Friday, July 17, 2020
Fri-Yay: Peacock Launches, Thoughts So Far; Stay Calm with New Series with A-Listers

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
Friday, September 22
none scheduled
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 18)
Friday, September 22
- Kathryn Newton (Gary Unmarried) - Watch Kathryn on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Ralph Harris (On Our Own) and Jimmie "JJ" Walker (Good Times/At Ease/Bustin' Loose) - Ralph and Jimmie are guests on repeats of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen on CBS between 12:37-1:37am.
- Alfonso Ribeiro (In the House/The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air/Silver Spoons) - Alfonso is a guest on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your listings.
- Sam Jay (Bust Down) - Sam appears on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 8:50am.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (June-October)
06/13 - Mayberry R.F.D. - The Complete Series
06/13 - Night Court (1984-1992) - The Complete Series
07/18 - South Park - Seasons 21-25 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
07/25 - The Neighborhood - Season Five
07/25 - Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin - Season One
07/25 - Superstore - The Complete Series
08/22 - Back to Life - Season 1 / Season 2
08/29 - Smiling Friends - Season 1 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/05 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Sixth Season
09/12 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Second Season
09/12 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-6 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/26 - Family Matters - The Complete Series
09/26 - Step by Step - The Complete Series
10/10 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Thirteen / The Complete Season Fourteen
10/17 - ALF - The Complete Series (Deluxe Edition) (Shout! Factory Special Offers)
10/17 - Night Court (2023) - The Complete First Season
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