NBC Peacock's originals include Twitter tell-all, Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Mindy Kaling shows
Peacock adds six new shows to its pipeline, joining a roster of originals, reboots and reboots of reboots.
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One of Peacock's originals will be produced by Mindy Kaling.
Peacock, the upcoming NBCUniversal streaming service, expanded its slate of originals Thursday at a star-studded unveiling. The Peacock pipeline now includes shows from Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Mindy Kaling and Norman Lear.
Unlike most of its new rivals in the so-called streaming wars, Comcast-owned NBCUniversal is pinning its hopes on a free service with ads running against its library of shows like The Office and Parks and Recreation, high-profile movies from its studios, and originals that include a bunch of reboots (and reboots of reboots).
The details came during two-hour presentation unveiling Peacock at NBCUniversal's storied 30 Rockefeller Plaza headquarters in New York.
The slate for Peacock, set to arrive July 15, now includes:
- The Adventure Zone, a fantasy animated comedy series based on the Dungeons & Dragons podcast and best-selling graphic novel series.
- Clean Slate, starring Laverne Cox as a trans woman who returns to Alabama and reunites with her estranged father after 17 years. It comes from legendary producer Norman Lear.
- Expecting, produced by Mindy Kaling, about a single woman who asks her gay best friend to be her sperm donor.
- Division One, a coming-of-age comedy about an underdog women's collegiate soccer team, produced by Amy Poehler.
- Hatching Twitter, based on Nick Bilton's best-selling book.
- MacGruber, based on the Saturday Night Live sketch character who spawned a movie in 2010. Will Forte stars in, writes and produces this comedy series.
- Girls5Eva, produced by Tina Fey about a one-hit-wonder girl group from the '90s that reunites for one more shot at stardom.
- The Capture, a drama thriller that ran on the BBC in the UK.
- Lady Parts, a comedy about an all-female Muslim punk band that aired on Channel 4 in the UK.
- Intelligence, a comedy starring David Schwimmer about a maverick American intelligence agent and a hapless British computer analyst.
- Code 404, a cop comedy.
- Hitmen, a sitcom about inept contract killers starring Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins, best known as the former hosts of The Great British Bake Off.
- A racing series from Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- A behind-the-scenes documentary series that follows USA Basketball superstars on their Olympic journey to Tokyo, produced in partnership with the NBA.
In addition, NBC announced more library titles it will include in the streaming catalog. Peacock will stream the popular procedural shows from Dick Wolf's Wolf Entertainment, including Law and Order, Law and Order: SVU, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D. and Chicago Med. It will also stream the Paramount Network drama series Yellowstone, as well as Two and a Half Men and The George Lopez Show.
Peacock will be the latest combatant in the so-called streaming wars, in which media giants and tech titans are releasing a raft of new streaming services to take on Netflix. In the case of Peacock, even traditional TV networks and cable companies like Comcast are placing big bets that the cord-cutting and streaming are the future of TV. More than just skirmishes between mega-corporations, these battles will determine who shapes the future of television and how many services you'll have to pay for to watch your favorite shows.
Peacock's previously announced catalog includes:
Original drama
- Dr. Death, based on the true-crime podcast starring Jamie Dornan, Alec Baldwin and Christian Slater.
- A revival of Battlestar Galactica (itself a reboot of the 1970s sci-fi series) by Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail.
- Brave New World, based on the dystopian novel by Aldous Huxley and starring Demi Moore and Alden Ehrenreich from Solo: A Star Wars Story.
- Angelyne, a limited series from Emmy Rossum about a fictional, surgically enhanced L.A. pop-culture icon.
- One of Us Is Lying, based on the best-selling young adult mystery-thriller.
Original comedy
- Rutherford Falls, starring Ed Helms, who also co-created the show with Mike Schur (showrunner for The Good Place and co-creator of Parks and Recreation) and Sierra Teller Ornelas, who has produced ABC's Splitting Up Together and NBC's Superstore.
- Straight Talk, from Rashida Jones and Jada Pinkett Smith.
- A Saved By the Bell reboot written by 30 Rock's Tracey Wigfield, with original cast members including Elizabeth Berkley and Mario Lopez.
- The Punky Brewster reboot, starring Soleil Moon Frye as a grownup version of the titular character.
- A new season of A.P.Bio, starring Glenn Howerton and Patton Oswalt.
- A second movie spinoff from the series Psych.
Original unscripted shows
- Who Wrote That, a Saturday Night Live docuseries from creator Lorne Michaels, exploring the famous personalities in front of and behind the camera.
- A stand-up special, comedy shorts and a new talk show from Kevin Hart and his LOL Network.
- A kids-version of The Tonight Show.
- A weekly late night show starring Amber Ruffin and executive produced by Seth Meyers.
- A spinoff of Bravo's The Real Housewives franchise.
Library titles
- The Office
- Parks and Recreation
- 30 Rock
- Bates Motel
- Battlestar Gallactica
- Brooklyn Nine-Nine
- Cheers
- Chrisley Knows Best
- Covert Affairs
- Downton Abbey
- Everyone Loves Raymond
- Frasier
- Friday Night Lights
- House
- Keeping Up with the Kardashians
- King Of Queens
- Married…With Children
- Monk
- Parenthood
- Psych
- Royal Pains
- Saturday Night Live
- Superstore
- The Real Housewives
- Two and a Half Men
- Top Chef
- Will & Grace
Movies
Universal Pictures is developing original films and animated series to debut on Peacock, and DreamWorks Animation (the studio behind Shrek, Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon) will create original animated content for Peacock too.
Peacock's movie library will include past films from those studios, plus Focus Features, including:
- American Pie
- Bridesmaids
- Knocked Up
- Meet the Parents
- Meet the Fockers
- A Beautiful Mind
- Back to the Future
- Brokeback Mountain
- Casino
- Dallas Buyers Club
- Do the Right Thing
- Erin Brockovich
- E.T. The Extra Terrestrial
- Field of Dreams
- Jaws
- Mamma Mia!
- Shrek
- The Breakfast Club
- Bourne franchise
- Despicable Me franchise
- Fast & Furious franchise
Spanish-language programming
Peacock will lean into Telemundo to reach Hispanic audiences with the streaming service, with more than 3,000 hours of Telemundo's programming. So far, the company has specified that includes the original dramedy Armas de Mujer, a new series from the makers of La Reina del Sur, and popular library titles 100 Dias Para Volver, Betty in NY, El Barón and Preso No. 1.
Originally published Jan. 16.
Update, Jan. 17: With more titles planned for Peacock.
