Why You Can Trust CNET The 8 Best Peacock Shows You Should Be Watching
Might as well put that subscription to good use.
The Traitors pits reality TV personalities against each other for a cash prize.
Have you hit the end of your to-binge list on Peacock? Maybe you signed up to the streaming service to catch Oppenheimer, or more recently, the 2024 Paris Olympics, and need a new program to start. The NBCUniversal streamer's stash of original shows is worth a closer look.
Here are eight top-notch TV series to help you make the most of your Peacock subscription. Each of them scores around 70 or higher on Metacritic. Peacock is raising prices in July, but if you aren't currently a subscriber, you can take advantage of a deal on the annual Premium plan.
Read more: Streaming in June 2024 Is Peak TV, So You'll Need All These Services
What if you could always tell when someone is lying? That's the talent possessed by Natasha Lyonne's Charlie in Poker Face, a 10-episode detective series created by Knives Out writer and director Rian Johnson. Each episode introduces a crime and wraps things up before the next entry starts. With the charisma of Russian Doll star Lyonne and an eye-popping list of guest stars such as Adrien Brody, Chloë Sevigny and Rhea Perlman, Poker Face is thrilling, addictive TV.
Two seasons of deception in, The Traitors' mix of reality TV personalities, creative challenges and secret identities is still extremely enjoyable. Based on the Dutch reality series De Verraders, the show rounds up cunning game-players who try to win a cash prize by succeeding in challenges and identifying the "traitors" among them. Any backstabbers in the group that aren't outed in time take all the moolah.
Ed Helms of The Office, The Hangover and other beloved comedies stars in this sitcom focused on the small town of Rutherford Falls. Helms plays Nathan, a descendant of the town's founder, and an advocate for his family history. The show is charming and funny (even as it tackles weighty subjects) and it's also been lauded for its Indigenous representation on-screen and in the writer's room.
Artificial Intelligence is inescapable these days, so no wonder it's a major part of a Peacock series. The show follows a nun (not named Mrs. Davis) who tries to take down an all-powerful AI (named Mrs. Davis). For a wild show with lots of ideas, don't miss this risk-taking, globe-trotting Peacock series.
This British comedy spotlighting an all-female Muslim punk band is extremely fun and boasts a cast of talented young people. The series kicks off introduces 26-year-old Amina, a secretly skilled yet shy musician. Enter Lady Parts, an uber cool group in need of a new guitarist. Time spent with these ladies flies by, making We Are Lady Parts a Peacock pick worth your streaming hours.
If you're a sucker for resort-set TV shows that will get you speculating (White Lotus season 3 can't come soon enough), you should check out this Peacock series. Cristin Milioti and William Jackson Harper star as a married couple who begin to explore the disappearances of two young people more than a decade earlier. Pack a trunk for paradise and get ready for the twisty story to take hold.
Wondery's popular 2018 true crime podcast Dr. Death led me to think in disbelief, "How did nobody put a stop to this guy?" Watching Peacock's TV adaptation of the podcast is a similarly maddening affair. Christopher Duntsch, a Dallas neurosurgeon, killed two patients he operated on and injured 31 others. Watch for a captivating, spine-chilling tale about a surgeon's horrific crime spree that lasted far longer than it should have.
No, it's not an original Peacock series. But I'd be doing anyone reading this a huge disservice if I didn't mention that the seven-season sitcom focused on the zany occupants of Pawnee, Indiana, has a home on Peacock. This goofy, big-hearted show has drawn genuine belly laughs out of me countless times. It's buoyant, witty and just as good on rewatch. The point is, you'll want to keep this one handy for a mood refresh when you can't get creepy Dr. Death and his spooky scalpel out of your head.