Peacock to Launch ‘At-Home Variety Show’ Amid Coronavirus Pandemic
By Joe Otterson
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Peacock announced Monday that it will launch a short form series featuring a range of NBCUniversal talent titled “The At-Home Variety Show.”
The first episode will be available to stream at 7 p.m. ET tonight. Most shows will be under 10 minutes, and the series will run for four weeks. The show will raise awareness and support for Feeding America, Americares, and United Way.
Peacock launches for the general public in July, but became available to Comcast customers on April 15. Peacock is currently available to Xfinity X1 and Flex customers in the U.S. Additionally, anyone can watch the show on Peacock social handles, including YouTube and Facebook.
Seth MacFarlane, who signed a major overall deal at NBCUniversal earlier this year, will introduce each installment. Other NBCU talent to be featured in the show includes: Fred Armisen, Lauren Ash, Elizabeth Banks, Stephanie Beatriz, Elizabeth Berkley Lauren, Kate Berlant, The Bella Twins, D’Arcy Carden, Kate del Castillo, Todd Chrisley, Andy Cohen, Terry Crews, and many more.
Tony Hernandez and Brooke Posch of Jax Media will executive produce along with Mike DiCenzo. MacFarlane and Erica Huggins will also executive produce via Fuzzy Door Productions.
“We are excited to stream The At-Home Variety Show on Peacock,” said Bill McGoldrick, president of original content for Peacock. “Peacock’s launch coincides with a moment in our history when connection, community and content are more important than ever. We want to deliver fun and timely content in a way that only Peacock can, by bringing together entertainment, news and sports to support these great charities.”
The move comes as several networks have launched similar at-home programming pieces in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. NBC recently aired a “Parks and Recreation” reunion special that was filmed entirely remotely, while Fox just launched the weekly unscripted series “Celebrity Watch Party.”
