Friday, July 17, 2020
Fri-Yay: Peacock Launches, Thoughts So Far; Stay Calm with New Series with A-Listers
![Peacock](https://www.sitcomsonline.com/photos/peacock717.jpg)
by Vincent
This week, NBC is officially wide launching its streaming service Peacock with a 30 Rock reunion special (doubling as a Peacock advertisement/upfront special) that aired last night and a hefty promotional push on social media sites. The app has been available to Comcast subscribers since April, but it will become available to wide audiences this week. Peacock joins an increasingly crowded streaming market - the past year has seen the launch of Disney+, HBO Max and now Peacock, joining the established trio of Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Video. There are a couple of reasons that Peacock might succeed even with the crowded market, though.
A few notable features stand out about Peacock. The first is that the service offers a free tier and a Premium tier. The free tier offers a solid library of movies and TV shows, albeit with ads. There are then two Premium tiers, one with a larger library at 4.99/month and one with an ad-free experience at 9.99/month. Another perk Peacock has is that the NBC brand is pretty solid - the service offers favorites like 30 Rock, The Office, Parks and Recreation and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, along with the Law and Order franchise. That could be enough to bring subscribers over to the service, especially since both of its premium tiers and fairly reasonable priced compared to Netflix, Hulu and HBO Max. Still, as of right now, all of the aforementioned comedies are available on other streaming services, though The Office is leaving Netflix next year to go to its exclusive Peacock home on January 1. No word yet on if the other comedies on the app are leaving their streaming homes. Still, if Peacock can get all of these comedies exclusively, it could be a real contender in the streaming wars. And yet, as a consumer, it's becoming a bit daunting to have to subscribe to multiple streaming services to get all of the content I want. It remains to be seen if all of these new services can co-exist without consumers ultimately choosing to leave some of their favorite series behind or own them on DVD.
HBO Max, the direct-to-consumer offering from WarnerMedia, announced that it wants to help you relax with a ten-episode order of A World of Calm. A totally new type of television experience that combines mesmeric imagery with narration by A-list stars - including Mahershala Ali, Idris Elba, Oscar Isaac, Nicole Kidman, Zoƫ Kravitz, Lucy Liu, Cillian Murphy, and Keanu Reeves. HBO Max's first project in the Health and Wellness space, A World of Calm is the result of a unique collaboration between the makers of Calm, the no. 1 app for sleep, meditation and relaxation, and Nutopia, the team behind Nat Geo's critically acclaimed series One Strange Rock.
A timely antidote for our modern lives, each half-hour episode takes audiences on an immersive visual journey into another world. Building on the record-breaking success of Calm's Sleep Stories(TM) - bedtime stories for grown ups with over 250m listens - each relaxing tale is designed to transform how you feel. Transporting the viewer into tranquility through scientifically-engineered narratives, enchanting music and astounding footage, to naturally calm your body and soothe the mind. Each story is brought to life by a different iconic voice.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Friday, July 26
The Conners - "Keep on Truckin'" (The CW, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
After a sudden turn of events, the Conners are forced to face the daily struggles of life in Lanford in a way they never have before.
The Conners - "Tangled Up in Blue" (The CW, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Darlene gets one surprise after another when David introduces his girlfriend at a parent-teacher conference and mentions that Mark & Harris will be spending the weekend with them.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of July 22)
Friday, July 26
- Nick Jonas (Jonas) - Watch Nick on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Michael Douglas (The Kominsky Method) - Michael appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Sasheer Zamata (Home Economics/Woke/Robbie), Joe Lo Truglio (Brooklyn Nine-Nine/Burning Love/Reno 911!) and Aparna Nancherla (Corporate) - Sasheer, Joe and Aparna are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Jennie Garth (Mystery Girls/What I Like About You) - Jennie chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT. NBC's Today catches up with Jennie in the 10am hour.
- Marcus Scribner (grown-ish/black-ish) - Marcus talks about his coming-of-age film How I Learned to Fly on a repeat of Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Delroy Lindo (UnPrisoned) - Delroy talks about UnPrisoned on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- Dylan Sprouse (The Suite Life on Deck/The Suite Life of Zack & Cody/Grace Under Fire) - Dylan talks about Lionsgate's The Duel on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
New on DVD/Blu-ray
02/13 - Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/27 - The Really Loud House - Season One
03/12 - Ghosts (UK) - The Complete Series
03/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 3 (Blu-ray)
03/12 - Rick and Morty - Season 7 (Blu-ray Steelbook) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
04/03 - Too Close for Comfort - The Complete Series (VEI)
04/08 - Check It Out! - The Complete Series (VEI)
05/21 - Frasier (2023) - Season One
06/11 - The Jeffersons - The Complete Series (2024 Release)
06/11 - Welcome Back, Kotter - The Complete Series (2024 Release)
07/05 - Letterkenny - Season 12 (Final Season)
07/30 - Ted Lasso - The Richmond Way (The Complete Series) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/17 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
09/24 - Friends - The Complete Series (4K Ultra HD)
09/24 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Seventh Season / The Complete Series
10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
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