Friends & Neighbors continues to hold strong at the top, ahead of Widow’s Bay and Margo’s Got Money Troubles. Interestingly, compared to the first season, season two of Neighbors scored much higher with critics, and much lower with general audiences. Across the board, critics have praised the perfect addition of James Marsden, who seamlessly slips into the antagonist role opposite Jon Hamm, and general viewers are in agreement. However, audiences comment that Hamm’s Coop has been rewritten as passive, and are equally exhausted by several filler subplots that seem to go nowhere, compared with season one’s tight storytelling. The early renewal for its third season (now in production) may contribute to this feeling of stalling, and it seems as though fans will need to wait for more satisfying developments and resolutions when it airs, likely in early 2027. With just three episodes left, season two will wrap on Friday June 5th. Your Friends and Neighbors was created by Jonathan Tropper.

Maul: Shadow Lord is still Disney Plus’s most watched original of the week, but it may be due in part to a gap in exciting programming, as most of the runner ups are IP’s from other networks. Maul: Shadow Lord is an animated triumph for the Star Wars universe, and its success can be attributed to the daring choice to lean into darker themes, grittier ambiance, and brutal violence, challenging its audiences and pushing back on Star Wars’ family-friendly aesthetic. Darth Maul’s debut in 1999’s The Phantom Menace dazzled audiences with flashy choreography and lightning fast duels that dwarfed the original trilogy, and Maul: Shadow Lord’s action sequences more than live up to that impact. For some critics Sam Witwer delivers a career-best voice performance as Maul, demonstrating new depth and nuance for the character. His performance is perfectly complimented by Gideon Adlon, who plays his new Protégé, Devon. Disney renewed Maul: Shadow Lord for a second season just prior to the premiere of season one, and production is well underway, so fans won’t have to wait too long for more sci-fi noir action. Maul: Shadow Lord was created by Dave Filoni.