This streamer has everything: a human lie detector, a fabulous Scottish reality show host, two (!) different girl groups, and “SNL” content galore.

The 20 best Peacock original series you can stream right now

This streamer has everything: a human lie detector, a fabulous Scottish reality show host, two (!) different girl groups, and "SNL" content galore.

By Sara Netzley

Sara Netzley

Sara Netzley has over 25 years of experience covering media, pop culture, and breaking news. She has been writing for * *since 2014.

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July 2, 2026 6:00 p.m. ET

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'Poker Face'; 'The Devil in Disguise'; 'Twisted Metal'. Credit:

You may already know Peacock as the streaming home of your favorite NBC shows, Bravo guilty pleasures, or NBA and NFL broadcasts. But if that’s all you turn to the streamer for, you’re missing out on some truly stellar original content.

Never fear, ** is here with a guide to the 20 best original shows streaming on Peacock right now. Whether your tastes skew towards reality competitions (*The Traitors, Love Island*), crime shows and thrillers (*Poker Face, The Resort, The Day of the Jackal*), or sitcoms with outstanding original soundtracks (*Girls5Eva, We Are Lady Parts*), you’ll find the right show for you.

Angelyne (2022)

Emmy Rossum just tries to blend in during 'Angelyne'. Isabella Vosmikova/Peacock

Emmy Rossum throws her whole self into this bioseries about the Los Angeles legend. All blonde-and-pink ambition, Angelyne wallpapered the city with billboards in the 1980s to make herself a household name, even if most people didn’t know anything beyond the moniker. The episodes bounce between periods as Angelyne tries new ventures (a music career) and resists others (a *Playboy *photoshoot), all while avoiding the journalist (Alex Karpovsky) and documentarian (Lukas Gage) trying to uncover her origin story.

Her past, she claimed, was irrelevant; the billboard told us everything we needed to know. “*Angelyne* is funny,” EW’s critic noted, “but Angelyne is never the butt of the joke.”

**EW grade:** B+ (read the review)

**Cast**: Emmy Rossum, Hamish Linklater, Lukas Gage, Philip Ettinger, Charlie Rowe, Alex Karpovsky, Martin Freeman

Bupkis (2023)

Pete Davidson and Joe Pesci in 'Bupkis'.

Heidi Gutman/Peacock

Some men will really write an eight-episode fictionalized version of their lives instead of going to therapy. No, wait, not *instead* of therapy — *in addition *to therapy. Pete Davidson’s series digs into the King of Staten Island’s life as a celebrity, burnout, son, grandson, addict, and friend, and it’s affecting, funny, and “sometimes weird and sad,” per EW’s critic.

Be warned: The first episode is the weakest, but the second episode is an absolute gem, showcasing 7-year-old Pete attending a family wedding following his father’s death on 9/11. Davidson cowrote each episode, providing plenty of laughs and adding an extra bounce to the show’s hopeful ending.

**EW grade:** B+ (read the review)

**Cast:** Pete Davidson, Edie Falco, Joe Pesci, Bobby Cannavale, Shane Gillis, Chase Sui Wonders

The Day of the Jackal (2024–present)

No no, that's not Edward Fox, it's Edward (ok fine, Eddie) Redmayne in 'The Day of the Jackal'.

Marcell Piti/Peacock

Not to be confused with the excellent C.J. Cregg solo act, this adaptation of Frederick Forsyth’s political thriller novel stars Eddie Redmayne as the assassin-for-hire and Lashana Lynch as the MI6 agent on his tail. This highly competent, obsessive duo tumbles into a self-destructive cat-and-mouse dynamic — but who’s the cat and who’s the mouse?

As Redmayne told EW, this ambiguity drew him to the project: “I wanted to see if through this 10-hour thing, we could get to know someone but always be second-guessing.” Their stubborn refusal to give up the hunt over the course of the season finds them criss-crossing Europe, leaving a bloody trail of destruction in their wake.

**Cast: **Eddie Redmayne, Lashana Lynch, Eleanor Matsuura, Chukwudi Iwuji, Úrsula Corberó

Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy (2025)

Michael Chernus as John Wayne Gacy in 'Devil in Disguise'.

Brooke Palmer/PEACOCK

*Devil in Disguise* distinguishes itself from many other true-crime shows by de-centering the monster in the middle. Instead of sensationalizing John Wayne Gacy’s crimes or attempting to humanize him, this eight-episode series examines the social, structural, and political failures that allowed the part-time party clown to kill at least 33 young men and boys in suburban Chicago in the 1970s.

Michael Chernus said he agreed to play Gacy because it was written as a supporting role, not the lead. “To me that was such a huge relief," Chernus told EW in 2025. "I didn't feel like it had to be all about me or about my character. With this story, I didn't want it to be."

**Cast: **Michael Chernus, Gabriel Luna, James Badge Dale, Marin Ireland, Michael Angarano, Chris Sullivan

Dr. Death (2021–2023)

Joshua Jackson in 'Dr. Death'. Scott McDermott/Peacock

The true story of the Texas spine surgeon who injured and even killed patients under his care takes center stage in the season 1 adaptation of the popular podcast. Joshua Jackson plays the charming death-dealer over eight harrowing episodes that, as EW wrote, “probe our primal fear of bodily invasion” while offering a damning indictment of hospital politics, surgical egos, and the medical-industrial complex.

Season 2 hops the pond to follow Édgar Ramírez’s Swiss-Italian doctor as he performs *gulp* unauthorized surgeries, and the journalist/former fiancée (Mandy Moore) out to expose him. *Dr. Death* isn’t for the faint of heart, but its visceral storytelling will lodge right in your central nervous system.

**EW grade:** A- (read the review)

**Cast: **Joshua Jackson, Grace Gummer, Christian Slater, Alec Baldwin, AnnaSophia Robb, Édgar Ramírez, Mandy Moore, Luke Kirby

The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning (2023)

Johan Svenson, Katarina Blom, and Ella Engström in 'The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning'.

Think you’ve seen every home-improvement show out there? To that, Peacock says, “Hold my feather duster.” Amy Poehler narrates this eight-episode series, based on Margareta Magnusson's bestselling book, that embraces the Swedish practice of döstädning: decluttering your life now as a gift to your family after you’re gone.

The Death Cleaners — an organizer, a designer, and a psychologist — travel to the U.S. to help one person in each episode downsize the accumulations of a lifetime. There’s spiritual tidying to do, too; the trio help their subjects find lightness and acceptance in the face of divorce, illness, aging, and even death. You may be inspired to do some döstädning, too.

**Cast: **Amy Poehler, Katarina Blom, Ella Engström, Johan Svenson

Girls5Eva (2021–2022)

Catherine Cohen and Busy Philipps in 'Girls5Eva'.

Emily V. Aragones/Netflix

Get your dose of BPE with this musical-comedy about a one-hit-wonder girl group who reunite as 40-something women to recapture their fleeting Aughties fame. Sara Bareilles grounds the action as the everywoman at the show’s center, with Busy Philipps and Paula Pell inhabiting every hilarious corner of their outsized characters. But it’s Renée Elise Goldsberry’s cluelessly imperious diva Wickie who steals every scene with nothing more than a glass piano and a naked hunger for fame.

*Girls5eva* bears the unmistakable fingerprints of a Tina Fey/Robert Carlock production, and the in-show tunes are so catchy you’ll be humming them 5eva (because forever’s too short).

**EW grade**: B+ (read the review)

**Cast**: Sara Bareilles, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Busy Philipps, Paula Pell, Andrew Rannells

House of Villains (2023–present)

Richard Hatch, Tiffany Pollard, and Larissa Lima in 'House of Villains'.

Trae Patton/E! Entertainment

Perhaps reality television’s best gift has been The Villain. It was only a matter of time before someone locked them all in a house, turned on the cameras, and let them compete for a cash prize and the title of America's Ultimate Supervillain. Past love-to-hate-’em baddie contestants include Johnny Bananas (*The Challenge*), Omarosa Manigault Newman (*The Apprentice*), Tiffany "New York" Pollard (*Flavor of Love*), Teresa Giudice (*Real Housewives of New Jersey*), and Richard Hatch (*Survivor’s *first winner).

Nice-guy-with-an-edge Joel McHale oversees this mashup of reality universes and large-than-life personalities. “The energy coming off of that group could power a large city,” he told EW after season 1.

Laid (2024)

Tommy Martinez, Stephanie Hsu, and Zosia Mamet in 'Laid'.

Stephanie Hsu is a tart burst of sunshine as Ruby Yao, a Seattle event planner whose past lovers are dying. Not dying to get back together with her — *actually* dying. With the help of her best friend AJ (Zosia Mamet), Ruby embarks on a mission to warn her exes that their days might be numbered. Developed by Nahnatchka Khan and Sally Bradford McKenna, the darkly comic series is based on an Aussie show by the same name.

**Cast: **Stephanie Hsu, Zosia Mamet, Michael Angarano, Tommy Martinez

Love Island USA (2019–present)

Thomas John "TJ" Palma and Iris Kendall in 'Love Island USA'.

Ben Symons/Peacock via Getty

The premise is baked into the name: Head to an island, fall in love. *Love Island USA* drops its hot-to-trot contestants in the middle of paradise, then records every minute of the ensuing drama as the islanders either hook up or ship out (and miss taking home the $100,000 prize). CBS’ reality dating show bounced to Peacock for its fourth season and became the streamer’s first series to hit No. 1 on Nielsen’s streaming list.

With that track record — and a penchant for challenges, recouplings, and surprise arrivals and eliminations — it’s no wonder Peacock greenlit two spinoffs: *Love Island Games* and *Love Island: Beyond the Villa*.

Mrs. Davis (2023)

Betty Gilpin and Jake McDorman in 'Mrs. Davis'.

Tina Thorpe/PEACOCK

If you shun ChatGPT and harbor concerns that Alexa and Siri are conspiring against you, *Mrs. Davis* is for you. This spiritual, metaphysical, and downright weird show is ostensibly about a nun’s quest to find and destroy the Holy Grail, which will result in the deactivation of the powerful, pervasive AI that gives the series its name.

EW’s critic praised Betty Gilpin’s exceptional performance as Sister Simone, as well as the entertaining action sequences, devastating family secrets, and crackling screwball chemistry between Gilpin and Jake McDorman as her ex-boyfriend and quest partner. *Mrs. Davis *defies explanation and rewards viewers’ blind faith in the journey.

**EW grade**: B+ (read the review)

**Cast**: Betty Gilpin, Jake McDorman, Andy McQueen, Katja Herbers, Elizabeth Marvel, Chris Diamantopoulos, Margo Martindale

One of Us Is Lying (2021–2022)

Don't freak out, they're not really skeletons, those are just costumes. Nicola Dove/Peacock

Peacock’s entry in the “somebody at my high school got murdered, and I might be the next to die or maybe get arrested” genre comes from *Elite* co-creator Darío Madrona. Based on Karen M. McManus's bestseller, *One of Us Is Lying* follows the aftermath of five students walking into detention, and only four walking out.

Madronas said he was inspired by the unexpected friendships between the survivors. “That kind of light in the story, that's not common in murder mysteries,” he told EW in 2021. “We're saying to people when you work together, when you find friends, you're actually able to get out of difficult situations in life and maybe even triumph in the end.”

**Cast: **Annalisa Cochrane, Chibuikem Uche, Marianly Tejada, Cooper van Grootel, Barrett Carnahan, Mark McKenna, Melissa Collazo, Jessica McLeod

The Paper (2025–present)

Domhnall Gleeson and Tim Key in 'The Paper'.

Aaron Epstein/PEACOCK

Let’s not bury the lede: *The Office *and *The Paper *share DNA. This isn’t breaking news — both mockumentaries were created by Greg Daniels — nor is it a complaint. Editor-in-chief Ned Sampson (Domhnall Gleeson) is a mix of blustery Michael Scott naivete and Jim Halpert everyman likability in his attempts to resurrect the struggling *Toledo Truth Teller*. Reporter and Army vet Mare (Chelsea Frei) does a little secret pining for the new boss.

Online editor and former reality star Esmerelda Grand (Sabrina Impacciatore) straddles the line between nutty coworker and buffoonish cartoon. Then there’s Oscar Martinez (Oscar Nuñez), who thought he’d escaped the documentary cameras when he left Dunder Mifflin*. *Shoulda read the fine print on that release you signed, Oscar!

**Cast: **Domhnall Gleeson, Chelsea Frei, Sabrina Impacciatore, Oscar Nuñez, Ramona Young, Melvin Gregg

Poker Face (2023–2025)

Natshal Lyonne calls bulls*** in 'Poker Face'.

Sarah Shatz/PEACOCK

*Columbo* had Peter Falk. *Poker Face *has Natasha Lyonne. As Charlie, the raspy-voiced human lie detector on the run, Lyonne bluffs, blunders, and charms her way through an absorbing new location, mystery, and collection of big-name guest stars in every episode. Like its spiritual predecessor, *Poker* *Face* devotes almost as much to how the crime occurred as it does to Charlie cutting through the prevarication and competing stories to figure out whodunit after the fact.

Lyonne brings a warm humanity to her amateur sleuth. As EW’s critic said, “Charlie's gift layers tension under every conversation. You feel how much she enjoys truth, and how disappointed lies make her.” And that’s not bulls---.

**EW grade:** A (read the review)

**Cast**: Natasha Lyonne, Benjamin Bratt, Rhea Perlman, Simon Helberg

The Resort (2022)

Cristin Milioti in the lost episode of 'How I Met Your Mother.' OK not really, it's 'The Resort'.

Part of the joy of this comedy-thriller from Andy Siara (*Palm Springs*) is uncovering its twisty secrets. Here’s what’s safe to say: The effortlessly charismatic Cristin Milioti and William Jackson Harper play a married couple celebrating their 10th anniversary at the titular resort, where the mysterious goings-on — a stray cell phone, a freak hurricane, and a pesky missing persons case or two — add stress to the existing cracks in their relationship.

As Milioti told EW in 2022, there’s no point trying to outguess the show: “None of what you think is going to happen, will happen. And I cannot repeat that enough.”

**Cast: **Cristin Milioti, William Jackson Harper, Nick Offerman, Luis Gerardo Méndez, Gabriela Cartol, Skyler Gisondo, Nina Bloomgarden

Rutherford Falls (2021–2022)

Ed Helms busts out his guitar in 'Rutherford Falls'. Colleen Hayes/Peacock

“Why do people cling to historical narratives? Are they accurate? And if inaccurate narratives are exposed, why are they then also fought for?” These real-world questions inspired Ed Helms to take up residence in *Rutherford Falls*, the sitcom he co-created with Sierra Teller Ornelas and Michael Schur. The pilot finds Helms’ character reevaluating his town’s relationship with the neighboring Minishonka Nation, as well as his own lifelong friendship with Reagan (Jana Schmieding, pulling double duty as one of five Native writers on staff).

*Rutherford Falls* is reliably funny, but when it moves the Minishonka experience to the forefront, doing so via Michael Greyeyes’ knockout performance in the fourth episode, it catapults into something EW called “fresh and vibrant and urgently original.”

**EW grade: **B (read the review)

**Cast: **Ed Helms, Jana Schmieding, Jesse Leigh, Michael Greyeyes, Dana L. Wilson, Dustin Milligan

SNL 50: Beyond Saturday Night (2025)

Pete Davidson and Jim Carrey in a sketch featured on 'SNL 50'.

Peacock is *Saturday Night Live*’s online home, making it a natural repository for the show’s 50th anniversary content. Start with the Questlove-directed documentary *Ladies & Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music* (seriously, stop what you’re doing, watch the incredible first seven minutes, then jump back to the beginning and watch it all again), a three-hour live concert, and the star-studded anniversary celebration.

But don’t neglect this collection of mini-docs that dive into the audition process, the “More Cowbell” sketch (featuring interviews with members of the real Blue Oyster Cult), a week in the writer’s room, and the anomaly that was the Lorne Michaels-less season 11. As Stefon would say, “These specials have *everything.*”

The Traitors (2023–present)

Alan Cumming hosting 'The Traitors'.

Euan Cherry/Peacock

Was Alan Cumming born to slink around a drafty Scottish castle in dramatic tartan cloaks? Spend 10 minutes with this campy competition show and you won’t need the Circle of Truth to reveal the answer. As *The Traitors'* host, Cumming oversees a hodgepodge of reality stars and C-list celebrities who partake in a series of challenges ranging from goofy to downright harrowing — that season 2 cabin of maggots! — in pursuit of the grand prize money.

But the most vicious skirmishes are the lies, backstabbing, and gaslighting that swirl through the stone corridors of Cumming’s castle as the “Faithful” race to banish the secret “Traitors” in their midst before the credits roll.

Twisted Metal (2023–present)

Mike Mitchell and Joe Seanoa in 'Twisted Metal'.

Pief Weyman/PEACOCK

The PlayStation video game series that inspired *Twisted Metal *is less a narrative-driven enterprise and more of a chance to let your clown-masked alter ego lob missiles at fellow survivors on a post-apocalyptic race track. That minimalist approach to plot has allowed the show to find its own lane.

Anthony Mackie plays John Doe, a motormouth scavenger eking out a living in the wastelands of the former United States. Along for the ride are Stephanie Beatriz’s Quiet (largely faithful to her moniker to satisfy fans of the star’s dry humor) and the aforementioned Sweet Tooth, embodied by wrestler Samoa Joe and voiced by Will Arnett. High art? No. Twisted fun? Often!

**Cast**: Anthony Mackie, Stephanie Beatriz, Thomas Haden Church, Samoa Joe, Will Arnett, Anthony Carrigan

We Are Lady Parts (2021–2024)

Lucie Shorthouse, Faith Omole, Anjana Vasan, Juliette Motamed, and Sarah Kameela Impey are 'Lady Parts'.

Laura Radford/Peacock

Yes, *We Are Lady Parts *is funny. Yes, Anjana Vasan is can’t-take-your-eyes-off-her fabulous as a PhD student who moonlights as the guitarist for the eponymous all-female, all-Muslim punk band. Yes, the songs absolutely slap. (Malala Yousafzai even cameos in the “Malala Made Me Do It” music video.)

But what makes the show special is the range of female Muslim experiences on display. Motherhood, sexuality, family, fame… every band member forges her own path in refreshingly disparate ways rarely shown on television. And not just shown, but shown well: “Like any good punk song,” EW wrote, “*We Are Lady Parts* is short, intense, and unapologetic.”

**EW grade: **B+ (read the review)

**Cast:** Anjana Vasan, Sarah Kameela Impey, Juliette Motamed, Faith Omole, Lucie Shorthouse, Aiysha Hart, Zaqi Ismail, Shobu Kapoor

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