Best new movies and shows on Amazon Prime Video New Zealand: May 2025

Each month, new films and TV shows are added to Amazon Prime Video’s New Zealand library. Eliza Janssen presents her picks for titles worth watching. For the full list of everything arriving on the platform, scroll down.

Each month, new films and TV shows are added to Amazon Prime Video‘s Australian library. Eliza Janssen presents her picks for titles worth watching. For the full list of everything arriving on the platform, scroll down.

Top picks: TV

Overcompensating: Season 1 (May 15)

The tagline for this fresh campus comedy says it all: “college: come as you aren’t”. Developed by comedian Benito Skinner and featuring a charming ensemble of deludenoids and wannabes, it’s a funny show about fake people hitting on real truths, as Skinner’s closeted homecoming king learns more about himself in the process of desperately trying to ace college life. His older sister and her frat bro boyfriend are extremely unreliable guides to a world of hookups, underage drinking and the scarcest little traces of education—but I’m sure that by the end of this premiere season, genuine friendships and romantic revelations will shine through.

Nine Perfect Strangers: Season 2 (May 22)

Season one of this wacky, wanky wellness drama was filmed in sunny Down Under, but the tropical health solutions Masha (Nicole Kidman) was peddling left some celeb guests a bit worse for wear. So, this time, it’s off to the brisk and refreshing chill of the Austrian Alps, where a new batch of famous faces will face off against Kidman’s wiggy, witchy healing magic. Mark Strong, Christine Baranski, Dolly de Leon, indie popstar King Princess, Murray Bartlett and Henry Golding are among the victims—sorry, guests—in this continuing Liane Moriarty adaptation, which is not very good for your health but is indeed extremely, foolishly entertaining.

Top picks: Movies

Another Simple Favour (May 1)

Back in 2018, Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick’s comic chemistry made A Simple Favour an under-the-radar hit: wittily scripted, packed with outrageously fab costumes, and directed by Paul Feig, of Bridesmaids fame. It’s been a minute between martinis, but we’re very ready for a return to Emily and Stephanie’s twisty gal pal dynamic—this time in glamorous Capri, for Emily’s wedding. Feig spoke recently about the dodgy spot feature-length comedy is in right now, accusing audiences of being “very suspicious” of the genre: “that’s why so much comedy exists in mixed genres, horror is the new comedy.” You are cordially invited, for straight-up laughs with a twist of unpredictable thrills: shaken and stirred.

Octopus! (May 8)

We might as well call off the search for extraterrestrial life: aliens have been blobbing along in our oceans for millennia, it turns out. The majestic, superpowered octopus is the focus of this quirky two-part documentary, produced and narrated by Phoebe Waller-Bridge (presumably as part of her astoundingly fruitless contract to make new stuff for Amazon, which has so far resulted in zero projects. Until now.). A cast of eclectic experts, talking heads and fans (comic Tracy Morgan is an octopus lover, who knew?) will dive deep into the life and fascinating history of the Giant Pacific Octopus—eight arms, countless crazy tales.

Kraven the Hunter (May 12)

Oh brother. Seemingly the last film in Sony’s wacky string of Spider-Man villain spin-offs, this supervillain origin action flop features Aaron Taylor Johnson as a muscular friend of the animal kingdom, poaching poachers and hunting hunters with his beastly instincts. I had an absolute blast watching it—especially when it came to Alessandro Nivola’s bizarre and very un-intimidating antagonist The Rhino, who has a silly bob and an undetectable European accent. Barely a movie, but a delightful watch if you’re in the right headspace and hanging out with the right irreverent friends.

All titles arriving on Prime Video New Zealand in May

May 1

Agent Cody Banks
Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London
Another Simple Favour
The Birdcage
Hotel Transylvania
Misery
Sapne Vs Everyone: Season 1
Teen Wolf
Teen Wolf Too