Twisted Metal
NetworkPeacock,
SimilarFate/Zero, Mortal Kombat: Conquest, Sonic the Hedgehog,
Through the haze of nostalgia, someone might find themselves thinking, “I remember Twisted Metal being a fun video game. I don’t remember there being a story to it though.” If that’s you, good news: your brain is not playing tricks on you. While the series gained complexity over time and each character took on backstory and better-defined goals, the on-screen experience essentially boiled down to a demolition derby in which the victor received an ironic fulfillment of their biggest wish. Continue Reading →
Based on a True Story
SimilarBates Motel, I Love Lucy,
Delia, oh, Delia, Delia all my life/If I hadn't have shot poor Delia/I'd have had her for my wife/Delia's gone, one more round, Delia's gone." Continue Reading →
Mrs. Davis
NetworkPeacock,
Watch afterBEEF Citadel, Fleabag, Good Omens, South Park, Tulsa King, Twisted Metal,
Betty Gilpin is a dramatic arts treasure. Capable of ringing tears or laughs out of any situation she deserves all her flowers and more. She is so good, her portrayal of Sister Simone nearly pulls Mrs. Davis across into great television. Continue Reading →
Paul T. Goldman
Paul T. Goldman isn’t funny, per se. Like its titular lead subject (real name Paul Finkelman), there’s an awkwardness that will leave all but the least sympathetically embarrassed feeling itchy. It is frequently strange. It’s perplexingly over the top and all over the place. It rings out laughs, but most are distinctively of the “too awkward to do anything but giggle” variety. So, no, not especially funny. Continue Reading →
Irreverent
NetworkPeacock,
SimilarLupin,
Paolo (Colin Donnell), a mob fixer, is used to being the smartest person in the room. However, sometimes even the most intelligent guy makes dumb decisions. For Paolo, that begins with killing a mob boss’s son to save his own life. Then he makes that worse by going on the run with the boss’s money. But he's not done yet. Next up, he gets robbed by, of all people, a depressed Reverend, Mackenzie Boyd (P.J. Byrne), who decides to live it up on Paolo’s dime. Finally, he completes the progression of bad ideas by taking Boyd’s new job in the small town of oceanside town of Clump. There, he reasons, he can finally regain control of his life's wreckage. Continue Reading →
Angelyne
NetworkPeacock,
SimilarBates Motel, Unforgettable,
Angelyne, the enigmatic blonde bombshell whose likeness once dominated over 200 billboards all across Los Angeles in the 1980s, has only ever been promoting one thing: herself. With a mountain of platinum locks atop her head and a chest of truly unearthly proportions, she had the entire city asking who is Angelyne? But creator Nancy Oliver (True Blood, Six Feet Under) and showrunner Allison Miller's (Brave New World) new miniseries argues that that’s the wrong question entirely. Instead, the real question is, what is Angelyne? What does she represent to herself, the city, and celebrity culture in general? Continue Reading →
Bel-Air
Over the course of the first three episodes of Bel-Air—Peacock's downbeat reimagining of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air as a modern, self-serious prestige-adjacent drama flipping the script on the original comedy's inherently sulky premise—new kid on the block Will Smith (played with smooth-as-ever charm by Jabari Banks) plays basketball, dodges a gang hit, and contends with an obnoxious cousin who is seemingly his complete opposite. So is this dramatization really all that different from the culturally-defining '90s sitcom? The answer, like the show itself, is complicated. Continue Reading →
One of Us Is Lying
There has been something of a teen thriller renaissance of late. Shows like Cruel Summer, The Wilds, Panic, and Outer Banks have mined the teen streaming audience to deliver stories that all had at least something about them worth watching. Joining the fold this week is Peacock’s One of Us Is Lying, an adaptation of the Karen McManus book of the same name. Continue Reading →
Dr. Death
NetworkPeacock,
SimilarAre You Afraid of the Dark?, Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King,
Dr. Death borrows its tantalizing title from the Wondery podcast, which similarly breaks down a harrowing true story about a neurosurgeon who — for whatever reason — keeps killing or permanently harming his patients on the operating table. Continue Reading →
Girls5eva
StarringRenée Elise Goldsberry,
NBC’s streaming app Peacock plays a strong hand in the nostalgia game. It’s the streaming home of The Office. It’s rebooted sitcom classics like Saved by the Bell and Punky Brewster. Adding to the nostalgia trip is its new original comedy Girls5eva. Created by Meredith Scardino and executive produced by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock, Girls5eva might first look like pure bubblegum pop fluff, but it digs deeper as a comedic exploration of pop music’s problematic past. Continue Reading →
Rutherford Falls
NetworkPeacock,
SimilarEcho, Son of the Morning Star,
Michael Schur’s no stranger to centering television sitcoms around complex topics. There’s the inner workings of local government in Parks and Recreation, the chaos and philosophy of the afterlife in The Good Place, and now America’s problematic past in the Peacock original Rutherford Falls. Co-created by Schur, Ed Helms, and Sierra Teller Ornelas, Rutherford Falls is the funny wake-up call we need. Continue Reading →