Ahead of its virtual time with press Wednesday at the Television Critics Association’s winter press tour, the NBCUniversal-backed streamer added a pair of scripted comedies, an Andy Cohen-produced unscripted series and a pair of totally different docuseries to its slate as the service continues to bolster its offerings. It’s the first slate for the streamer under Susan Rovner, who took over originals for Peacock following NBCUniversal’s massive executive restructuring last year.
Picked up to series are an untitled comedy starring Craig Robinson (formerly known as Killing It) that reunites the actor behind the Pontiac Bandit with Brooklyn Nine-Nine exec producers Dan Goor and Luke Del Tredici and Bust Down, an ensemble comedy from SNL mastermind Lorne Michaels featuring breakout cast member Chris Redd.
On the unscripted side, Watch What Happens Live‘s Cohen will host new series Ex Rated, a social experiment of sorts featuring singles who send exit surveys to find out why relationships went bust. On the docuseries side, Peacock has picked up true crime entry John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise from its NBC News Studios and set a March 25 drop for all six episodes. Joining that will be a three-part doc featuring Olympic swimming great Michael Phelps as Peacock begins its countdown to the Tokyo games.
Rounding out the slate is the announcement that Peacock is revisiting The Real Housewives of Miami, with Cohen and the team behind that hugely successful franchise. The project is currently in the development stage and would return to the location that previously ran for four season son Bravo from 2011-2013.
“Peacock is committed to expanding the breadth and depth of our content and pushing the boundaries of compelling storytelling across genres,” said Rovner, who serves of chairman of entertainment content for NBCUniversal Television and Streaming. “I am excited to unveil a dynamic slate of new programming that truly offers something for everyone, whether you’re a fan of comedy, reality, true crime or sports.”
Rovner oversees Peacock, NBC, USA Network, Syfy, Bravo, Oxygen and E!, among other NBCU linear networks. She and her team are responsible for all entertainment content across the portfolio. She installed heads of scripted, unscripted, reality and other divisions after joining NBCUniversal from Warner Bros. TV last year.
Peacock had a more subdued launch last year. The platform, which features ad-free and premium tiers, was originally poised to launch alongside the Tokyo Olympics. With the summer games postponed to last year, Peacock had a muted launch as NBCUniversal spent much of the past year focused on its executive restructuring and adding library content. A few scripted series, developed under former Peacock head of originals Bill McGoldrick, launched and were renewed including Saved by the Bell and NBC import A.P. Bio. Up next for Peacock is its Punky Brewster revival.
Here’s more on Peacock’s new additions:
Untitled Craig Robinson comedy: Peacock has ordered 10 episodes of the comedy about class, capitalism and one man’s quest to achieve the American Dream. Brooklyn Nine-Nine co-creator Goor and head writer Luke Del Tredici co-wrote the script and exec produce alongside Robinson. The comedy hails from Universal Television, where Goor is under an overall deal. The series, which was first developed by McGoldrick in July, arrives days after NBC announced that the upcoming eighth season of Brooklyn Nine-Nine would be its last and return for an abbreviated run next season. Goor also has new comedy Grand Crew awaiting a premiere date at NBC.
Bust Down comedy: The six-episode ensemble comedy follows four casino employees in a dead-end job in middle America as t hey attempt to find self-worth in their bad ideas. Redd, Sam Jay, Langston Kerman and Jak Knight star. A showrunner has not been named. Michaels exec produces via his Universal TV-based Broadway Video banner alongside Andrew Singer and Hilary Marx. Richie Keen will direct.
Ex Rated reality series: Cohen will host the series that explores adult singles who send exit surveys to all of their previous romantic partners to learn why the relationships didn’t work. The series is based on a new format created and developed by BBC Studios’ L.A. production arm and the U.K.’s Mighty Productions. Eric Pankowski serves as showrunner, Cohen also exec produces.
John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise: The six-part true crime docuseries will launch March 25 and feature a multiple-hour interview with Gacy from prison. Rod Blackhurst, Alexa Danner, Elizabeth Fischer and Tracy Ullman serve as executive producers on the series. Alison True will serve as executive consultant.
Michael Phelps: Medals, Memories & More: The three-part doc, from NBC Sports, features the swimmer taking a look back at his Olympic career. It will launch before the Tokyo O lympics. Each episode will feature a different era in his career.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
