Peacock Orders Documentaries on ‘SNL’s’ Jim Downey, Diamond Princess Cruise COVID Cases

Peacock is expanding its documentary slate, with the streamer announcing three new projects.

The first is currently titled “Downey Wrote That.” The documentary will explore the sketches, contributions, and enduring influence of Jim Downey, one of the most impactful comedy writers in the history of “Saturday Night Live.” Downey has worked on over 30 seasons of “SNL,” making him the writer with the longest tenure in the show’s history.

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The documentary is produced by Network Entertainment in association with Universal Television Alternative Studio, and Broadway Video. Lorne Michaels serves as executive producer. Erin David, Howard Klein, Osmany Rodriguez, Andy Breckman and Susan Morrison also serve as executive producers. Eddie Michaels serves as producer.

The next project is a documentary titled “Diamond Princess.” In early 2020 the Diamond Princess set sail to Southeast Asia; the passengers were looking forward to a dream vacation that quickly mutated into a nightmare of uncertainty and illness as the novel COVID-19 virus overwhelmed the ship. Even after gaining crucial medical insights from this unique case study, more cruise ships embarked for various destinations around the world, including Australia, New Zealand, and the United States.

The documentary will provide a look into what the experience was like on the ship through eyewitness accounts and cell phone footage from the passengers who lived the nightmare. It is produced by Matte Pictures and Goldcrest Features.

Finally, Peacock has ordered the docuseries “Perfect World: The Gamer Murders.” The three-part series explores the real murder mystery where an international group of gamer friends must work together to uncover a killer’s true identity in order to stop him before he kills again.

The series is produced by Lusid Media. Zak Weisfeld serves as executive producer.

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