Launching a series on the same day as the biggest TV event of the year might not seem like the wisest strategy. But when the show is on the same platform as that huge event, it turns out the idea can work.
Case in point: The Burbs, which premiered as a binge release on Peacock on Feb. 8. The streamer also carried the Super Bowl along with NBC that day, and between them (and Spanish language broadcaster Telemundo, also part of NBCUniversal) had 125 million viewers who saw several promos for the series, a reworking of the 1989 Tom Hanks movie that stars Keke Palmer and Jack Whitehall. The series also received a push in NBCUniversal’s Winter Olympics coverage.
The strategy has paid off well, with The Burbs having one of the best opening weeks to date for a Peacock scripted series. The eight-episode season drew 712 million minutes of viewing for the week of Feb. 9-16, based on early streaming figures from Nielsen. Final numbers will be out in a few weeks. Including the Feb. 8 premiere day and the first part of this week, The Burbs is closing in on 1 billion minutes of viewing. That marks it as the biggest series launch on Peacock so far (based on nine days of streaming).
The Best Man: The Final Chapters still holds the highest week one total for a Peacock scripted show, drawing 762 million minutes for its premiere in December 2022.
The Burbs also stars Paula Pell, Julia Duffy, Mark Proksch, Kapil Talwalkar and Justin Kirk. Celeste Hughley created the series and executive produces with Rachel Shukert; Palmer; Seth MacFarlane, Erica Huggins and Aimee Carlson of Fuzzy Door; Brian Grazer, Kristen Zolner and Natalie Berkus for Imagine Entertainment; and director Nzingha Stewart. Dana Olsen is a co-EP. Universal Studio Group’s UCP produces the series.
