Julianne Moore Plots Her Way to the Throne in the Trailer of the Week

In recent weeks, we’ve gotten some tantalizing looks at what’s in store for 2024, but few trailers have grabbed our attention like Starz’s Mary and George, a historical psychodrama starring Julianne Moore and Red, White and Royal Blue’s Nicholas Galitzine, inspired by Benjamin Woolley’s nonfiction book The King’s Assassin and the lives of the Villiers family. It already appears to be a great follow-up watch to Anne Boleyn, a simmering retelling of the story of another British noble whose ambition exceeded their reach.

This week’s previews also offer sneak peeks at shows that are just around the corner, including a detective show, another cult docuseries, and the sort-of binge release of another Marvel show.

Best trailer for the week of November 13: Mary and George, coming in 2024 to Starz

Mary and George could not be more of a Starz show if it tried, which is why we were surprised to learn that the limited series began its life at AMC. Not that AMC hasn’t aired some impressive historical dramas over the years, including the aforementioned Anne Boleyn. But, as led by a devious Julianne Moore, Mary and George looks of a piece with Starz’s other royal dramas: The White Queen, The Serpent Queen, and now, The Queen Who Schemes Her Way to the Throne. Or, given that Mary Villiers, Countess of Buckingham (Moore) uses her son George (Nicholas Galitzine) to curry favor with King James I (Tony Curran), who’s in the midst of an all-male orgy in the trailer, something like The Queen Regent Who Says ‘Cockstruck’ might be more apt. 

At the very least, this new series from D.C. Moore (Killing Eve) will look right at home alongside fellow Starz offerings Outlander and Minx.

Honorable mention: Born in Synanon, premieres December 12 on Paramount+

On to decidedly heavier fare — the four-part docuseries Born in Synanon explores the line between community and cult. In the 1970s, the eponymous program shifted from successful drug-and-alcohol treatment to something much more sinister and controlling, all under the pretense of establishing a utopian community. Director and executive producer Geeta Gandbhir follows 49-year-old Cassidy Arkin, whose life has been intertwined with the cult since birth.

Honorable mention: Percy Jackson and the Olympians, premieres December 20 on Disney+

Disney+ heads to Camp Half-Blood in this latest adaptation of Rick Riordan’s mega-popular book series. This extended trailer shows off some great action and the charming young cast, including Walker Scobell as the titular Percy Jackson, who finds himself straddling worlds, as demigods — and teenagers — are wont to do. Fans of the books have reason to be optimistic about the new series, which also stars Leah Sava Jeffries and Aryan Simhadri.

Honorable mention: What If…? Season 2, premieres December 22 on Disney+

After wrapping up Phase 4, Marvel seems to be taking a beat to acknowledge the multiverse of madness it unleashed with that batch of movies and TV shows, which includes Spider-Man: No Way Home and Loki. This first look at the second season of A.C. Bradley’s animated series is chock full of callbacks — though not this one — which set up a whole new group of storylines that diverge from MCU canon. Marvel fatigue is real, but we can’t deny that What If…?, like Echo, looks promising. This one's on an interesting release schedule, with nine episodes dropping over nine days. 

Honorable mention: Monsieur Spade, premieres January 14 on AMC/AMC+/Acorn TV

Clive Owen isn’t playing a Sam Spade type in this new limited series; he’s the O.G. hardboiled detective who sprang from Dashiell Hammett’s mind over 90 years ago. This neo-noir from Scott Frank (Godless, The Queen’s Gambit) and Tom Fontana (How much time do you have? For now, we’ll just say City on a Hill, Oz, Copper, Homicide: Life on the Street) picks up with Sam — sorry, Monsieur Spade — in his retirement years, which he’s enjoying in the south of France. But just because he’s no longer actively looking for bad guys doesn’t mean they aren’t trying to find him. A local massacre upends Mr. Spade’s quiet life, and he’s soon back on the case (and not looking too upset about that fact).