Staff Picks: Tre's Picks for Docs, Dramas, and More

Lies, ambition, seduction, and a plot for power make up the limited series “Mary & George,” starring Nicholas Galitzine and Julianne Moore. Loosely based on the true story of the Duke and Countess of Buckingham, Moore plays Mary Villiers, who strategically uses her son, George (Galitzine), to become one of King James I’s lovers and eventually a part of his royal court. If you’re a fan of period dramas like “The Great” or “The Gilded Age,” the scandalous limited series on Starz will take you on a rollercoaster, leaving you wondering how accurate the dynamic and sexual relations of one of the most notable monarchs of England intertwined, but more importantly, how a woman (Moore) rose from humble beginnings to become one of the most powerful players of her time.

Anne Rice. Vampires. Do I need to say more?? Based on the critically acclaimed books and the 1994 film, starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, the series takes place between a journalist, Daniel Molly, and the 150-year-old vampire, Louis de Point du Lac. Louis tells the story of how he met his first lover, Lestat, back in 1790s New Orleans. We meet Louis as a wealthy Black businessman who runs a saloon in the red-light district of New Orleans. It’s not long in the series before Louis meets Lestat, and the duo begin their explosive and exciting relationship, which quickly takes a turn when the forbidden teenage vampire Claudia joins them. The series yoyos between the present day and the period where they met. Starring Jacob Anderson ("Game of Thrones"), Sam Reid (Belle), and Eric Bogosian, this show delivers everything you will need from a vampire romantic drama. The show, which originated on AMC+, has been renewed for a third season, and the first two seasons will hit Netflix on August 19th!

It’s Olympic season, and this incredible new docuseries on Netflix will introduce the world’s fastest runners in a way we’ve never seen before. Centering the stories behind athletes Noah Lyles, Sha'carri Richardson, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Gabby Thomas, Lamont Marcell Jacobs, and more, this documentary breaks down the mental turmoil, path, and rivalries to Gold that some of the fastest athletes of all time will embark on in their lifetime. With on-camera interviews from Olympians Usain Bolt, Allyson Felix, and more, this six-episode series unveils the incredibly long roads past and present Olympian runners endured for that 10- to 20-second race.

Will Smith and Martin Lawrence have proven yet again that their buddy-cop friendship is still magic on the big screen in the fourth installment of this iconic franchise. Smith and Lawrence reprise their roles as Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett, who take on their latest mission to clear their police captain’s name, who got linked to drug cartels. Lawrence returns to the big screen after four years since the last Bad Boys film and reminds audiences why he’s one of the comedy greats. Bad Boys is the kind of franchise that can have ten films down the pipeline (yes like Fast & Furious), and audiences around the world won’t get enough.

For die-hard rom-com lovers, we have a new addition to the library! Upgraded is a fresh story, starring Camila Mendes (Do Revenge). Mendes plays Ana, the headstrong, ambitious lead who will do anything to work at the art gallery of her dreams. En route to the biggest work trip of her life, she’s treated quite unfairly by her “Devil Wears Prada” associates. Through the travel gods, she’s upgraded to first class, where she meets William (Archie Renaux), the British hunk that she lied to appear more important than. When the lie finally becomes too big to contain, Ana is left to confront her big-shot boss and William, whom she developed feelings for. This film has all the makings of a perfect rom-com, which you can stream on Prime Video.

"The Umbrella Academy" returns August 8th for the fourth and final season on Netflix! After three seasons of defeating world-ending disasters, the Hargreeves siblings are back again to defeat another villainous duo, played by Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally, who are hell-bent on “cleansing” the timeline to restore natural order to the universe. I started to watch the show because I recognized one of the leads, Emmy Raver-Lampman, from her "Hamilton" run (theater kids, this one is for us), but this show turned out to be a chaotic rollercoaster of sure-fire comedy and sibling rivalry. What I find especially fascinating are the powers that the siblings have within the show and their diversity. Elliot Page plays one of the siblings as well, and what I appreciate is how the show treated his transition and normalized it within the context of the characters and on television. This is what representation looks like.

Two words: Simone. Biles. After her devastating Tokyo 2020 Olympic run, where she dropped out due to the twisties, Simone lets us into her incredible world of being one of the most respected and decorated athletes of all time. The four-episode docuseries starts with Simone opening up about her intuition that something “bad” was going to happen at the Tokyo Olympics regarding her performance. Biles opened up about her mental health struggles and broke down twisties as “a mental block that creates a dangerous disconnect between mind and body while gymnasts are airborne.” What’s most admirable about Biles is her honesty, determination, and grit to be the best human she can be. We see her rise to fame; we meet her family and husband; and Biles makes the statement that mental health matters. Period. This docuseries premiered on Netflix right before the 2024 Olympic Games began, where Biles took home 3 gold and 1 silver, taking her total up to 11 Olympic medals overall. Biles is truly a once-in-a generation athlete, and this series re-introduces the Olympian as she took the biggest stage in the world. The first two episodes of "Simone Biles Rising" are available to stream on Netflix, and the last two episodes are set to stream this fall and will hopefully capture Simone’s recall of her 2024 Olympic performances.