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NBC’s Streaming Nostalgia Play: Parks and Rec, Must-See TV, Saved by the Bell

Even without Friends or Seinfeld, NBC’s newly named streaming service has gathered an impressive lineup of old favorites.

By Laura Bradley

September 17, 2019

NBC’s streaming service is beginning to take shape. As of Tuesday, it has a name (Peacock) and a cornucopia of newly announced titles, including a Battlestar Galactica reboot from Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail and a new Real Housewives spin-off. Plus, as expected, Peacock will become the exclusive streaming home for both The Office and Parks and Recreation. Taken together, this week’s announcements make clear that NBC is crafting its own version of what’s been a popular play as the streaming wars heat up: coming for potential viewers’ nostalgia and contemporary obsessions through a wealth of known I.P.

Peacock will feature 15,000 hours of original programming at launch. NBC has confirmed that in addition to The Office, Mike Schur’s beloved Parks will also make its home on the streaming service—yet another blow for Netflix, which counted both The Office and Parks and Rec among its top 10 most-streamed programs as of last year. In addition to Battlestar and Real Housewives, the platform’s new titles will include revivals of Saved by the Bell and Punky Brewster; a new weekly late-night show starring Late Night’s Amber Ruffin as host; a new Mike Schur comedy starring Ed Helms, who once starred in The Office, to be titled Rutherford Falls; a Brave New World TV adaptation starring Demi Moore and Alden Ehrenreich; a Saturday Night Live docuseries titled Who Wrote That from Lorne Michaels; and an adaptation of the Dr. Death podcast, which will star Alec Baldwin.

As previously reported, NBC will launch its streaming service next April. As NBC’s ad sales chairman Linda Yaccarino told TV execs, advertisers, and reporters earlier this year at the network’s upfront presentation, Peacock will be an ad-supported platform, and free for cable subscribers. Cord cutters can also access the service with a monthly fee, but a price for the standalone service has yet to be announced.

In addition to its new live-action series, the Peacock library will also include new DreamWorks Animation series, as well as original films from Universal and Focus Features. But the thrust of this strategy is clear: NBC wants to be the home of as many popular streaming titles as possible. It might not have been able to secure Friends, which will move to producer WarnerMedia’s own platform, HBO Max, instead, but NBC has assembled an impressive stable of its nostalgic standbys, including Cheers, Frasier, Will & Grace, and many more. By assembling these classics and reviving other series it clearly hopes will prove similarly addictive, NBC is out to remind everyone why for so long its lineup was called “Must See TV.” The network’s direct-to-consumer chairman, Bonnie Hammer, made that clear: “The name Peacock pays homage to the quality content that audiences have come to expect from NBCUniversal,” she told Vulture. “Peacock will be the go-to place for both the timely and timeless—from can’t-miss Olympic moments and the 2020 election to classic fan favorites like The Office.”