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Catch the Emmy-winning reality show The Traitors and other highly rated options.
Meara Isenberg Writer
Meara covers streaming service news for CNET. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in journalism. When she's not writing, she likes to dote over her cat, sip black coffee and try out new horror movies.
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Meara Isenberg
3 min read
If the most recent season of Love Island USA or the Paris Olympics convinced you to try out Peacock, you may be interested in exploring more entertainment on the platform. The streamer's stash of original shows is worth a closer look.
Here are nine standout TV series to help you make the most of your Peacock subscription. Each of them scores around 70 or higher on Metacritic. Peacock costs $8 per month or $80 per year for the ad-supported version (eligibleComcast and Instacart subscriberscan stream for free).
Read more:My September Streaming List Includes Keeping These Services
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.
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, addictiveTV.
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 andin the writer's room.
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.
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.
Wondery's popular 2018 true crime podcast Dr. Death led me to think in disbelief, "How didnobodyput 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 andinjured 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.
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