As if we needed another streaming service, but it turns out we do. NBC Universal’s Peacock is launching on tax day and it is free with ads for Comcast subscribers. Don’t want the ads, then you can pay $5 to get rid of them. Wait, you don’t have Comcast? Then it will be $5 and $10, respectively.
What do you get? A lot of their programming like the Law & Orders, One Chicago, The Office and many more of their old shows like Fraiser and Everybody Loves Raymond, and movies. You will also be able to watch their late night shows in primetime. Plus, they are rebooting Saved By the Bell. Punky Brewster, Battlestar Galactica, and MacGruber. The latter was announced today.
To read about their new shows, then
The Adventure Zone
Based on the McElroy Family’s wildly popular Dungeons & Dragons podcast and #1 NY Times Bestselling graphic novel series—The Adventure Zone is a side-splitting and heart-filled fantasy animated comedy series that follows an unlikely, poorly equipped trio and their beleaguered Dungeon Master as they reluctantly embark on a quest to save their world.
Executive Producers: Clint McElroy, Justin McElroy, Travis McElroy, Griffin McElroy
Writer/Executive Producer: Adam Higgs
Clean Slate
Old school car wash owner, Henry, is thrilled that his estranged child is returning to Alabama after 17 years. However, Henry has a lot of soul searching to do when the child he thought was a son returns as the determined, proud, trans woman, Desiree.
Writer/Executive Producer: Dan Ewen
Writer/Executive Producer/Star: Laverne Cox
Writer/Producer/Star: George Wallace
Executive Producers: Norman Lear, Brent Miller
Producer: Paul Hilepo
Studio: Sony
Expecting
Ellie, a fiercely independent but perpetually single music manager, has always wanted a family but never found a man worthy of the role of “father.” That is, until her 39th birthday, when she decides to ask her gay best friend and co-worker, Jonathan, if he’ll be her sperm donor. When Jonathan surprises himself by saying “yes,” it sets off a chain of events that turn Ellie and Jonathan’s personal and professional lives upside down as they try to turn their “chosen family” into a biological family.
Writer/Executive Producer: Chris Schleicher
Executive Producers: Mindy Kaling, Howard Klein
Studio: Warner Bros.
Division One
Division One is a coming-of-age comedy about an underdog women’s collegiate soccer team that gets a new female coach – a former professional soccer player who’s fallen from grace – and must decide whether or not they’re going to take the risk of trying to be great.
Writer/Director/Executive Producer: Maggie Carey
Writer/Executive Producer: Julia Brownell
Executive Producers: Amy Poehler (Paper Kite), Abby Wambach & Glennon Doyle, Kim Lessing (Paper Kite), Dave Becky & Tom Lassally (3Arts Entertainment)
Studio: Universal Television
Hatching Twitter
Through exclusive access and exhaustive investigative reporting, New York Times best-selling author and Vanity Fair special correspondent Nick Bilton draws on hundreds of sources, documents, and internal e-mails to tell intimate true stories of companies behaving badly and technology gone awry. The first installment of this anthology series will be based on Bilton’s acclaimed book Hatching Twitter, a tale of betrayed friendships and high-stakes power struggles that accompanied the meteoric rise of the infamous tech company. 140 characters and a few lines of code changed the world, disrupting the very fabric of the way people communicate. This series will explore the real masterminds behind it all, how it was done, and the colossal ramifications the technology will have on our future.
Writer/Executive Producer: Nick Bilton
Executive Producer: Patrick Macmanus
Studio: UCP
MacGruber
After rotting in prison for over a decade, America’s ultimate hero and uber patriot MacGruber is finally released. His mission: to take down a mysterious villain from his past—Brigadier Commander Enos Queeth. With the entire world in the crosshairs, MacGruber (Will Forte), Vicki, and Piper must race against time to defeat the forces of evil. Only to find that evil… may be lurking within.
Writer/Executive Producer/Star: Will Forte
Writer/Director/Executive Producer: Jorma Taccone
Writer/Executive Producer: John Solomon
Executive Producers: Lorne Michaels, John Goldwyn, Andrew Singer & Erin David (Broadway Video)
Studio: Universal Television
Angelyne
Limited series based on The Hollywood Reporter feature that explored the identity of L.A.’s mysterious billboard bombshell.
Executive Producer/Star: Emmy Rossum
Executive Producers: Sam Esmail, Chad Hamilton, Allison Miller
Director/Executive Producer: Lucy Tcherniak
Consultant: Gary Baum
Studio: UCP
Armas De Mujer
From the team behind Telemundo’s hit La Reina del Sur comes a new dramedy series led by Mexican superstar Kate del Castillo. Four women suffer their worst nightmare: the police arrest their husbands for being linked to the same criminal organization. Accustomed to a life of abundance, they will be forced to join forces in the most unusual manner.
Writer: Jose Luis Acosta
Executive Producer: Marcos Santana
Battlestar Galactica
From the mind of Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail comes a series that explores a new story within the Battlestar Galactica mythology, the eponymous TV show that saw humanity at war with Cylons, machines of their own creation.
Executive Producers: Sam Esmail, Chad Hamilton
Studio: UCP
Brave New World
Based on Aldous Huxley’s groundbreaking 1932 novel, Brave New World imagines a utopian society that has achieved peace and stability through the prohibition of monogamy, privacy, money, family, and history itself.
Writer/Executive Producer: David Wiener
Director/Executive Producer: Owen Harris
Executive Producers: Grant Morrison, Darryl Frank (Amblin), Justin Falvey (Amblin), Brian Taylor
Starring: Alden Ehrenreich, Jessica Brown Findlay, Harry Lloyd, Kylie Bunbury, Hannah John-Kamen, Sen Mitsuji, Joseph Morgan, Nina Sosanya, Demi Moore
Studio: UCP
The Capture
A timely conspiracy thriller exploring pressing questions about surveillance and misinformation. Set in London, the modern-day spy show begins with the arrest of a former soldier, which spirals into a complex conspiracy involving manipulated video evidence. Produced by Heyday Television.
Director/Writer: Ben Chanan
Executive Producers: David Heyman, Rosie Alison, Ben Irving, Tom Coan, Tom Winchester
Producer: Derek Ritchie
Starring: Callum Turner, Holliday Grainger, Ron Perlman, Famke Janssen, Ben Miles, Ralph Ineson, Paul Ritter, Lia Williams, Laura Haddock
Dr. Death
Based on Wondery’s hit podcast of the same name, Dr. Death tells the terrifying true story of Dr. Christopher Duntsch (Jamie Dornan), a rising star in the Dallas medical community. Young, charismatic and ostensibly brilliant, Dr. Duntsch was building a flourishing neurosurgery practice when everything suddenly changed. Patients entered his operating room for complex but routine spinal surgeries and left permanently maimed or dead. As victims piled up, two fellow physicians, neurosurgeon Robert Henderson (Alec Baldwin) and vascular surgeon Randall Kirby (Christian Slater), set out to stop him. Dr. Death explores the twisted mind of a sociopath and the gross negligence of the system designed to protect the most defenseless among us.
Writer/Executive Producer: Patrick Macmanus
Executive Producers: Todd Black (Escape Artists), Jason Blumenthal (Escape Artists), Steve Tisch (Escape Artists), Hernan Lopez (Wondery), Marshall Lewy (Wondery)
Starring: Jamie Dornan, Alec Baldwin, Christian Slater
Studio: UCP
PILOT ORDERS
One of Us is Lying
Based on Karen M. McManus’s New York Times best-selling novel of the same name, One of Us is Lying is the story of what happens when five strangers walk into detention and only four walk out alive. Everyone is a suspect, and everyone has something to hide.
Writer/Executive Producer: Erica Saleh
Director/Executive Producer: Jennifer Morrison
Author: Karen M. McManus
Executive Producers: John Sacchi (5 More Minutes), Matt Groesch (5 More Minutes)
Starring: Marianly Tejada, Cooper van Grootel, Annalisa Cochrane, Chibuikem Uche, Jessica McLeod, Barrett Carnahan, Melissa Collazo, Mark McKenna
Studio: UCP
Comedy Originals
Nobody knows comedy like Peacock and NBCUniversal, with a dream-team including Tina Fey, Lorne Michaels, Michael Schur, Seth Meyers, and Jimmy Fallon. Peacock will boast an impressive collection of comedies, including a revival of the classic sitcom “Saved by the Bell.”
SERIES ORDERS
The Amber Ruffin Show
Each week The Amber Ruffin Show will showcase Amber’s signature smart-and-silly take on the week. A late-night show with just the good parts – the comedy.
Executive Producer/Star: Amber Ruffin
Executive Producers: Jenny Hagel, Seth Meyers & Mike Shoemaker (Sethmaker Shoemeyers)
A.P. Bio
When disgraced Harvard philosophy professor Jack Griffin loses out on his dream job, he is forced to return to Toledo, Ohio, and work as a high school Advanced Placement biology teacher. As he comes crashing in to Whitlock High School, Jack makes it absolutely clear he will not be teaching any biology. Realizing he has a room full of honor roll students at his disposal, Jack decides instead to use the kids for his own benefit. Eager to prove that he is still king of the castle, Principal Durbin struggles to control the force of nature that is Jack Griffin.
Writer/Executive Producer: Mike O’Brien
Executive Producers: Lorne Michaels, Seth Meyers & Mike Shoemaker (Sethmaker Shoemeyers), Andrew Singer (Broadway Video)
Starring: Glenn Howerton, Patton Oswalt, Lyric Lewis, Mary Sohn, Jean Villepique, Paula Pell
Studio: Universal Television
Code 404
Detective Inspectors Major and Carver are the top crime-fighting duo at the Met Police’s Special Investigation Unit, until Major gets gunned down on the job. But in an experimental artificial intelligence project, he’s brought back from the dead.
Director: Al Campbell
Writer: Daniel Peak (co-creator)
Executive Producers: Tom Miller (co-creator), Sam Mayer (co-creator), Phil Temple, Diederick Santer, Morwenna Gordon
Producer: Charlotte Surtees
Starring: Daniel Mays, Stephen Graham, Anna Maxwell Martin
Studio: Sky Studios
Five Bedrooms
This is a story of five unlikely allies in life who throw caution to the wind and hit upon a unique solution to a common problem. Ignoring the nay-saying of families and friends, they’re teaming up, signing contracts and buying a house together. Yes, it’s a grand social experiment. It might be genius, or it might be a total disaster…but they’re not putting their lives on hold for love any longer. There’s just one glaring problem: they’ll have to live with each other.
Directors: Peter Templeman, Corrie Chen, Fiona Banks
Starring: Kat Stewart, Stephem Peacocke, Doris Younane, Katie Robertson, Roy Joseph
Girls5Eva
When a one-hit-wonder girl group from the 90’s gets sampled by a young rapper, its members reunite to give their pop star dreams one more shot. They may be grown women balancing spouses, kids, jobs, debt, aging parents, and shoulder pain, but can‘t they also be Girls5Eva?
Writer/Executive Producer: Meredith Scardino
Executive Producers: Tina Fey (Little Stranger, Inc.), Robert Carlock (Bevel Gears), Jeff Richmond, David Miner (3 Arts Entertainment), Eric Gurian (Little Stanger)
Studio: Universal Television
Hitmen
The hits and (more often than not) misses of two hapless, dead broke best friends trying to make their way in the world with only each other to rely on. They also just happen to kill people for a living. Having stumbled into a career in contract killing, misfits Fran and Jamie are not your typical killers for hire. Working out of their scruffy van, each episode follows the hapless duo as they try to carry out their latest hit, inevitably derailed by incompetence, bickering, and inane antics.
Director: Ollie Parsons
Executive Producers: Myfanwy Moore, Siobhan Bachman, Morwenna Gordon
Producer: Arnold Widdowson
Starring: Sue Perkins, Mel Giedroyc, Jason Watkins, Sian Clifford, Asim Chaundry
Studio: Sky Studios
Intelligence
A workplace sitcom set in the UK’s Government Communications Headquarters, which is a kind of weedier, geekier, more bureaucratic version of MI5 and MI6. When an arrogant, maverick NSA agent Jerry comes over from the US to join the team, he enlists an inept and tactless computer analyst Joseph in a power grab that threatens to disrupt the team’s ability to combat cyber terrorism.
Director: Matt Lipsey
Writer/Executive Producer: Nick Mohammed
Executive Producers: David Schwimmer, Nerys Evans, Morwenna Gordon
Co-Executive Producer: Tom Hodges
Producer: Charlie Leech
Starring: David Schwimmer, Nick Mohammed
Studio: Sky Studios
Lady Parts
Lady Parts is an anarchic, laugh-out-loud music comedy following a Muslim female punk band called Lady Parts. It tracks the highs and lows of the band members as seen through the eyes of Amina Hussein – a geeky PhD student who is recruited to be their unlikely lead guitarist. Produced by Working Title TV.
Director/Writer: Nida Manzoor
Executive Producers: Mark Freeland (Working Title TV), Surian Fletcher-Jones (Working Title TV)
Studio: NBCUniversal International Studios
Psych 2: Lassie Come Home (Film)
Santa Barbara Police Chief Carlton Lassiter is ambushed on the job and left for dead. In a vintage Psych-style Hitchcockian nod, he begins to see impossible happenings around his recovery clinic. Shawn and Gus return to Lassie’s side in Santa Barbara and are forced to navigate the personal, the professional, and possibly the supernatural. Separated from their new lives in San Francisco, our heroes find themselves unwelcome in their old stomping grounds as they secretly untangle a twisted case without the benefit of the police, their loved ones, or the quality sourdough bakeries of the Bay Area. What they uncover will change the course of their relationships forever.
Writer/Director/Executive Producer: Steve Frank
Writer/Executive Producer/Star: James Roday
Writer: Andy Berman
Executive Producers: Chris Henzie, Dulé Hill
Starring: James Roday, Dulé Hill, Maggie Lawson, Kirsten Nelson, Corbin Bernsen, Tim Omundson
Studio: UCP
Punky Brewster
In this continuation of the iconic 80s sitcom about a bright young girl raised by a foster dad, Punky is now a single mother of three trying to get her life back on track when she meets Izzy (Copeland), a young girl in the foster system who reminds Punky a lot of her younger self.
Executive Producer/Star: Soleil Moon Frye
Writers/Executive Producers: Steve Armogida, Jim Armogida
Director/Executive Producer: Jonathan Judge
Executive Producers: Jimmy Fox (All3Media), Tim Pastore (All3Media), David Duclon
Starring: Soleil Moon Frye, Cherie Johnson, Quinn Copeland, Lauren Donzis, Oliver De Los Santos, and Noah Cottrell. Freddie Prinze Jr. guest stars in the pilot.
Studio: UCP/Universal Television
Rutherford Falls
A small town in upstate New York is turned upside down when local legend and town namesake, Nathan Rutherford (Ed Helms) fights the moving of a historical statue.
Writer/Executive Producer/Star: Ed Helms
Writers/Executive Producers: Michael Schur (Fremulon), Sierra Teller Ornelas
Executive Producers: David Miner (3 Arts Entertainment), Mike Falbo (Pacific Electric), Morgan Sackett
Studio: Universal Television
Saved by the Bell
When California governor Zack Morris gets into hot water for closing too many low-income high schools, he proposes they send the affected students to the highest performing schools in the state – including Bayside High. The influx of new students gives the over privileged Bayside kids a much needed and hilarious dose of reality.
Writer/Executive Producer: Tracey Wigfield
Director/Executive Producer: Trent O’Donnell
Executive Producers: Peter Engel, Franco Bario
Starring: Mario Lopez (Producer), Elizabeth Berkley (Producer), John Michael Higgins, Josie Totah
Studio: Universal Television
The Kids Tonight Show
The Kids Tonight Show is the only late-night talk show for kids, by kids. Kids doing a monologue, kids playing games, and kids interviewing the biggest stars in the world. It’s everything you love about Jimmy Fallon, but the kids are in charge.
Produced by Universal Television Alternative Studio in association with Matador Content LLC and Electric Hot Dog, Inc.
Executive Producers: Jimmy Fallon (Electric Hot Dog, Inc.), Jay Peterson (Matador Content), Todd Lubin (Matador Content), Mark Efman (BoomTown Content), Paul Ricci (BoomTown Content)
Who Wrote That
A docuseries that gives a behind the scenes look at Saturday Night Live’s most important writers.
Executive Producers: Lorne Michaels, Andy Breckman, Susan Morrison, Andrew Singer & Erin Doyle (Broadway Video), Derik Murray & Brian Gersh (Network Entertainment), Erik Kenward, Howard Klein (3 Arts Entertainment)
Director: Brent Hodge
Studio: Universal Television Alternative Studio
Kids Originals
Peacock’s original kids shows will feature top IP from DreamWorks as well as the first new “Curious George” episode in 6 years.
SERIES ORDERS
Archibald’s Next Big Thing
From the creative mind of Tony Hale (Veep), Archibald’s Next Big Thing is the story of Archibald Strutter, a chicken who ‘yes-ands’ his way through life. Archibald and his siblings live in Crackridge, a close-knit community filled with an ensemble of quirky characters. Archibald’s adventurous spirit often gets him in over his head, but he always manages to leave his world better than when he found it. Through Archibald’s unique perspective, we discover that things are seldom perfect and instead learn to focus on the humor and beauty of life’s imperfections.
Dragon Rescue Riders
Executive produced by Jack Thomas (Dragons: Race to the Edge), Dragons: Rescue Riders takes our young heroes to new highs when Dak, Leyla and their dragon friends find strange crystals that change their powers in fantastic and unexpected ways. And to new lows when they discover the sunken city of Valantis – a place filled with much dragon knowledge and danger.
DreamWorks Where’s Waldo?
DreamWorks Where’s Waldo? brings the iconic character to life in a new animated series from executive producer FM De Marco (Spy Kids: Mission Critical) and co-executive producer John Tellegen (Spy Kids: Mission Critical). Twelve-year- old Waldo and his best friend Wenda are members of the Worldwide Wanderer Society—the international order of curious travelers who circle the globe celebrating cultures and solving problems through observation. Their mentor—Wizard Whitebeard, a seasoned wanderer—sends these inquisitive young adventurers on international travel missions so they can earn their stripes and someday become wizard-level wanderers too. But standing in Waldo and Wenda’s way is their rival Odlulu, who can’t help but cause trouble wherever she goes.
Curious George
For more than 60 years the world has followed the adventures of a curious little monkey named George and his friend the Man with the Yellow Hat. Created by Margret and H.A. Rey, Curious George was first published in 1941 and has remained consistently beloved by children ever since. This animated series continues with that tradition as it introduces George to a whole new adoring generation. With a focus on education, the series incorporates early science and math content and draws upon George’s curiosity-driven adventures to target pre-school age viewers. George’s entertaining and ultimately informative experiences have proven to parents and children worldwide that there is nothing wrong with wanting to learn about the world around you!
Sports Originals
Peacock will be home to fascinating sports documentaries that capture the excitement, passion, and intrigue of sports’ most compelling stories.
SERIES ORDERS
Dream Team 2020
Follow USA Basketball’s top superstars on their journey to Tokyo in this exclusive, behind the scenes documentary series produced in partnership with NBA Entertainment. We’ll take you inside the 2020 Dream Team’s training camp, exhibition games and preparation for the 2020 Olympics, where Team USA is expected to make another gold medal run.
Hot Water: In Deep with Ryan Lochte
At the 2016 Rio Olympics Ryan Lochte was at the center of a scandal that has since overshadowed his long and decorated swimming career. Now a 35-year-old husband and father of two young children, Lochte is hoping for one more chance to make Team USA, and prove he’s not the same man he was four years ago.
United States of Speed
From Jesse Owens to Carl Lewis to Maurice Greene, there is a proud tradition of sprinting success in the United States. However in recent years, Jamaica’s Usain Bolt has been unbeatable at the Olympics. Now that the fastest man of all time has retired, meet the Americans who aim to put Team USA back on top in the sprints.
Run Through the Line
Nike founder Phil Knight and his friends take viewers through the creation of his world-renowned company and the ambitions he still chases at 81 years young. Based loosely on Knight’s best-selling memoir, Shoe Dog.
The Greatest Race
You probably remember where you were when you saw it. Michael Phelps and his teammates had fallen hopelessly behind race favorite France in the 4×100 relay at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In the final leg, 32-year-old American Jason Lezak was losing ground to Alain Bernard, the 100m world record holder and anchor of the seemingly unbeatable French team. Then the impossible happened. Hear from the swimmers on both sides of the epic relay as we revisit The Greatest Race.
Untitled Dale Earnhardt Jr. Series
Created and hosted by Dale Earnhardt Jr., this series is an exploratory look at great racing cathedrals of the past. Dale Jr. tells the stories of speedways that have been forgotten, abandoned, and overtaken by nature.
