The 8 best Peacock original series you can stream now

NBCUniversal’s streamer Peacock is still a relatively new player in the streaming game. But it’s put out some good original content already. With lots of streaming services to wade through, we thought we’d make it easy for you by pointing you to the best Peacock original series you can watch now.

Original content has become one of the best ways for streaming services to stand out in the pack. Licensed titles come and go, and they might be available in a competitor’s library. But original series and movies are something you can build a brand around, like Netflix’s The Crown, or Disney Plus’ The Mandalorian.

Maybe one of these eight standout titles can do that for Peacock. So, read on for the best Peacock original series. And if you aren’t already a member, you can sign up for the service by hitting the button below.

One of Peacock’s higher-profile originals, Dr. Death tells the story of a neurosurgeon whose colleagues begin to notice disturbing patterns among his patients’ health outcomes. The more they dig into his past, the clearer it becomes that this man is a danger to those around him.

Read: Everything you need to know about Peacock

Based on a true story and a podcast of the same name, Dr. Death tells us from the jump that Dr. Duntsch has done something wrong — we first see him in prison. The series goes backwards from there to give us a clearer sense of what he did, how he got away with it for so long, and how he was found out. It’s a chilling look at a twisted mind and one of the best Peacock original series.

We Are Lady Parts

We Are Lady Parts is a hilarious and thoughtful series about an all-female Muslim punk band in England. Geeky music teacher Amina suffers from uncontrollable anxiety and stage fright leading to bouts of diarrhea and vomiting if she’s ever onstage. That doesn’t stop the band Lady Parts from recruiting her as their new lead guitarist though.

We Are Lady Parts originally aired on Channel 4 in the UK. And it’s a Peacock original series in the US. The show presents the band finding their voice together, navigating cultural differences, and rocking out. Once you start, it’s hard to stop watching.

One of Us Is Lying

It’s the first day of high school, and five unlucky seniors find themselves already serving detention. But only four make it out alive, and they’re the only suspects in the death of their classmate.

Related: One of Us Is Lying review

Referencing everything from The Breakfast Club, to Gossip Girl, to 13 Reasons Why, One of Us Is Lying is a solid teen drama. Everyone has something to hide, and it’s a joy to find out what. It’s easily one of the best Peacock original series.

The Amber Ruffin Show

Anyone who’s watched Late Night with Seth Meyers likely knows the singular talent of Amber Ruffin. A writer on the storied NBC late-night talk show since 2014, the comic has been an on-air personality with Meyers in recent years. Recurring bits like Jokes Seth Can’t Tell and Amber Says What have been standouts of the show.

Thankfully, the folks at NBCUniversal were wise enough to recognize Ruffin’s talent. In 2020, Peacock launched The Amber Ruffin Show, a huge critical hit that blends monologues and sketch comedy. It’s hands-down one of the best Peacock original series.

Rutherford Falls

America’s dark and shameful legacy of racism and those who wish to defend and even celebrate it doesn’t seem like the greatest set-up for a half-hour comedy. And yet, Rutherford Falls goes there, and goes there well. In a small town, two longtime best friends with very different relationships to the town’s history find themselves on different sides of controversy. All of it tied to the town’s past and relationship to the Indigenous Minishonka Nation.

See also: The best comedies on Amazon Prime

With a writer’s room full of Indigenous comedy writers, the show is both laugh-out-loud funny and intelligent in its treatment of very serious subject matter. It doesn’t hit you over the head with its themes. But it also doesn’t let you ignore the very real basis for its unfolding conflict.

Girls5eva

Girls5eva is a satirical send-up of 90s girl bands and of growing into middle age. The members of the pop group Girls5eva, now 40-something women off living their lives after fame, reunite when their hit single is sampled by a popular hip hop artist. Can they make a successful comeback after years off the stage and airwaves?

While the show finds a lot of humor in the ways the four women have changed over the years and have moved in different directions, it also grounds its story in real bonds between them. They all clearly care about each other, and their reunion is genuinely moving. It doesn’t hurt that the whole thing is hilarious too.

Save Me

A British drama starring Lennie James, who wrote and created the series, Save Me follows a man looking for his estranged daughter, who has been abducted. As he reconnects with his ex, who initially thinks he might have something to do with the disappearance, Nelly becomes invested in finding a daughter he barely knows.

Check out: The best original streaming shows

The mystery alone makes Save Me worth watching. But great performances and a deep look at one man and the communities he belongs to make this an engrossing drama. It feels at times like we’re encroaching on deeply intimate moments between real people. That makes Save Me a powerful drama as well as a compelling whodunnit. And one of the best Peacock original series too.

The Lost Symbol

Fans of Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code and its film adaptation likely won’t need much arm-twisting to give The Lost Symbol a try. The rebooted series follows symbologist Robert Langdon as he tries to rescue his kidnapped mentor and get him home safely. Staying a step ahead of the CIA, he has to follow a series of cryptic clues to outsmart his adversaries.

Related: The Lost Symbol review

I was skeptical when Peacock announced this reboot of the Dan Brown franchise. But The Lost Symbol is a surprisingly welcome new take on a world that seemed to have already been tidily wrapped up. It’s one of the best Peacock original series.

Honorable mentions

• A.P. Bio: It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s Glenn Howerton plays a disgraced Harvard philosophy professor who returns to his hometown to teach advanced placement biology at the local high school.
• Brave New World: Not a big hit with critics and cancelled after one season, Brave New World is nevertheless a lush and impressive reimagining of Aldous Huxley’s classic novel.
• Departure: This Canadian series, picked up by Peacocok as a US original, follows an investigation into the mysterious disappearance of a British passenger flight.
• Hitmen: Fran and Jamie are not your typical contract killers. But the two misfits will do their best to get their man as they stumble their way through an unlikely new career.

Those are our picks of the best Peacock original series you can stream right now.

The streamer is adding new titles to their library of originals all the time. We’ll be sure to update this list as more great titles become available.