

There’s nothing like finding a good TV series or movie to watch on your favorite streaming services. The summer is the perfect time to explore what’s new and exciting or revisit an oldie but goodie. Both Netflix and HBO Max have some exciting and new releases for July. From HBO Max’s Rap Sh*t, which is presented by Issa Rae to the season three premiere of Ludacris’ Netflix animated series Karma’s World, there are plenty of options to choose from. So get your streaming on below.
Here is the full schedule of what’s coming to Netflix and HBO in July.
What's New On Netflix: July 2022
July 1
Stranger Things Season 4 Volume 2 – Netflix original movie
A Call to Spy
Big Daddy
Blue Jasmine
Boogie Nights
Catch Me If You Can
Deliverance
Falls Around Her
Final Score
GoodFellas
I Am Legend
Insidious
LOL
Mean Girls
Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous
Natural Born Killers
Old School
Police Academy
Semi-Pro
Seven
Snatch
The Dark Knight Rises
The Dirty Dozen
The Pursuit of Happyness
The Talented Mr. Ripley
The Terminal
Vampires
Wyatt Earp
Zero Dark Thirty
July 2
Operation Romeo
July 3
Blair Witch (2016)
Oh My Baby Season 1
The Art of Incarnation
July 4
Leave No Trace
July 5
Attack on Pearl Harbor: Minute By Minute Season 1
The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch Season 1
July 6
Control Z Season 3 – Netflix original series
Girl in the Picture – Netflix original documentary
Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between – Netflix original movie
King of Stonks
Uncle from Another World
Fast & Feel Love
July 7
The Flash Season 8
Karma's World Season 3 – Netflix original series
VINLAND SAGA Season 1
July 8
Boo, Bitch – Netflix original series
Capitani Season 2 – Netflix original series
Dangerous Liaisons – Netflix original movie
How To Build a Sex Room – Netflix original documentary series
Incantation – Netflix original movie
Ride on Time Season 4
Jewel – Netflix original movie
The Longest Night – Netflix original series
Ranveer vs Wild with Bear Grylls – Netflix original interactive special
The Sea Beast – Netflix original animated movie
July 9
Hurdang
July 10
12 Strong
July 11
For Jojo – Netflix original movie
Team Zenko Go Season 2 – Netflix original animated series
Valley of the Dead – Netflix original movie
July 12
Bill Burr: Live at Red Rocks – Netflix original special
How to Change Your Mind – Netflix original documentary series
My Daughter's Killer – Netflix original documentary
July 13
Big Timber Season 2
CHiPS (2017)
D.B. Cooper: Where Are You?! – Netflix original documentary series
Hurts Like Hell – Netflix original series
Never Stop Dreaming: The Life and Legacy of Shimon Peres – Netflix original documentary
Sintonia Season 3 – Netflix original series
Under the Amalfi Sun – Netflix original movie
July 14
Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight – Netflix original animated series
Resident Evil – Netflix original series
July 15
Alba – Netflix original series
Country Queen – Netflix original series
Farzar – Netflix original animated series
Love Goals (Jaadugar) – Netflix original movie
Mom, Don't Do That! – Netflix original series
Pan
Persuasion – Netflix original movie
Remarriage & Desires – Netflix original series
Uncharted
July 16
Umma
July 18
Live is Life – Netflix original movie
My Little Pony: A New Generation: Sing-Along – Netflix original movie
StoryBots: Laugh, Learn, Sing Collection 2: Learn to Read – Netflix original animated series
Too Old for Fairy Tales – Netflix original movie
July 19
David A. Arnold: It Ain't For the Weak – Netflix original special
July 20
Bad Exorcist Seasons 1-2 – Netflix original series
Virgin River Season 4 – Netflix original series
July 21
Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous Season 5 – Netflix original animated series
July 22
Blown Away Season 3 – Netflix original series
My Village People
One Piece (New Seasons)
The Gray Man – Netflix original movie
July 25
Gabby's Dollhouse Season 5 – Netflix original animated series
July 26
August: Osage County
DI4RIES – Netflix original series
Shania Twain: Not Just a Girl
Street Food: USA – Netflix original documentary series
July 27
Car Masters: Rust to Riches Season 4 – Netflix original documentary series
Dream Home Makeover Season 3 – Netflix original documentary series
The Most Hated Man on the Internet – Netflix original documentary
Pipa – Netflix original movie
Rebelde Season 2 – Netflix original series
July 28
A Cut Above – Netflix original movie
Another Self – Netflix original series
Keep Breathing – Netflix original series
Oggy and the Cockroaches: Next Generation – Netflix original animated series
July 29
The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem Season 2 – Netflix original series
Case Closed: Zero's Tea Time / Detective Conan: Zero's Tea Time – Netflix original animated series
The Entitled – Netflix original movie
Fanático – Netflix original series
Purple Hearts – Netflix original movie
Rebel Cheer Squad: A Get Even Series – Netflix original series
Uncoupled – Netflix original series
July 31
The Wretched
What's New On HBO Max: July 2022
July 1
A Kind of Murder
A Simple Plan
Act of Valor
Angels in the Outfield
Arbitrage
Backstabbing for Beginners
Baggage Claim
Blanes Esquina Muller (AKA Blanes St and Muller)
Bringing Out the Dead
Catch a Fire
Code of Silence
Confidence
David Copperfield
Doctor Who: Eve of Daleks
Sin City (Unrated Version)
Godzilla (1998)
Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Hollow Man (Director's Cut)
How to Screw It All Up (AKA Cómo mandarlo todo a la mierda) – Max Original Season 1 Premiere
I Spy
Indecent Proposal
Julia
La Ciudad De Las Fieras (AKA City of Wild Beasts)
Last Night in Soho
Lisztomania
Lone Survivor
Lord of War
Losing Isaiah
Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter
Mrs. Winterbourne
One for the Money
Overboard
Pawn Sacrifice
Postcards From the Edge
Rio 2
Running Scared
Safe (2012)
She's Having a Baby
Sleepers
Sleepless in Seattle
Snow Day
Spy Kids
Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams
Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over
Suite Francaise
That Awkward Moment
The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer
The Con is On
The Counselor (Extended Version)
The Great American Pastime
The Heat (Extended Version)
The Impossible
The Legends of Zorro
The Other Woman
The Plot Thickens Season 3 Premiere
The Raid
The Satanic Rites of Dracula
The World's End
This is Elvis
Thoroughbreds
Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning
Warrior
What's Eating Gilbert Grape
July 2
Before Midnight
Sidewalk Stories
July 7
Miss S – Max original Season 1 premiere
The Visitors – Max original Season 1 premiere
July 9
Mad Max: Fury Road
July 10
The Anarchists – HBO limited documentary series premiere
July 11
Tuca & Bertie Season 3 premiere
July 12
Craig of the Creek Season 4C premiere
Edge of the Earth – HBO sports documentary series premiere
The Bob's Burgers Movie
July 14
FBoy Island – Max original Season 2 premiere
Vote for Juan (Vota Juan/Venga Juan), Season 1 and 2
Vote for Juan (Venga Juan) Season 3 – Max original premiere
July 15
Kung Fu Season 2 premiere
The Rehearsal – HBO comedy series premiere
July 16
Godzilla (2014)
July 17
Rat in the Kitchen Season 1 premiere
July 19
We Baby Bears Season 1D premiere
July 21
Almost Fly – Max original Season 1 premiere
Pacto Brutal - O Assassinato de Daniella Perex – Max Original Documentary Series
Rap Sh!t – Max original Season 1 premiere
The Last Movie Stars – Max original 6-part documentary premiere
July 23
Walker Season 2 premiere
July 26
Bugs Bunny Builders Season 1A premiere
July 27
We Met in Virtual Reality – HBO original documentary premiere
July 28
Citizen Ashe – Max original premiere
Love Monster – Max original Season 3 premiere
Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin – Max Original Season 1 premiere
Wellington Paranormal – Season 4 premiere
July 29
Superman & Lois Season 2 premiere
The Milestone Generation
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Claudia Jordan, Demetria McKinney & Jill Marie Jones On 'Games Women Play' & Dating Over 40
What do you get when you mix unfiltered truths, high-stakes romance, and a few well-timed one-liners? You get Games Women Play—the sizzling new stage play by Je’Caryous Johnson that’s part relationship rollercoaster, part grown-woman group chat.
With a powerhouse cast that includes Claudia Jordan, Demetria McKinney, Jill Marie Jones, Carl Payne, Chico Bean, and Brian J. White, the play dives headfirst into the messy, hilarious, and heart-wrenching games people play for love, power, and peace of mind. And the women leading this story? They’re bringing their whole selves to the stage—and leaving nothing behind.
From Script to Spotlight
The road to Games Women Play started over 20 years ago—literally.
“This script was written 20 years ago,” Jill Marie Jones said with a smile. “It was originally called Men, Money & Gold Diggers, and I was in the film version. So when Je’Caryous called me to bring it to the stage, I was like, ‘Let’s go.’” Now reimagined for 2025, the play is updated with sharp dialogue and modern relationship dynamics that feel all too real.
Demetria McKinney, no stranger to Je’Caryous Johnson’s productions, jumped at the opportunity to join the cast once again. “This is my third time working with him,” she shared. “It was an opportunity to stretch. I’d never been directed by Carl Payne before, and the chance to work with talent I admire—Jill, Claudia, Chico—it was a no-brainer.”
Claudia Jordan joked that she originally saw the role as just another check. “I didn’t take it that seriously at first,” she admitted. “But this is my first full-on tour—and now I’ve got a whole new respect for how hard people work in theater. This ain’t easy.”
Modern Love, Stage Left
The play doesn’t hold back when it comes to the messier parts of love. One jaw-dropping moment comes when a live podcast proposal flips into a prenup bombshell—leaving the audience (and the characters) gasping.
Demetria broke it down with honesty. “People don’t ask the real questions when they date. Like, ‘Do you want kids? How do you feel about money?’ These convos aren’t happening, and then everyone’s confused. That moment in the play—it’s real. That happens all the time.”
Jill chimed in, noting how the play speaks to emotional disconnect. “We’re giving each other different tokens of love. Men might offer security and money. Women, we’re giving our hearts. But there’s a disconnect—and that’s where things fall apart.”
And then Claudia, of course, took it all the way there. “These men don’t even want to sign our prenups now!” she laughed. “They want to live the soft life, too. Wearing units, gloss, getting their brows done. We can’t have nothing! Y’all want to be like us? Then get a damn period and go through menopause.”
Dating Over 40: “You Better Come Correct”
When the conversation turned to real-life relationships, all three women lit up. Their experiences dating in their 40s and 50s have given them both clarity—and zero tolerance for games.
“I feel sexier than I’ve ever felt,” said Jill, who proudly turned 50 in January. “I say what I want. I mean what I say. I’m inside my woman, and I’m not apologizing for it.”
Demetria added that dating now comes with deeper self-awareness. “Anybody in my life is there because I want them there. I’ve worked hard to need nobody. But I’m open to love—as long as you keep doing what got me there in the first place.”
For Claudia, the bar is high—and the peace is priceless. “I’ve worked hard for my peace,” she said. “I’m not dating for food. I’m dating because I want to spend time with you. And honestly, if being with you isn’t better than being alone with my candles and fountains and cats? Then no thanks.”
Channeling Strength & Icon Status
Each actress brings something different to the play—but all of them deliver.
“I actually wish I could be messier on stage,” Claudia joked. “But I think about my grandmother—she was born in 1929, couldn’t even vote or buy a house without a man, and didn’t give a damn. She was fearless. That’s where my strength comes from.”
For Jill, the comparisons to her iconic Girlfriends character Toni Childs aren’t far off—but this role gave her a chance to dig deeper. “If you really understood Toni, you’d see how layered she was. And Paisley is the same—misunderstood, but strong. There’s more to her than people see at first glance.”
Demetria, who juggles singing and acting seamlessly, shared that live theater pushes her in a new way. “Every moment on stage counts. You can’t redo anything. It’s a different kind of love and discipline. You have to give the performance away—live, in the moment—and trust that it lands.”
Laughter, Lessons & Black Girl Gems
The show has plenty of laugh-out-loud moments—and the cast isn’t shy about who steals scenes.
“Chico Bean gets a lot of gasps and laughs,” Claudia said. “And Naomi Booker? Every scene she’s in—she’s hilarious.”
But the play isn’t just about humor. It leaves space for reflection—especially for Black women.
“I hope we get back to the foundation of love and communication,” said Demetria. “A lot of us are in protector mode. But that’s turned into survival mode. We’ve lost softness. We’ve lost connection.”
Claudia agreed. “We’re doing it all—but it’s not because we want to be strong all the time. It’s because we have to be. And I just want women to know: You can have peace, you can be soft. But stop bringing your old pain into new love. Don’t let past heartbreak build walls so high that the right person can’t climb over.”
Final Act: Pack the House
If there’s one thing this cast agrees on, it’s that this play isn’t just entertainment—it’s necessary.
“Atlanta is the Black entertainment hub,” Claudia said. “We need y’all to show up for this play. Support the arts. Support each other. Because when we pack the house, we make space for more stories like this.”
Games Women Play is more than a play—it’s a mirror. You’ll see yourself, your friends, your exes, and maybe even your next chapter. So get ready to laugh, reflect, and maybe even heal—because the games are on.
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Be Careful. Those Casual Friendships Can Be Red Flags Too.
A couple of weeks ago, I was listening to someone vent about an area of frustration that they couldn’t seem to get to the root of — why they keep getting taken advantage of by certain individuals. When you’ve been a life coach for as long as I have (and you were a journalist before that), you learn how to ask certain questions that can cause people to consider things that they may never have before.
So, when I asked her, “What is the common thread with all of those folks? And sit still for two minutes before answering,” when she finally heard her own self speak, her eyes got wide and her mouth dropped open: “They’re all people who I’m not really sure what they are in my life.”
Ding. Ding. DING.
A life coach by the name of Thomas Leonard once said that “Clarity affords focus” and, believe you me, when it comes to dealing with other human beings, if you don’t get clear on where you stand when it comes to your interactions with them, you can very easily find yourself “focusing too much” on those who don’t deserve it and too little on those who absolutely do. And y’all, this lil’ PSA couldn’t be more relevant than when it comes to what I call “casual friendships.”
Let’s dig — and for some of us, dig our way out of — what it means to have a casual friend, so that you can get clear on if you really need those in your life…and if so…why?
Article continues after the video.
It Can’t Be Said Enough: Always Remember What “Casual” Means
There’s a reason why I decided to share two videos by mental health coach Isaiah Frizzle at the top and bottom of this article. It’s because a lot of what he shares in both of them complements a piece that I wrote for the platform last year entitled, “This Is Just What Purposeful Relationships Look Like.”
It’s the author M. Scott Peck who once said, “Until you value yourself, you won't value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it” and please believe that the older (and hopefully more mature) you get, the more you tend to see just how valuable — and fleeting — time is; and that is what plays a huge role in motivating you want to only involve yourself with people, places, things and ideas that will honor your time — and when something is casual? In my opinion, it’s highly debatable that it’s worth much of your months, days, hours, or even too many of your minutes.
The main reason why is addressed in an article that I wrote back in the day entitled, “We Should Really Rethink The Term 'Casual Sex.'” The gist? When it comes to relationships, “casual” is certainly not a favorite word of mine because I know what it means. Have mercy — why would you want to invest your time, energy, and emotions into something that is, by definition, apathetic, indifferent, careless, lacking emotional intimacy, and/or is without purpose?
I don’t know about y’all but that sounds like a complete and total crap shoot to me — especially if you are going to go so far as to consider this type of dynamic a true friendship (check out “Ever Wonder If A Friend Is Just...Not That Into You?,” “6 Signs You're About To Make A Huge Mistake In Making Them A Close Friend,” “5 Signs Of A Toxic Friendship That Is Secretly Poisoning Your Life,” “12 Friend Facts That Might Cause You To Rethink (Some Of) Your Own,” and “Less & Less Of Us Have Close Friends These Days. Why Is That?” ).
To me, when you decide to call someone “friend,” it means that they are loyal, reliable, consistent, trustworthy and willing to be there to support you to the very best of their ability — even if it’s inconvenient to do so sometimes (check out “Life Taught Me That True Friendships Are 'Inconvenient'”). How in the world can you expect that from something that has the word “casual” in it?
And you know what? That actually segues into my next point about casual friendships pretty darn well.
Ponder the Purpose “Casual Friends” Serve in Your Life
A couple of years ago, Verywell Mind published an article entitled, “How the 4 Types of Friendship Fit Into Your Life.” The four that it listed were acquaintances (which I actually don’t consider to be friends; check out “6 Differences Between A Close Acquaintance And An Actual Friend”), casual friends, close friends, and lifelong friends. After reading the piece, I think they consider casual friends to be the “pleasure” friends that I mentioned in the article, “According To Aristotle, We Need ‘Utility’, ‘Pleasure’ & ‘Good’ Friends.”
And although I certainly get that, I think my “cause for pause” is calling those people “friends” when they probably should be called something like an associate or possibly even a buddy instead. Why do I feel this way? Well, I’ve shared in other articles that I think social media has jacked up vocabulary words and their true meaning on a billion different levels.
Take “friend,” for example. Facebook had us out here calling everyone we connected to on their platform “friends” when some of them, we’ve never even spoken to before — and I personally think that influenced, affected and perhaps even infected our psyche to the point where we will call folks, both online and off, “friend” even when they haven’t earned it and/or who possibly don’t deserve it.
That said, do I think that we all could use lighthearted interactions that don’t go very deep and are filled with not much more than fun? Sure. However, if we were to move this over into a sexual thing — those types of people would probably be called a sneaky link, and there is nothing significant or substantial about ‘em. In fact, if anything pretty much automatically comes with an expiration date, sneaky links would have to be it.
And that’s kind of the point that I’m trying to make about a casual friend — so long as you know that the word “casual” is being used to describe them, while you may enjoy the people who fit that bill, they aren’t really anything that you can or even should fully rely on. Instead, take them for what they are and don’t really expect much more than that. Otherwise, you could be in for some profound levels of disappointment. And who wants that?
Final point.
How a Casual Friend Can Become a Huge Red Flag
I’m telling you, y’all gonna quit clowning Tubi. LOL. To me, the best way to describe it is it’s the Cricket of current streaming apps. What I mean by that is, back when Cricket (the cell phone service) first came out, people, like me, who used it service got incessantly clowned because it was seen as a bootleg provider. Now it’s owned by AT&T, and as someone who has rocked with them since I was in my 20s, I don’t have one regret for doing so. Cricket has always been good to me, chile.
And Tubi? Well, when you get a chance, check out CNBC’s article, “CEO at 33, Tubi’s Anjali Sud on success hacks she learned at Amazon, IAC on way to top of Fox streaming” — take note of the moves the streaming app is making and the quality of programming that is transpiring in real time.
Anyway, I find myself bringing up Tubi more and more in my content because it helps to amplify some of the points that I like to make. This time, it’s a movie that’s (currently) on there calledRight Man, Wrong Woman. If you haven’t seen it before, I don’t want to give too much of the film away. What I will say is that the main female character, she had a casual friend and then she had a close friend.
That casual friend—the one who liked to kick it all of the time—was a lot of fun; however, dealing with her came with a ton of semi-unforeseen consequences. Meanwhile, the close friend? She’s what the Aristotle article (that I mentioned earlier) would call the “good friend” because she tried her best to hold her friend accountable.
And really, it shouldn’t be a shock that the casual friend turned out to be a plum trip because if someone is loads of entertainment and pleasure and yet they are indifferent towards you, they make careless decisions around you and/or they don’t really make known the purpose for you being in their life other than to pass some time — where really do you and that person have to go past drinks after work or dinner on a rooftop restaurant from time to time? And if that is all that the two of you are doing, again, why are they deserving of the word “friend”?
Hmph and don’t get me started on the lack of reciprocity that typically transpires when it comes to dealing with people like this because, while they won’t mind you spending your coins on them, taking their calls in the middle of the night or listening to all of their issues — when it comes time for them to show up for you, they very well may gaslight you into thinking that you are being dramatic, clingy or “doing the most.” Why? Well, it’s mostly because the two of you never really established what the hell the both of you are to one another.
And so, while you’re somewhere taking them seriously, they are out here seeing you casually, and as much as it might hurt to hear, that doesn’t automatically or necessarily make them a bad person. You shouldn’t expect much where no clarity is involved. After all, casual is just that: CASUAL.
____
I’m hoping that you can now see why I entitled this piece in the way that I did. It’s because a red flag is pretty much a warning, and to me, a casual friend is about as big of an oxymoron (again, to me) as casual sex is. Friends and sex are both too intimate to be seen or treated casually. Oh, but if you step out and take that risk, you could find yourself getting far more involved than the other individual ever wanted to go, because casual is how things have always been. “Friend” was simply to get you more mentally and emotionally invested. SMDH.
American columnist Walter Winchell once said, “A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.” A wise person once said, “One good friendship will outlive forty average loves." Former President Ulysses S. Grant once said, “The friend in my adversity I shall always cherish most. I can better trust those who helped to relieve the gloom of my dark hours than those who are so ready to enjoy with me the sunshine of my prosperity.” Does any of this sound casual to you? Yeah, me neither.
Again, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t have people in your life who aren’t on deep levels. I’m just saying that you might want to consider putting them into another category than friend, because what friends do for people? There ain’t nothin’ even remotely casual about it, sis. Not even a lil’ bit.
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