Tag Archives: peacock

REVIEW: “Girls5eva”

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I’m gonna be honest—the only reason I watched Girls5eva is because Sara Bareilles and Renée Elise Goldsberry were in it. I never watched Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and I’m not the biggest fan of Tina Fey comedies (they’re well-made but the humor tends not to be my particular cup of tea). But, I gotta say, I enjoyed Girls5eva. To be clear, based solely on its writing, it’s a pretty standard comedy. I’ve seen similar premises done in similar ways before, and the jokes are a bit hit or miss. But Girls5eva’s special sauce is its cast. Bareilles, Goldsberry, Paula Pell, and Busy Philipps are so good that they frequently pick up the writing’s slack. Plus, there’s a whole host of entertaining guest stars that join them, making Girls5eva worth watching for its outstanding cast, alone. (3 out of 5 wands.)

Girls5eva
(created by Meredith Scardino)
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?

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REVIEW: “CODE 404” (Peacock Original)

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I love a good sci-fi comedy. The melding of sci-fi concepts and comedy is often endlessly entertaining. However, there seems to be a general lack of sci-fi comedies on TV – especially in America. There are the occasional horror comedies and fantasy comedies but you don’t see many sci-fi comedies. This is where Peacock’s newest show, CODE 404 enters. A blend of traditional buddy cop comedies and entertaining sci-fi concepts, CODE 404 is an enjoyable, dryly funny show. Plus there’s a pretty fun mystery at the heart of the series. (4 out of 5 wands.)

(NOTE: There may be mild spoilers for Code 404 ahead. You have been warned.)

CODE 404 (created by Daniel Peak, Tom Miller, and Sam Myer)
DI John Major (Daniel Mays) and DI Roy Carver (Stephen Graham) are the best of the best at an elite undercover police team. When Major’s cover is blown and he is met with his untimely death, he is brought back to life with some glitchy AI technology. Now, he’s better than ever – or so he thinks.

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REVIEW: “Departure” (Peacock Original)

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Have you seen Lost or Manifest and found yourself wanting a drama about a plane disappearing under mysterious circumstances that didn’t have any kind of supernatural element? Then Departure is the show for you. The newest show on the Peacock streaming service is exactly the kind of grounded political thriller that those who felt Lost was too fantastical might be craving. However, the series is a bit of a mixed bag. While its premise is great, it would likely be better served by a two-hour film instead of a six-episode series that draws the narrative out in tension-breaking ways. What should be an exciting thrill ride is frequently filled with pointless detours and tension-killing padding. On the whole, though, it’s still pretty fun. (3 out of 5 wands.)

(This review strives to be spoiler free. However, you have been warned.)

Departure (created by Vince Shiao)
Passenger plane Flight 716 shockingly vanishes, and brilliant investigator Kendra Malley (Archie Panjabi), alongside her mentor Howard Lawson (Christopher Plummer) are brought on to lead the investigation. When battling forces threaten to undermine their work, Kendra must find the truth and stop it from happening again.

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