To some of us, May might suggest blue skies, baseball and flowers.
In the streaming world, however, it also brings murder.
The second “Murder Mystery May” is coming to Acorn. It assembles TV shows and films from England, Ireland, Scotland, Canada (“Hurdoch Mysteries, shown here), New Zealand, Norway, Tasmania and beyond.
Acorn started by streaming British shows. Then the BBC and ITV started their own streamer, Britbox. As a result, Acorn has foraged through the colonies and has even financed its own shows, including an upcoming one with Brooke Shields.
That will debut May 18, using the Acorn pattern of one episode per Monday.
There are exceptions, however: Some Mondays will have full series ready to binge. And during each Friday in May, there will be a movie.
Here’s the line-up, with details at www.acorn.tv:
THE CENTERPIECE
“You’re Killing Me” is a relatively big plunge for Acorn — a six-week, American-made series, with familiar names.
Brooke Shields plays a veteran mystery writer, reluctantly pairing with a novice (Amalia Williamson, who plays Lola on “Sullivan’s Crossing”) to solve crimes. Tom Cavenagh (the former “Ed” star) is the local cop.
Like many shows, this sometimes pays scant attention to the crime itself, getting an unforced confession at the end. Along the way, however, the generation gap between the crimesolvers provides lots of fun.
THE CONTINUING SHOWS
— “The Brokenwood Mysteries” is wrapping its 12th season, with movie-length tales in a sweet stretch of New Zealand. The May 4 one finds humor and angst amid the ukulele community; the season-finale is a week later.
— “Murdoch Mysteries,” a sort of eternal show, is now in its 19th season. Set in Toronto early in the 20th century, it follows a cop with a knack for fresh inventions. The result tends to be mild and good-natured.
MORE SERIES
— “Dead & Buried” starts May 4, tracing a woman’s revenge plan involving a relationship with the man who brutally killed her brother, 20 years ago.
— “The Feud on Shelbury Drive” concludes May 4. An idyllic-seeming neighborhood was transformed by disagreements over a kitchen extension.
— “Summerwater” starts May 25, based on a novel that adds supernatural touches. At lakeside cabins in Scotland, people are confronted with their deep desires and dark truths. Dougray Scott is one of the stars.
BINGES
In addition to the episode-a-week shows, the month includes several series viewers can watch in one gulp. They are:
— “The Murders,” May 4. In Canada, a rookie homicide cop tries to redeem herself after a lethal mistake.
— “The Island,” May 11. A young family-liaison officer probes a murder on the same Irish island where she mysteriously fled a decade ago. It has Gaelic (with sub-titles) and English dialog.
— “The Bridge,” May 18. This format — a crime probe bridging two nations — has been used around the world. In this case, there are two seasons with Diane Kruger and Demian Bichir as police detectives in the U.S. and Mexico.
— “Wisting,” May 25. Here are five seasons of a Norwegian tale.
FRIDAY FILMS
In a break from its pattern, Acorn has movies on five Fridays:
— “The Limehouse Golem,” May 1; Bill Nighy as a Scotland Yard detective in Victorian England.
— “Kaleidoscope,” May 8; Toby Jones and Anne Reid as an ex-con and his domineering mother.
— “The Best Offer,” May 15; Geoffrey Rush as a rich auctioneer, trying to woo a young heiress.
— “Cold Weather,” May 22; in Portland, Oregon, a college drop-out uses his forensic-science studies when his ex-girlfriend disappears.
— “The Nightingale,” May 29. In 1825 Tasmania, a young ex-con chases a British officer who committed violence against her family.