All the Jewish and Jew-ish TV coming May 2025, ranked
A behind-the-scenes peek at my thought process when deciding if a show is, indeed, Jewish enough to be included.
What makes a TV show Jewish?
Jewish stars? Jewish showrunners? Is it Jewish content? And what is Jewish content precisely? Are cultural Jewish references lesser than religious Jewish references? These are all questions that I have for myself when I write up listicles of Jewish TV shows every month for Kveller. And so this month I’ve decided to be a bit transparent about just how Jewish the content is by including a fun new rating system — instead of four stars, we have four couch potato latkes, mostly because I love thinking about latkes.
Anyway, you can read Kveller’s list here, but for the sake of Substack fun, I’ve added some contenders that didn’t make our official cut to this special Jewish TV Club edition!
May 1: “The Four Seasons” (Netflix)
There are no Jewish characters in this limited series, based on an Alan Alda film about three couples whose decades long friendship is put to the test. But! Our co-worker Lily’s sister, Jewish actor Julia Lester, is in it, and she is so hilarious and wonderful, we had to include it it this list.
0.25/4 couch potato latkes, for Julia
May 2: “ Bad Boy” (Netflix)
This is an Israeli show, based on the real life of comedian Daniel Chen who spent many years of his youth in a teen penitentiary. Beyond the fact that this was made in Israel, “Bad Boy” features Jewish holidays and Jewish liturgy in it, which is why I give it a…
4/4 couch potato latkes
May 8: “Poker Face” season 2 (Peacock) + May 29: “The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy“ (Prime Video) — A Natasha Lyonne extravaganza
Natasha Lyonne is in these two shows which aren’t very Jewish at all, but Natasha Lyonne is 4/4 couch potato latkes for life.
May 8: “FOREVER” (Netflix)
This show doesn’t seem to have anything Jewish about it aside from the fact that it’s based on the book of the same name by Judy Blume. But I can’t not kvell about a Judy Blume TV adaptation, which is why this gets a…
0.5/4 couch potato latkes, for Judy
May 13 (first semi-final), May 15 (second semi-final) and May 17 (finals): “Eurovision” (Peacock)
After October 7, the Eurovision decided to take after every Instagram comment section about anything Jewish and become a hot mess. My favorite televised event of the year became something I dreaded. Honestly? It feels very first world problem. I’ll still be watching, with one eye closed, as October 7 Nova massacre survivor Yuval Raphael takes the stage to sing “New Day Will Rise,” unless the Eurovision does cave into pressure to remove Israel from the competition.
A smashed couch potato latke on the ground
May 20: “Sarah Silverman: Postmortem” (Netflix)
A new comedy special from my favorite risque Jewish comedian, all about the experience of losing her parents (may their memories be for a blessing).
4/4 couch potato latkes because Sarah Silverman and Jewish parents!!
May 23: “Couples Therapy,” season 4B (Showtime)
OK, but can we talk about this perfect show? Is there a therapist like Orna Guralnik in the world? How is she both so sensitive and authoritative? I am obsessed.
3/4 couch potato latkes, for Orna and the concept of therapy
May 23: “Big Mouth” season 8 (Netflix)
The final season of “Big Mouth,” the Nick Kroll helmed animated show about puberty, is almost here. It’s the end of an era of bat mitzvah episodes and every Jewish holiday under the sun and Jewish dads and a puberty monster played by Maya Rudolph. We miss you already, “Big Mouth.”
4/4 couch potato latkes
May 23: “Pee-Wee as Himself” (Max)
I’m so so excited for this Paul Reubens/Pee-Wee Herman documentary, I can not contain myself.
2/4 Couchy potato latkes (I love you Couchy!)
May 23: “Fountain of Youth” (Apple TV+ movie)
A new Natalie Portman movie is coming to Apple TV+ and it is about the search for a fountain of youth. We all know Natalie Portman, along with Paul Rudd, has already found it, but I guess we’ll suspend our disbelief. This is a Guy Ritchie movie, and it also stars fellow fountain of youth-er John Krasinski.
0.5/4 potato latkes, for Natalie
May 28: Adults (FX)
Rebecca Shaw and Ben Kronengold (here’s a picture from his bar mitzvah? a bar mitzvah?) went viral in 2018 for their hilarious Yale graduation speech. Since then, they’ve worked for Jimmy Fallon, wrote a mask PSA with Paul Rudd and wrote a book, and now they have a show coming out, produced by Nick Kroll. So while “Adults,” originally titled “Snowflakes,” doesn’t seem to be Jewish so far (though one of its stars, Lucy Freyer, was in the very Jewish play “The Wanderers,” where she played an ultra-Orthodox woman who leaves her community), at least according to IMDB, Jewish actor Michael Gordin Shore appears to play a rabbi in the show’s 5th episode… so it doesn’t look like the show won’t be Jewish at all, if that makes sense?
0.5/4 for one (1) potential rabbi, with possibility for up-rating
May 29: “The Better Sister”
Two of my favorite Jewish actors are in this show, based on the crime novel of the same name by Alafair Burke. Elizabeth Banks plays Nicky, the sister of protagonist Chloe, played by Jessica Biel, who, fun fact, is just a little bit Jewish. Jaddy Corey Stoll plays Chloe’s murdered husband, Adam — the intrigue behind his killing is at the center of the show. Is there anything Jewish about this series? I think not. Is there a Corey Stoll project I won’t watch? I don’t think so! Also, the name of the show feels a little Cane and Abel to me (and Stoll plays an Adam, after all!).
0.5/4 couch potato latkes
May 29: “And Just Like That…” season 3 (Max)
“And Just Like That…” has multiple Jewish stars, from Sarah Jessica Parker to Evan Handler to Alexa Swinton. And not only that, it has multiple Jewish characters who address their Judaism in significant and silly ways, including, of course, Charlotte, who had an adult bat mitzvah of her own and Harry Goldenblatt (Handler), who despite some pretty cheesy Jewish dad jokes, still seems to be the best of all the SATC men.
1.5/4 couch potato latkes
May 31: “Mountainhead” (HBO movie)
This new satirical movie from “Succession”-maker Jesse Armstrong looks like it’s going to be pretty great. It’s about a group of billionaire friends who meet together on vacation amid an international crisis. It feels like a very real commentary on current events and also features Jason Schwartzman as one of these billionaires (and who will forever be Cantor Ben from “Between the Temples” to me).
0.25/4 couch potato latkes, for Cantor Ben
What’s the show you’re most excited for this May? Let me know!