What to watch on Peacock now that the Olympics are over

The 2024 Paris Olympics had been a constant delight, with breathtaking feats of athleticism, compelling underdog tales, and, after all, loads of online game and anime references from followers and athletes alike. However considered one of the most stunning elements of this 12 months’s video games for long-time watchers of the Olympics was how sturdy NBC’s protection was, notably the choices out there on their streaming service Peacock.

Like earlier Olympics, each occasion was out there to stream dwell, however the expertise on Peacock was a lot smoother than in years previous, particularly with the addition of the Multiview feed (which allowed viewers to watch many occasions directly and decide which ones had the audio feed piped in) and the wonderful Gold Zone. Gold Zone, primarily a derivative of the very profitable NFL RedZone with a lot of the identical expertise, promised to present all the medal occasions and each vital second of the Olympics. It delivered on that promise.

The expertise wasn’t all flawless – watching replays was typically an arduous course of, as Peacock doesn’t present a visible preview as you scroll over the time bar (and each time you clicked on a selected place in the time bar, an extended sequence of adverts would play). And when the adverts weren’t for aggravating AI tools, they had been for upcoming NBC programming that we are able to safely name uninspiring.

Even with these few quibbles, this was the first 12 months in current reminiscence that NBC’s streaming platform felt up to the job of displaying us the international competitors. However what do you do with Peacock now? Perhaps you signed up for Peacock for the Tour de France-Olympics-Paralympics (beginning Aug. 28!) stretch of nice worldwide sports activities. Perhaps you already had it and began to use it extra persistently for the first time this summer season. Or perhaps you’re a devoted Peacock person who’s wanting to dig in additional to the platform. No matter cause you’ve gotten for holding your subscription, we’ve acquired you — right here’s the better of what to watch on the platform.

One in all the finest new exhibits of 2023, Rian Johnson’s Poker Face introduced again Columbo’s beloved inverted detective story format (also called a “howcatchem”) with a brand new face — Natasha Lyonne. Lyonne is terrific as Charlie Cale, a girl on the run who has the mysterious energy to inform when folks are mendacity. The primary season had a terrific run of visitor stars — Adrien Brody, Hong Chau, Lil Rel Howery, and Charles Melton, to title a couple of — and the enjoyable premise allowed the present to transfer from scenario to scenario with aplomb. A second season is on its approach, however no estimated launch date has been introduced but. —Pete Volk

The inheritor to 30 Rock’s spectacular jokes-per-minute crown, this Tina Fey-produced sequence follows the members of a one-hit surprise woman group as they reunite greater than a decade after they first broke up. Girls5Eva options exceptionally humorous performances from Sara Bareilles, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Busy Philipps, and Paula Pell, but it surely’s the ridiculous and hilarious musical numbers in every episode that actually steal the present. —Austen Goslin

If top-shelf competitors is what you miss most from the Olympic Video games, then High Chef is perhaps the reply you’re searching for. The long-running actuality present gathers a few of the finest cooks in the United States to do culinary battle, and over the previous few seasons has targeted on the craft of cooking greater than the actuality present personalities and feuds that fueled the present’s earlier seasons. All of that – plus wonderful new host Kristen Kish – makes this a good time to catch up on the sequence’ newest season, or return and watch the competitions from the previous few years. —AG

Motion comedies have been in a tough place in Hollywood as of late, persistently failing to ship on one (if not each) of the phrases in the style’s title. Fortunately, the Child Assassins motion pictures are right here to assist.

The franchise follows two teen woman assassins who are making an attempt to steadiness their harmful job with their needs to dwell like youngsters — you recognize, eat junk meals and watch TV all day. When their boss calls for they get an actual job to higher match into society, many hijinks ensue. Each leads are terrific in these motion pictures (two have been launched and a 3rd is due later this 12 months), however particular marks go to Saori Izawa, a stuntwoman who proves she has the chops to be an motion lead too. —PV

I’m typically requested for suggestions for intro-to-martial arts motion pictures. I like the style, and there are many potential nice beginning locations — Jackie Chan’s Hong Kong peak, Donnie Yen’s Ip Man motion pictures, Bruce Lee’s catalog. However as a rule, I like to recommend Soi Cheang’s fashionable masterpiece SPL 2: A Time for Penalties.

Don’t get fooled by the quantity in the title: Whereas SPL 2 is technically a sequel to SPL: Sha Po Lang (additionally an excellent film!), the two actually don’t have anything to do with one another and returning solid members play new characters in the second model. On this one, Wu Jing stars as an undercover cop who befriends a jail guard (Tony Jaa). Collectively, the two uncover an unlimited organ trafficking conspiracy, and work collectively to cease it. The film has terrific combat choreography and nice performances from its excellent solid, and director Cheang is considered one of the finest visible stylists at the moment working in the motion style. His new film Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In is considered one of the best possible of 2024. —PV

Talking of nice visible stylists in the motion style, that class may begin and finish with the nice Zhang Yimou. The legendary director could also be finest recognized for wuxia movies like Hero and Home of Flying Daggers, and this 2018 addition to his wuxia catalog is one the finest motion motion pictures of the century.

Shadow is a interval drama about an tried coup in the Chinese language royal court docket by a military commander. There’s loads of court docket drama and twists and turns in the narrative, however the largest attraction of the film is in Yimou and cinematographer Zhao Xiaoding’s use of distinction between black and white. Whereas the film is technically in colour, the visible language of the movie largely sticks to black and white, down to the costumes, props, and units. This was supposed to invoke Chinese language ink work, and the impact is exceptional. —PV

George Romero’s first film in the “of the Dead” franchise, Evening of the Residing Lifeless, can be on the platform and nicely price watching, however Day of the Lifeless is my favourite of the franchise and sometimes will get neglected in favor of its extra well-known predecessors. The movie takes place in an underground bunker years after the breakout of the zombie apocalypse, and follows tensions between scientists and troopers as they struggle to decide their finest plan of action. High it off with some gnarly sensible results gore and also you’ve acquired a good time at the motion pictures. —PV

Parasite director Bong Joon-ho’s terrific monster film a couple of household making an attempt to survive when a wierd creature all of a sudden seems and begins terrorizing South Korea is considered one of the finest motion pictures of the 2000s. It’s equal elements lovely, haunting, and outright scary. —AG

Probably the most enjoyable present on TV proper now, for my cash. Chucky is a ludicrously good time regardless of your familiarity with the franchise — whereas it’s prepared to go deep into the recesses of its personal canon to poke enjoyable (or simply have an excellent time), it’s an approachable teen-focused horror sequence for all types of viewers. And sure, the wonderful Brad Dourif (alongside together with his daughter Fiona!) is again as Chucky. —PV

Loosely based mostly on a photo-book by Danny Lyon, the new film by Jeff Nichols (Take Shelter, Mud) follows a fictional bike membership because it transforms from a social group to one thing nearer to a gang. I’ll be aware I haven’t seen this film but, however the nice solid (Jodie Comer, Austin Butler, Tom Hardy, Michael Shannon, Mike Faist) and powerful evaluations from trusted colleagues means it’s what I’ll be watching on Peacock this weekend. —PV

Dev Patel’s directorial debut sees the actor solid himself as a martial artist in India who suffers from a childhood emotional wound that by no means fairly healed. After years of struggling to get by on cash from fastened matches in underground combating, he finds a approach to get revenge, and units off down a bloody path. —AG

If by some miracle you haven’t seen a trailer for this film or any trace of promotional materials, it’s best to bounce straight in and luxuriate in considered one of the higher horror comedies of the 12 months. Even if you happen to do know the premise, which the advertising and marketing disappointingly gave away, Abigail continues to be a reasonably enjoyable trip, with loads of gore to maintain issues thrilling. —AG

Biking’s largest excursions are all the time dependable for background leisure. They encompass many particular person levels, every of them hours lengthy, and if you happen to’re in the United States they’re normally occurring throughout the work day. I beloved placing the Tour de France on in the background whereas working in July, and I’ve been doing the identical with the third version of the Tour de France Femmes, which concludes Sunday, August 18 however the replays are out there on Peacock. Defector has a neat short preview of this year’s event if you would like to be taught extra. —PV

Whereas that is technically England’s prime flight of soccer, it additionally is perhaps the closest sporting league in the world to the Olympics when it comes to together with gamers from all corners of the globe. That, mixed with the fixed yearly tug of promotion and relegation, imply that the Premier League all the time has an underdog to root for, a Goliath champion who appears to be like seemingly unstoppable, and a parade of expertise that can wow even the most informal viewer wanting to decide up a brand new sport after the 2024 Paris video games. —AG

A more moderen entry in the sports activities film Corridor of Fame, Moneyball isn’t precisely a sport itself, but it surely’s shut sufficient that we’re giving it credit score right here. Brad Pitt is great as former Oakland A’s basic supervisor Billy Beane, and the film’s rationalization of how Beane helped change baseball endlessly makes for a surprisingly thrilling film for one that’s largely about statistics. —AG