NBCUniversal Announces Streaming Service With ‘Battlestar Galactica’ Reboot From Sam Esmail & ‘Saved by the Bell’ Revival!
NBCUniversal is the latest US network to launch their own streaming service, and whilst the newly named “Peacock” offering is unlikely to land in the UK, they did announce some eyebrow-raising shows which could make it over here.
The list of launch shows includes another reboot of ‘Battlestar Galactica’, this time coming from ‘Mr. Robot’ creator Sam Esmail, a revival of teen comedy ‘Saved by the Bell’, a revival of ‘Punky Brewster’, and a new movie spinoff from the long-running series ‘Psych’. They also include some we have already heard about, such as the adaptation of ‘Brave New World’ starring Alden Ehrenreich, which was originally slated for USA Network, and it seems ‘A.P.Bio’, which has been recently picked up in the UK by the new Sky Comedy channel, will be moving onto the service. Here is a complete rundown of the shows coming to “Peacock”.
DRAMA
The drama series include ‘Dr. Death’ based on the true-crime podcast starring Jamie Dornan, Emmy and Golden Globe winner Alec Baldwin and Golden Globe winner Christian Slater; That reboot of the critically acclaimed and award-winning ‘Battlestar Galactica’ from Golden Globe winner and Emmy-nominated ‘Mr. Robot’ and ‘Homecoming’ EP Sam Esmail; ‘Brave New World’ based on the dystopian novel by Aldous Huxley and starring Alden Ehrenreich (‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’) and Golden Globe Award nominee Demi Moore; ‘Angelyne’, a limited series from Golden Globe Award nominee Emmy Rossum; and ‘One of Us Is Lying’, based on the New York Times best-selling young adult mystery-thriller.
COMEDY
The platform’s new original comedies include ‘Rutherford Falls’, co-created by Emmy and Peabody Award-winner Mike Schur, Ed Helms, and Sierra Teller Ornelas, and starring Ed Helms; ‘Straight Talk’, from Emmy Award nominee Rashida Jones and NAACP Image Award winner Jada Pinkett Smith; Reboots of ‘Saved By the Bell’, from Emmy Award-winner Tracey Wigfield (’30 Rock’), featuring original cast members including Elizabeth Berkley and Mario Lopez, and ‘Punky Brewster’, starring Soleil Moon Frye as a grown-up version of her former character; an all-new season of ‘A.P.Bio’, starring Glenn Howerton and Patton Oswalt; and the second movie spinoff from the long-running series ‘Psych’.
UNSCRIPTED
Unscripted programming, including a new ‘Saturday Night Live’ docuseries, ‘Who Wrote That’, from creator Lorne Michaels, exploring the famous personalities in front of and behind the camera; an original talk show series from Jimmy Fallon, in collaboration with Matador Content and Universal Television Alternative Studio; a weekly late-night show starring Amber Ruffin and executive produced by Seth Meyers; and a “spinoff” of ‘The Real Housewives’ franchise…
In addition to all the new programming, the service will have box sets of various NBC shows, such as ‘The Office’, ‘Parks and Recreation’, ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’, ‘Frasier’, ‘Will & Grace’, ‘Battlestar Gallactica’ and a host of other series. There will also be films from Universal Pictures and Focus Features such as ‘American Pie’, ‘Bridesmaids’, ‘Casino’, ‘Back to the Future’, ‘The Breakfast Club’, and franchises such as ‘Bourne’ and ‘Fast & Furious’.
As I said at the top of the article, we don’t expect “Peacock” to launch outside of the US, however, there is a very good chance some of the new original shows will get picked up in the UK. We’ll let you know when we hear more.
