11 Pop Culture Releases You Need to Know About in May

9. Still Star-Crossed

ABC announced Still Star-Crossed would see a premiere on its network almost a year ago, but it will only premiere this May 29. “But wait,” you might be saying, “why do I want to see a show that’s based on Romeo & Juliet?”

First off, as the above preview shows, this won’t be yet another rehashing of Shakespeare’s work. Instead, Juliet and her Romeo start the series off dead, so we won’t have to deal with quite as many awkward questions about Juliet only being 13 per the very text of the play. (It’s Act 1, Scene 3 for those keeping score at home. “She’s not fourteen,” indeed, Lady Capulet.)

Instead, Still Star-Crossed features Lashana Lynch as Rosaline, otherwise known as the girl Romeo basically dumps in his heart as soon as seeing Juliet inspires him to say things about torches and jewels and all that fun stuff. In the linked photo, you can see two of the other characters who survive the play: Escalus and Benvolio.

But the deaths of the scions of the Montagues and the Capulets have sent fair Verona into turmoil.

If the fact that this project comes from Shondaland is any indication, the drama won’t stop there.