Peacock Adjusts Development Strategy, Orders Ian McCulloch/James Wan Horror Drama & ‘Queen’s Court‘ Reality Series, Nears ’Bumper In Berlin’ Renewal
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EXCLUSIVE: Peacock launched — some of it by design some by necessity because of the pandemic — with original comedies as well as dramas repurposed from linear NBCUniversal networks. In the first year following its July 2020 launch, Peacock debuted comedies Saved By the Bell, Punky Brewster, Rutherford Falls and Girls5eva, along with drama Brave New World, which had been originally produced for USA Network.
None of these shows are still on the platform. And as the NBCUniversal streamer is headed into 2023 with the first full slate of originals developed by Susan Rovner, Chairman, Entertainment Content, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, and her team, it also is adjusting its development strategy for the next stage of its evolution, with a stronger emphasis on drama, led by eventized series, a focus on bingeable comedies as well as more true crime limited docu series and celebrity-driven shows on the unscripted side.
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As Deadline can reveal exclusively, some of the projects under that strategy shift, which NBCU executives have been presenting to the agency community, include horror thriller from Ian McCulloch and genre film master James Wan and dating reality series Queen’s Court starring Tamar Braxton, Evelyn Lozada and Nivea, both of which have been picked up to series, as well as true crime docu series World’s Most Notorious Killers and Myth of the Zodiac Killer, which have been set for development.
After an early push in original comedy series, which didn’t get much traction, Peacock is shifting the balance with about 2/3 drama and 1/3 comedy development for next year but remains committed to comedy on the heels of the success of Pitch Perfect: Bumper In Berlin, which I hear is closing in on a Season 2 renewal.
The course correction is being based on feedback from a larger sample size as Peacock has increased its user base and their engagement level. While still lagging significantly behind its main streaming competitors in reach, Peacock has made strides in 2022, more than doubling its paid subscribers over the course of the year to over 18M as well as more than 30M monthly active accounts (including bundled and free ones), with 20 hours weekly engagement. The growth has been fueled by the move of NBC and Bravo next-day programming from Hulu this past fall and Days of Our Lives, getting day-and-date Universal films like Halloween Ends, Pay 1 window films like Jurassic Park Dominion and Minions: The Rise of Gru, live events like the World Cup and NFL football as well as content deals like the recently launched Hallmark hub and live NBC local affiliate channels.
The increased circulation allowed Peacock to crack Nielsen’s streaming ratings for the first time this fall, first with Halloween Ends and then the smart 2020 off-network acquisition, Yellowstone, on the series side. It also informed Rovner and her team’s development targets for next year as they look to cater to the people consuming Peacock content and to deliver something the streamer is yet to find, a platform-defining series.
According to their pitch to talent reps, NBCU is ready to spend on a show of the caliber of House of the Dragon, LOTR: The Rings of Power or Stranger Things and is prepared to go after big stars, hoping to lure them with the prospect of leveraging them across the portfolio and cross-promoting their projects.
Here are more details about the Peacock current development plans across different genres.
DRAMA:
There is a major focus on big, eventized dramas, which typically drive subscriptions. While not going for typical blue skies fare, like the USA Network shows of the 2000s-early 2010s, Peacock largely plans to steer clear of shows that are sad and depressing, I hear. The platform is soliciting pitches with strong auspices attached but is also open to spec scripts, with upcoming sci-fi drama Mrs. Davis, from Damon Lindelof and Tara Hernandez, coming out of the latter route.
Of the completed new series, the streamer also has high hopes for Knives Out filmmaker Rian Johnson’s case-of-the-week mystery series Poker Face starring Natasha Lyonne, The Best Man: The Final Chapters limited series based on popular Universal IP with the movies’ original stars coming back as well as the in-production Based On a True Story starring Kaley Cuoco. As it’s still searching for its big breakout, Peacock has gotten traction with a couple of dramas so far, including the IP-based Bel-Air and true crime anthology Dr. Death, which has been able to attract big names.
On the development front, Peacock has given a straight-to-series order to a contemporary horror thriller from writer Ian McCulloch (Yellowstone), Atomic Monster’s James Wan (The Conjuring Universe) and UCP.
Inspired by the bestselling novel Stinger by Robert McCammon, the series follows a disparate group of people on a ranch who must come together in the face of a mysterious threat.
E.L. Katz (The Haunting of Bly Manor) will direct the opening episode and will executive produce alongside Wan, Michael Clear and Rob Hackett for Atomic Monster, McCulloch and McCammon. Danielle Bozzone will oversee for Atomic Monster.
“We are so excited for this adrenalized thriller about a group of people overcoming adversity, that’s both entertaining and emotional,” said Lisa Katz, President Scripted Content, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming. “We know this upcoming drama will be in expert hands with James Wan, E.L. Katz, Ian McCulloch, our partners at UCP, and is sure to be a binge-worthy mystery for Peacock audiences.”
COMEDY:
While noisy dramas drive subscriptions, comedies have value as a consistent way to entertain users, with The Office repeats among Peacock’s most popular offerings. Going forward, the streamer will be giving priority to bingeable comedy series.
The change in direction comes after very few original comedies have broken through on the platform, most notably Pitch Perfect: Bumper In Berlin, which delivered the biggest comedy launch on Peacock to date and is finalizing a Season 2 renewal, I hear. It eclipsed Peacock’s previous top comedy debut, Craig Robinson’s Killing It, which is returning for a second season next year.
Peacock plans to continue betting on comedies build off new takes on popular IP and familiar names as stars and has several upcoming shows in that lane, including Seth MacFarlane’s Ted, based on the hit movie franchise, Pete Davidson’s Bupkis, the Community movie as well as Twisted Metal with Anthony Mackie.
Alongside that, Peacock is looking for out-of-the-box lower cost comedies that are distinct and/or weird like the upcoming Paul T. Goldman from Borat 2 director Jason Woliner. The recently ordered In the Know, Peacock’s first adult animated comedy falls in that category too.
UNSCRIPTED:
Peacock is looking to build out its unscripted brand in two areas – entertaining reality shows for the Bravo audience which flocked to the streamer’s Love Island, and true crime limited series for the Oxygen/Dateline audience on the heels of the controversial — and well watched — Casey Anthony: Where the Truth Lies.
In the first area, Peacock has picked up Queen’s Court, a new 10-episode dating series from top producer Will Packer, which features three single “Queens” – Tamar Braxton, Evelyn Lozada (Basketball Wives) and Nivea – who team up their dating lives to find the other half of their power couple. The series is hosted by Holly Robinson Pete and her husband Rodney Pete, whose relationship insights guide the Queens through the ups and downs of dating a pool of 21 confident and successful men.
The show is executive produced by Packer and Kelly Smith of Will Packer Media, Jeff Spangler and Rob LaPlante of Lighthearted Entertainment, whose series The Big D recently moved to Peacock from TBS, as well as company’s Trifari Williams.
In the true crime arena, Peacock is developing World’s Most Notorious Killers and Myth of the Zodiac Killer.
World’s Most Notorious Killers is an anthological series that dives into shocking crimes that have taken place around the globe. Its first six-episode installment, produced by UK’s ITN, will focus on the notorious British “Bonnie and Clyde,” Fred and Rose West, who went on a multi-year crime killing spree in the UK.
Myth of the Zodiac Killer is asking the question, what if the reason the Zodiac killer has never been caught… is because he never existed in the first place?
The series is produced by Texas Crew Productions and Pyramid Productions, with Brad Bernstein, Andrew Nock, Ann Paterno, Cynthia Childs, and David Karabinas executive producing for Texas Crew and James Buddy Day for Pyramid.
Peacock also has coming up competition reality series The Traitors hosted by Alan Cumming and The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning from Amy Poehler as part of her long-standing relationship with NBCUniversal.
COMEDY SPECIALS:
Another comedy star, Kevin Hart, has been an early Peacock adopter with talk show Hart To Heart and his Olympics commentary. He is continuing the relationship with the end of year special 2022 Back That Year Up alongside Kenan Thompson and also is set for a Peacock comedy special as the streamer is starting to ramp up that area where it has done only a couple of specials to date.
Wan is repped by CAA, Stacey Testro International and Myman Greenspan Fox. Katz is repped by CAA, Grandview, and Myman Greenspan Fox. McCulloch is repped by CAA, Casarotto Ramsay & Associates, and Johnson, Shapiro, Slewett & Kole. McCammon is repped by Angela Cheng Caplan of Cheng Caplan Company, Cameron McClure at Donald Maas Literary Agency, and Allison Binder at Goodman Genow Schenkman.
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