When NBC first announced a new streaming service called Peacock last year, it seemed like a vain effort to get the attention of people when they were staying at home. Now Peacock joins HBO Max and Quibi as new, well-financed platforms that have launched in the midst of a pandemic, when nearly everyone is spending way more time at home—and always looking for something new to take their mind off reality.
So, is Peacock’s dystopian series Brave New World the thing to distract you from the real one outside? And with Peacock as one of the few streaming platforms to offer a free version, is it going to inspire anyone to pay for it? On this week’s Little Gold Men podcast, Sonia Saraiya and Christopher Rosen join Mike Hogan, Richard Lawson, and Katey Rich to discuss the significant potential of Peacock—Brave New World is pretty good! And they have Jurassic Park!—as well as the pitfalls of yet another streaming service trying to carve out a corner of our attention.
The episode also includes discussion of a large group of new movies that are also jockeying for your at-home attention, including Apple TV+’s Greyhound, Hulu’s Palm Springs, Netflix’s The Old Guard, and the indie Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets, which is available to rent. Sonia also shares some behind-the-scenes details from her cover story interview with Viola Davis, who may be one of the very few people on earth who can remain regal and captivating even via Zoom.
Listen to this week’s Little Gold Men above, and find us on Apple Podcasts or anywhere else you get your podcasts.
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