Peacock Announces Powerhouse Series, All-Star Castings And New Topical Late-Night Block

NEW YORK, Aug. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --

MacGruber Series Pick-Up

• The highly anticipated action comedy series MacGruber has been picked up to series.  Based on the iconic SNL parody sketch, Peacock has ordered eight half-hour episodes.

• Will Forte will reprise his iconic role as MacGruber and also write and executive produce. The Peacock series is an adaptation of the 2010 feature film and cult favorite of the same title, which will also feature the original creative team behind the camera.

• After rotting in prison for over a decade, America's ultimate hero and uber patriot MacGruber (Will Forte) is finally released. His mission: to take down a mysterious villain from his past—Brigadier Commander Enos Queeth. With the entire world in the crosshairs, MacGruber must race against time to defeat the forces of evil -- only to find that evil... may be lurking within. 

• Will Forte serves as writer and executive producer alongside John Solomon and Jorma Taccone who will also direct. Lorne Michaels, John Goldwyn, Andrew Singer and Erin David also serve as executive producers. MacGruber is from Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, and Broadway Video.

Girls5eva Casting

• Grammy Award-winning recording artist, Emmy nominee and Broadway star Sara Bareilles is set to lead the Tina Fey and Robert Carlock produced series Girls5eva.  

• When a one-hit-wonder girl group from the 90's gets sampled by a young rapper, its members reunite to give their pop star dreams one more shot. They may be grown women balancing spouses, kids, jobs, debt, aging parents, and shoulder pain, but can't they also be Girls5eva?

• Bareilles will star as Dawn, former member of the short-lived 90s girl group Girls5eva, who is now a bit restless in life managing her family's small Italian restaurant in Queens. When the opportunity arises, Dawn reluctantly gets the band back together for a Girls5eva reunion and it might just be exactly what she needed.

• "It is a pinch me moment to get to cross paths creatively with women like Meredith Scardino and Tina Fey, who I have been a fan of forever," said Bareilles. "I am a longtime admirer of so many of the characters they have brought to life in other projects, and I am already in love with the women at the center of Girls5eva. I am so excited to help bring to life what I know will be a smart, creative, hilarious show with a lot of heart."

• Sara Bareilles first achieved mainstream critical praise in 2007 with her widely successful hit "Love Song," which reached No. 1 in 22 countries around the world, from her debut album Little Voice. Since then, she has taken home a Grammy Award, received seven Grammy® nominations, two Tony nominations and three Emmy nominations. Her book, Sounds Like Me: My Life (So Far) in Song, was released in the fall of 2015 by Simon & Schuster and is a New York Times best seller. Making her Broadway debut, she composed the music and lyrics for Waitress, and made her Broadway acting debut in 2017 by stepping into the show's lead role. In 2019 Bareilles released her fifth full-length and first album of original material since 2013, entitled Amidst the Chaos. For this latest body of work, she joined forces in the studio with legendary Academy® Award-–winning producer T Bone Burnett. As a result, the album spotlights her voice as a singer and storyteller like never before, while making an enduring statement. Recently, she served as executive producer for Little Voice, a 10-episode series, for which she created the original music.

• Meredith Scardino serves as writer and executive producer for the series. Tina Fey (Little Stranger, Inc.), Robert Carlock (Bevel Gears), Jeff Richmond, David Miner (3 Arts Entertainment), Eric Gurian (Little Stanger) will also serve as executive producers. Girls5eva is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group. 

Rutherford Falls Castings

• The upcoming comedy Rutherford Falls from co-creators and executive producers Michael Schur, Ed Helms and Sierra Teller Ornelas has set its initial cast with Jana Schmieding, Michael Greyeyes, Jesse Leigh and Dustin Milligan.

• A small town in upstate New York and the Native American reservation it borders, are turned upside down when local legend and town namesake, Nathan Rutherford (Ed Helms) fights the moving of a historical statue.

• Jana Schmieding will star as Reagan Wells, Nathan's best friend since childhood.  Incredibly smart and hopelessly principled, Reagan dreams of making her tribe's modest Cultural Center into a world-renowned museum. 

• Michael Greyeyes (I Know This Much Is True) will star as Terry Tarbell. Terry is the CEO of his tribe's mid-level casino.  Shrewd and charismatic, he's also Reagan's boss and has big plans for both her and their tribe. 

• Jesse Leigh (Heathers) will star as Bobbie Yang, Nathan's non-binary teenage intern/executive assistant. Bobbie is an outspoken and ambitious first generation American, doing everything possible to escape their tiny hometown.

• Dustin Milligan (Schitt's Creek) will star as Josh Cogan, A reporter/podcaster who takes an interest in the goings-on in Rutherford Falls.

• Mike Falbo, David Miner and Morgan Sackett also serve as executive producers. Rutherford Falls is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, in association with Fremulon, 3 Arts Entertainment and Pacific Electric Picture Company.

Peacock Weekly Topical Late-Night Block

• Peacock has announced a new weekly topical late-night block with series anchored by Amber Ruffin and Larry Wilmore.  Each show will bring even more comedy, timeliness and current news to the service.

The Amber Ruffin Show

• Each week The Amber Ruffin Show will showcase Amber's signature smart and silly take on the week's news. No matter what's happening in the world, Amber will respond to it with a charming mix of seriousness, nonsense, and evening gowns. The Amber Ruffin Show is a topical late-night show with just the good parts – the comedy.

• Peacock has ordered nine half-hour episodes of The Amber Ruffin Show which is set to launch in September. 

• "Having a late-night show on Peacock is so exciting!" said Ruffin. "We can't wait to write sketches, songs and jokes about this terrible time we call now!"

• Emmy and WGA Award nominee Amber Ruffin is a writer and performer for NBC's Late Night with Seth Meyers and was the first African American female to write for a late-night network talk show in the U.S. She wrote and performed on Comedy Central's Detroiters and is a regular narrator on the cabler's Drunk History. Ruffin was previously a performer at Boom Chicago in Amsterdam, the iO Theater and the Second City in Chicago. In addition, she was a writer/performer for the 2018 and 2019 Golden Globe Awards and has written for the series A Black Lady Sketch Show.

• Amber Ruffin, Jenny Hagel, Seth Meyers and Mike Shoemaker serve as executive producers. The series is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, and Sethmaker Shoemeyers Productions.

Untitled Larry Wilmore Show (w/t)

• Emmy Award-winning producer, actor and comedian Larry Wilmore is bringing his distinct voice to streaming with a new weekly special series. Larry will have real discussions with high profile people from all different backgrounds including sports, politics and entertainment. Each episode will not only cover the election but will also engage in the important conversations of the week. It will be funny, sometimes serious, potentially awkward and most definitely honest.

• Peacock has ordered 11 episodes of the Untitled Larry Wilmore Show, which is set to launch in September.  

• "I'm honored to have the chance to not only be back on television but to partner with the great team at Peacock," said Wilmore. "Apparently there's a lot going on in the world right now and a big election happening soon, so I'm happy to have a place in the conversation."

• Larry Wilmore (who has an overall production deal with Universal TV), Jo Miller, Tony Hernandez, Brooke Posch, David Miner and Michael Rotenberg serve as executive producers. The series is produced by Jax Media and Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.

About Peacock

Peacock is NBCUniversal's new streaming service. Peacock delivers a world-class slate of exclusive originals, on-demand libraries of hit TV shows, plus critically acclaimed films from the vaults of Universal Pictures, Focus Features, DreamWorks Animation, Illumination and Hollywood's biggest studios. In addition, Peacock taps into NBCUniversal's unmatched ability to deliver a broad range of compelling topical content across news, sports, late-night, Spanish-language and reality. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation.

SOURCE Peacock