Streaming Series, Films & TV Programs to Watch in France: May 7–14, 2025
Streaming series May 2025: what’s worth watching this week in France? Each platform brings new releases, but not all are worth your time. From auteur returns and indie gems to narrative experiments, this curated selection highlights the most engaging titles now streaming on Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV+, and French TV.
Films in Theaters This Week
The Red Children (Les Enfants rouges)
🎥 Directed by Lotfi Achour | With Ali Helali, Wided Dadebi, Yassine Samouni While tending their herd in the mountains, two teens are attacked. Nizar, 16, is killed, and Achraf, 14, must return home with a message. A harrowing tale of violence and survival.
Coka Chicas
🎥 Directed by Roxine Helberg | With Zoé Marchal, Fadily Camara, Eva Huault Three inseparable friends from Paris’ suburbs head to the Caribbean to smuggle drugs and fund their nail salon. When one vanishes at the airport, everything spirals.
Sudan, Remember Us (Soudan, souviens-toi)
🎥 Directed by Hind Meddeb After thirty years of dictatorship, a new generation in Sudan dreams of democracy. Through poetry, performance and resistance, Hind Meddeb paints a portrait of revolution and repression.
Ingeborg Bachmann – Journey into the Desert
🎥 Directed by Margarethe von Trotta | With Vicky Krieps, Ronald Zehrfeld At the height of her career, poet Ingeborg Bachmann meets playwright Max Frisch. A passionate, complicated love story unfolds.
The Friend (L’Amie / Heller Wahn)
🎥 Directed by Margarethe von Trotta | With Hanna Schygulla, Angela Winkler Olga and Ruth are opposites—confident vs. withdrawn. But a deep friendship grows, one that unsettles their male peers. A feminist and emotional drama.
Timpi Tampa
🎥 Directed by Adama Bineta Sow | With Pape Aly Diop, Yacine Sow Dumon, Nouroudine Diallo Khalilou disguises himself as Leila to enter a school beauty pageant and raise awareness about toxic skin whitening in Africa. Political and powerful.
This Week on French TV
Wednesday 7
Arte: Lion
France 2: Resistantes
TF1 Series: Despicable Me 2
6Ter: Asterix in Britain
Thursday 8
Arte: Judgment at Nuremberg
Friday 9
France 5: Ad Astra
Arte: Summer Hours
Sunday 11
France 2: Sink or Swim
Arte: The Unforgiven
Monday 12
France 3: Django Unchained
Canal+: Indian Cemetery
Arte: Weekend at Zuydcoote
Tuesday 13
Canal+: Anora
Wednesday 14
France 2: Stuck Wings
Canal+: The Substance
Arte: Volver
France 4: Barton Fink
Highlighted Short Film
One Day I’ll Go Back (Partir Un Jour)
🎥 With Juliette Armanet, Bastien Bouillon, François Rollin, Lorella Cravotta
📍 Directed by Amélie Bonnin | Written by Amélie Bonnin & Dimitri Lucas
Julien left his hometown for a bigger life in the capital—but memories pull him back. A sensitive short film, César winner and Clermont-Ferrand favorite.
Streaming Series
Ramy (3 seasons, Canal+/Arte)
A millennial Muslim-American in New Jersey, torn between faith and hedonism. A semi-autobiographical dramedy by Ramy Youssef. Sharp and moving.
Soviet Jeans (Episode 1/8 – Starting May 8)
In Soviet Latvia in 1979, resisting the KGB still comes at a high cost—as young theater costumer Renars discovers when he falls in love with Tina, a Finnish director he was supposed to spy on. This romantic comedy set in Riga marks the beginning of the end of the USSR, turning into a vibrant plea for freedom.
Renars works as a costumer at a theater in Riga and sells contraband Western goods on the side. Unimpressed by authority, he is closely watched by Maris, a KGB officer who tries to coerce him into becoming an informant—particularly about Tina, the visiting Finnish director. When Renars and Tina fall for each other, Maris, also smitten with Tina, seizes an opportunity to have Renars committed to a psychiatric hospital. This subversive and stylish series blends Cold War espionage with a bittersweet love story and sharp political critique.
Documentary
“King Kong: Heart of Darkness” by Laurent Herbiet
A major American success in 1933, King Kong became a cinematic landmark. This documentary revisits the creation of the mythical film, born from the imagination of a visionary trio.
How were the iconic images of King Kong—perched atop the Empire State Building or holding a tiny woman in his hand—conceived, and how did they imprint themselves on our collective imagination? With rich archival material, this documentary retraces the film’s genesis and the unconventional careers of its creators. It also explores why this cinematic icon has endured through so many modern reinterpretations. The story of a creature torn from its island to be paraded as a freak reads today as nature’s rebellion against exploitation—a timeless metaphor.
Streaming series
Netflix Series
Forever
📅 Release date: May 8, 2025
Creator: Mara Brock Akil
Cast: Lovie Simone, Michael Cooper Jr., Karen Pittman
Genre: Romantic Drama
Synopsis: Based on the novel by Judy Blume, this series follows the love story of two Black teens in 2018 Los Angeles as they navigate identity, family, and first love.
Review: A touching, finely crafted portrayal of young Black love and identity, led by an emotionally rich performance from Lovie Simone.
The Four Seasons
📅 Release date: May 1, 2025
Creators: Tina Fey, Lang Fisher, Tracey Wigfield
Cast: Tina Fey, Steve Carell, Will Forte
Genre: Comedy
Synopsis: Three couples vacation together every season, but this year, unexpected changes shake their dynamic.
Review: A refreshing and hilarious comedy powered by the unbeatable chemistry of Fey and Carell. Heartwarming and sharp.
Snakes & Ladders
📅 Starts May 14
Genre: Dark Comedy
Creator: Manolo Caro (The House of Flowers)
Synopsis: Dora López (Cecilia Suárez), an ambitious teacher, dreams of running a prestigious school. Her plans collapse after a scandal involving students from powerful families.
Review: Satirical, stylish, and brutally funny—a critique of class, ambition, and institutional corruption in a posh Guadalajara school.
Dept Q
Starts May 29
The Better Sister
📅 Release date: May 29, 2025
Creators: Olivia Milch, Regina Corrado
Cast: Jessica Biel, Elizabeth Banks, Corey Stoll
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Synopsis: After her husband’s murder, Chloé’s life unravels, unearthing long-buried family secrets.
Review: A gripping psychological drama powered by nuanced performances from Biel and Banks. Tense and emotionally charged.
We Were Liars (Nous les menteurs)
📅 Starts June 18
Based on: the bestselling novel by E. Lockhart
Synopsis: Cadence Sinclair and her cousins, known as “The Liars,” spend their summers on their grandfather’s private island. Their seemingly perfect life hides a traumatic event that changed everything.
Review: A haunting teen mystery drenched in privilege, guilt, and secrets. The ensemble cast (Emily Alyn Lind, Shubham Maheshwari, Esther McGregor…) delivers a strong generational portrait.
APPLE TV + STREAMING
Murderbot
📅 Premiere: May 16
Based on: the award-winning sci-fi novels by Martha Wells
Cast: Alexander Skarsgård
Synopsis: In a futuristic world, a rogue security android joins a scientific mission while hiding its true identity—and binge-watching soap operas.
Review: Darkly funny, philosophical, and emotionally compelling. Skarsgård brings depth to this antihero in a sleek, thought-provoking sci-fi show.
Disney+ streaming series
Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld
📅 Premiere: May 4
Creator: Dave Filoni
Genre: Adventure, Animation
Synopsis: Dive into Star Wars’ criminal underworld through the stories of smugglers, bounty hunters, and outcasts.
Review: Beautifully animated and narratively rich, this anthology spotlights lesser-known characters with cinematic flair and moral ambiguity.
