There are definitely too many streaming services. Thanks to Netflix’s revolution, every broadcast network and parent company decided that they had to get in on the streaming wars. Peacock TV is NBC Universal’s streaming service, and although it may not seem like the most attractive option, there are actually a number of great Peacock movies and shows available on the service that are hard to find anywhere else.
Some of those popular shows are Peacock streaming originals, although there are plenty that initially aired on NBC or elsewhere, and have wound their way to Peacock thanks in part to the complicated nature of TV rights. Regardless of where the best Peacock shows came from originally, though, all the ones on this list are well worth checking out. Looking for more streaming options? We also have your guide to the best shows on Netflix, the best shows on Hulu, and the best shows on Paramount Plus.
Suits (2011)
9 Seasons
Genre
Drama
Cast
Gabriel Macht, Sarah Rafferty, Amanda Schull
Created by
Aaron Korsh
One of the most perplexing phenomenons of the past few years was the summer everyone spent watching Suits. If you weren’t part of that initial craze, or you simply want to watch it again, you can check out all nine seasons of the show on Peacock. Telling the story of a genius without a law degree who manages to fake being a lawyer, the show’s premise allows for plenty of compelling interpersonal drama, even as the law firm where this man works also deals with regular cases from week to week. It’s not always perfect, but it goes down very smoothly.
Poker Face (2023)
1 Season
Genre
Mystery, Crime, Comedy, Drama
Cast
Natasha Lyonne
Created by
Rian Johnson
Rian Johnson’s mystery show is a throwback to old-fashioned procedurals in the best possible way. The show follows Charlie, a woman on the run who finds herself ensconced in various murder plots as she travels across the country. Charlie has one minor superpower: She can always tell when someone is lying. That power allows her to uncover a wide array of different crimes, and do it in a way that only Natasha Lyonne could. Thanks to sharp writing, a wide array of great guest actors, and a total embrace of the genre’s formulas, Poker Face is a rare treat that never feels like homework.
The Office (2005)
9 Seasons
Genre
Comedy
Cast
Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer
Created by
Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant, Greg Daniels
Although it had plenty of fans while it was airing, The Office has only grown in popularity since it became available to stream on Netflix. Of course, now that it’s on Peacock, it’s no longer available on that other streaming service. It says something about Peacock’s strategy, though, that they wanted to lure subscribers over just by offering The Office. It’s also easy to see why the show has become so popular. Its cringe comedy has largely aged well, and it’s also a show about a found family of weirdos who all begrudgingly find themselves supporting one another just because they happen to work in the same office.
Superstore (2015)
6 Seasons
Genre
Comedy
Cast
Ben Feldman, Lauren Ash, Colton Dunn
Created by
Justin Spitzer
Peacock is home to many of the shows that once aired on NBC, and in recent years, NBC has become the home for a number of outstanding comedies. Superstore may not have received the acclaim that greeted series like 30 Rock or The Office, but its version of the workplace sitcom was a natural evolution of those series. The show follows a found family of weird, hilarious employees at a suburban megastore, and for as funny as it often was, it also had an enormous heart. Superstore stayed sharp throughout its run, and it’s sure to be a great discovery for those looking for a great, under-the-radar sitcom.
30 Rock (2006)
7 Seasons
Genre
Comedy
Cast
Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Tracy Morgan
Created by
Tina Fey
If The Office represents the softer side of what NBC comedies could be, 30 Rock is the hard-edged, joke-dense counterpoint. The show, which follows Tina Fey as the fictional Liz Lemon, a writer on a Saturday Night Live-style sketch show, is hilarious and often quite cynical about the way the world works. Not every joke from the series lands perfectly, but 30 Rock is just one of the funniest shows that has ever aired on TV. Alec Baldwin redefined his entire career with his performance as Jack Donaghy, and Fey proved that she could be as funny in front of the camera as she was writing jokes behind the scenes.
Parks and Recreation (2009)
7 Seasons
Genre
Comedy
Cast
Amy Poehler, Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman
Created by
Greg Daniels, Michael Schur
Although it started as little more than a riff on The Office, Parks and Recreation evolved into a meditation on how to create a comedy where the characters are generally kind and loving toward one another. Although Ted Lasso gets a lot of credit for how much it puts kindness at the center of its story, Parks and Recreation operated in a very similar space. After a rough start, the show was consistently funny, and it packed together a cast of incredible comedians who have almost all gone on to incredible success in the years since the show ended.
Based on a True Story (2023)
1 Season
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Cast
Kaley Cuoco, Chris Messina, Tom Bateman
Created by
Craig Rosenberg
When a married couple gets entangled in the grasp of a supposed serial killer, they decide the best course of action is to start a true crime podcast and exploit their close proximity to the criminal. This is a fun and exciting new comedy thriller, and although it has not been as well-received as Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building, it should satisfy fans of the genre.
Yellowstone (2018)
5 Seasons
Genre
Western, Drama
Cast
Kevin Costner, Kelly Reilly, Luke Grimes
Created by
John Linson, Taylor Sheridan
Although it’s often described as a show for middle America, Yellowstone is a great watch no matter where you live. The series follows the Dutton family, the owners of the biggest ranch in the entire United States. The plotting takes the shape of a fairly conventional soap opera, but that’s not meant as an insult. Some of the greatest TV shows of all time play out like soaps, and Yellowstone uses them as a playbook. There’s plenty of intrigue and family drama, but Yellowstone is always good enough to keep you coming back for more.
Mrs. Davis (2023)
1 Season
Genre
Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Cast
Betty Gilpin, Jake McDorman, Andy McQueen
Created by
Damon Lindelof, Tara Hernandez
Perhaps the wildest show on Peacock, Mrs. Davis tells the story of a nun living in a world where an artificial intelligence (AI) has become incredibly influential in the lives of most people. When the nun, Simone, sets out to stop the AI, she winds up going on a series of wacky adventures that have to be seen to be believed. Anchoring the entire show is Betty Gilpin’s commanding central performances, as well as sharp writing that makes us buy into a premise that is absurd on its face. This show is silly and profound, and that’s why it’s great.
The Traitors (2023)
1 Season
Genre
Reality
Cast
Alan Cumming
Based on a British reality show of the same name, The Traitors follows a mixture of famous reality contestants and everyday Americans as they get trapped in a house together and are forced to play a murder mystery game. The game comes with plenty of twists and turns, but what makes The Traitors so fun is that it gives you both the fun of a reality show and also the chance to play along with the contestants. It’s a formula that’s worked incredibly well wherever the show was set, and as it turns out, the U.S. was no exception.
The Continental: From the World of John Wick (2023)
1 Season
Genre
Crime, Drama, Action & Adventure
Cast
Mel Gibson, Colin Woodell, Mishel Prada
Created by
Greg Coolidge, Kirk Ward, Shawn Simmons
If you’re a lover of great action movies, then you’ve likely seen at least one John Wick. While that franchise continues to dominate the box office, though, you may find yourself hungry for more content set in a similar world. Lucky for you, there’s The Continental, a prequel series about the hotel for assassins that is so central to the lore of John Wick. It adjusts the perspective of the series so that the focus is on the workers at the hotel instead of the hitmen, The Continental offers a familiar world in a slightly new package, and should give every John Wick fan plenty to chew on.
Monk (2002)
8 Seasons
Genre
Comedy, Crime, Drama, Mystery
Cast
Tony Shalhoub, Ted Levine, Jason Gray-Stanford
Created by
Andy Breckman
Thanks in large part to Tony Shalhoub’s incredible, hilarious central performance, Monk became one of the most enduring shows of the first decade of the 21st century. The series, which tells the story of a former police officer with obsessive-compulsive disorder who works with the police to solve difficult homicides, manages to toe the line brilliantly between comedy and drama. Not every episode is perfect, but part of Monk‘s charm is learning how its mysteries unfold, even as we watch Adrian Monk struggle to survive in a world riddled with the dangers of germs.
Top Chef (2006)
20 Seasons
Genre
Reality
Cast
Tom Colicchio, Padma Lakshmi, Gail Simmons
A reality competition series that will make you think you can cook, Top Chef has long been one of the most acclaimed series of its kind on TV. The show, which is often set in different cities across the country, is great for appreciating the vast diversity of the U.S. and the way that diversity is often reflected in a town’s food culture. Whether you’re a foodie or not, Top Chef is the kind of show that’s easy to fall in love with. Thankfully, there is more than a decade of seasons to get through if you’re someone who loves a binge.
Saturday Night Live (1975)
49 Seasons
Genre
Comedy, News
Cast
Michael Che, Mikey Day, Kenan Thompson
Created by
Lorne Michaels, Dick Ebersol
One of the most enduring shows in the history of television, Saturday Night Live has been an institution for almost 50 years now. The sketch comedy series has had its ups and downs over that time, but the show is still humming along and occasionally delivering the kind of comedy that you can’t really find anywhere else. Thanks to its consistent ability to find excellent hosts and musical performers, SNL doesn’t seem like it’s going anywhere, at least not anytime soon.
We Are Lady Parts (2021)
1 Season
Genre
Comedy
Cast
Anjana Vasan, Sarah Kameela Impey, Juliette Motamed
Created by
Nida Manzoor
Every streaming service produces great, unheralded shows that no one watches in their early years, and We Are Lady Parts is one such show. The series follows four Muslim women who start a punk band together. The brilliant mix of interpersonal and culturally specific humor, as well as the show’s effortless charm and genuinely edgy attitude, all combine to make the series almost undeniable. The fact that We Are Lady Parts hasn’t gotten more attention is criminal, especially since most of the songs are pretty great.
Columbo (1971)
10 Seasons
Genre
Crime, Drama, Mystery
Cast
Peter Falk
Created by
Richard Levinson, William Link
Perhaps one of the more comforting shows in the history of TV, Columbo follows an off-beat lieutenant who is remarkably skilled when it comes to solving unusual and sometimes convoluted crimes. Thanks to Peter Falk’s incredible central performance as the title character and a unique who-done-it formula that shows you exactly what happened at the beginning of every episode, Columbo is a remarkably safe and cozy show, even if it is about murder. While not every aspect of the series holds up, Columbo has endured for decades precisely because it’s so easy to get into.
What shows are coming to Peacock in May?
May 1
- Lopez vs. Lopez, Season 2 – Finale (NBC)
May 2
- The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Season 1 – All Episodes – 6 episodes, 60 mins (Peacock Original)
- Chucky, Season 3 – Finale (SYFY)
May 3
- The American Society of Magical Negroes (Peacock Exclusive / Streaming Debut)
May 4
- Kentucky Derby 2024
May 5
- A Lifelong Love (Hallmark)
May 6
- The Real Housewives of New Jersey, Season 14 – Premiere (Bravo)
May 7
- Eurovision Song Contest 2024
- Snapped: Killer Couples, Season 17 – Finale (Oxygen)
May 8
- Vanderpump Rules, Season 11 – Finale – Extended/Uncensored Version (Bravo)
May 9
- Love Undercover, Season 1 – Premiere, 4 episodes, 60 min (Peacock Original)
- Eurovision Song Contest 2024
May 11
- Eurovision Song Contest 2024
May 12
- A Whitewater Romance (Hallmark)
May 13
- American Ninja Warrior Women’s Championship, Season 15 (NBC)
- OMG Fashun, Season 1 – Premiere, 2 Episodes (E!)
- Perry Mason (1957), Seasons 1-5
May 14
- Cold Justice, Season 7 – All Episodes (Oxygen)
- Deal or No Deal Island, Season 1 – Finale (NBC)
May 15
- Best of the Tonight Show Special: 10 Years of the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (NBC)
May 16
- Caillou, Season 1 (New Episodes) – 5 Episodes, 22 min (Peacock Original)
- Love Undercover, Season 1 – 3 NEW episodes, 60 min (Peacock Original)
May 17
- Law & Order, Season 23 – Finale (NBC)
- Law & Order: Organized Crime, Season 4 – Finale (NBC)
- Law & Order SVU, Season 25 – Finale (NBC)
May 18
- Family Practice Mysteries: Coming Home (Hallmark)
May 19
- Dream Big: The Michelle Wie Story – Special (NBC)
- Everything Puppies (Hallmark)
May 22
- The Voice, Season 25 – Finale (NBC)
May 23
- Love Undercover, Season 1 – FINALE – 3 episodes, 60 min (Peacock Original)
- Chicago Fire, Season 12 – Finale (NBC)
- Chicago Med, Season 9 – Finale (NBC)
- Chicago PD, Season 11 – Finale (NBC)
- Top Chef: Last Chance Kitchen, Season 21 – Finale (Bravo Digital)
May 26
- Big Sky River: The Bridal Path (Hallmark)
May 27
- Race to Survive: New Zealand, Season 2 – Premiere (USA)
May 28
- American Ninja Warrior Couple’s Special, Season 15 (NBC)
- Below Deck, Season 11 – Finale (Bravo)
May 29
- America’s Got Talent, Season 19 – Premiere (NBC)
May 30
- We Are Lady Parts, Season 2 (Peacock Original)
Editors' Recommendations
- Squid Game season 2: Everything we know so far
- NYT Connections hints and answers for May 16, 2024
- The 11 best Robert De Niro movies to stream right now
- Ranked: The best Jack Nicholson movies ever made
- The 10 best movies to fall asleep to – from Pineapple Express to Friday
