‘The ‘Burbs’ Series Starring Keke Palmer Set at Peacock, Brian Grazer & Seth MacFarlane to Produce

Joe Otterson
·3-min read

Keke Palmer is set to star in a TV adaptation of the dark comedy film “The ‘Burbs,” which has been ordered straight-to-series at Peacock.

Celeste Hughey (“Palm Royale,” “Dead to Me,” “High Fidelity”) will adapt the film for television. Seth MacFarlane is set to executive produce, as will Brian Grazer of Imagine Entertainment, with Imagine having produced the film. Dana Olsen, who wrote the film, will co-executive produce.

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The series will film on the Universal Studios backlot, just like the movie. Released in 1989, “The ‘Burbs” starred Tom Hanks, Carrie Fisher, Bruce Dern, Rick Ducommun, and Corey Feldman. In the film, the residents of a suburban neighborhood suspect their new neighbors are ritualistic murderers. Produced by Universal Pictures, the film grossed just over $49 million against a reported budget of $18 million. It is now considered a cult classic.

The official logline for the series states, “Set in present-day suburbia, ‘The ‘Burbs’ follows a young couple returning to the husband’s childhood home. Their world is upended when new neighbors move in next door, bringing old secrets of the cul-de-sac to light, and new deadly threats shatter the illusion of their quiet little neighborhood.”

Hughey will executive produce in addition to writing the series, while Palmer will executive produce in addition to starring. MacFarlane executive produces under his Fuzzy Door banner along with Erica Huggins and Aimee Carlson. Grazer executive produces via Imagine Entertainment along with Kristen Zolner and Natalie Berkus. As mentioned, Olsen will co-executive produce. UCP is the studio, with Fuzzy Door currently under an overall deal at UCP.

Palmer has won two Emmy Awards to date — one for best actress in a shortform comedy or drama series for “Turnt Up with the Taylors” and another for her work hosting the reboot of the game show “Password.” She is known for her roles in films and series like “Nope,” “Hustlers,” “Akeelah and the Bee,” “True Jackson, VP,” “Scream Queens,” and “Berlin Station.” Palmer is also an accomplished singer and has released multiple albums.

Fuzzy Door currently produces the “Ted” prequel series at Peacock, which is prepping its second season. Also under its current overall deal, the company produced the science series “The End Is Nye” with Bill Nye. Imagine’s recent TV credits include “Under the Banner of Heaven” at FX, “Swagger” at Apple TV+, “The Ms. Pat Show” at BET+, and “The Lost Symbol” at Peacock.

Palmer is repped by 3 Arts Entertainment, Luna PR, and Hertz Lichtenstein. Hughey is repped by UTA, Kaplan Perrone Entertainment, and Hansen Jacobson. Fuzzy Door is repped by WME and Jackoway Austen Tyerman. Olsen is repped by attorney Daniel Riviera.

“The ‘Burbs” is the latest example of Peacock adapting or rebooting a Universal property for streaming. The streamer also currently airs shows like “Ted” and “Bel-Air” (a dramatic reboot of “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”), while it has previously aired a new iteration of “Saved by the Bell” and “Punky Brewster” as well as “Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin.”

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