Peacockin’

Plus: 'Wellington Paranormal,' 'The White Lotus,' and What's Making Us Happy! [View this email online]( [Pop Culture Happy Hour]( by Glen Weldon Welcome! It was the week when [the Emmy nominations]( by turns, delighted (I May Destroy You) and puzzled (Emily in Where Now?) us. It was the week when the Loki finale gave us [the most reassuring and most frustrating after-credits … “scene?”]( in MCU history. And it was the week when you were [asked to reserve your tickets]( to go to a theater to watch … a trailer. That will be released online later that same week. Nature is healing. Opening Argument: Peacockin’ The streaming service Peacock is home to several original shows that we at PCHH are pulling for: The Amber Ruffin Show, We Are Lady Parts, Saved By the Bell, Rutherford Falls and Girls5Evah. (It’s also home to several other original series that we at PCHH … have never freaking heard of, frankly. I mean, in our defense: Departure? Intergalactic? Intelligence? There’s actually a show called Smother? In this economy?) When the Emmy nominations were announced on Tuesday, they probably ruffled some long, gorgeous feathers (heh) over at Peacock HQ. The streaming service received precisely two nominations, both in the writing category, for Girls5Evah and The Amber Ruffin Show. For those scoring at home: That’s six fewer nominations than Quibi got. Quibi. The defunct network that boasted 8-10 minute-long episodes, geared to be watched on phones, by those with the attention span of a really smart goldfish. That Quibi. They got eight nominations. Peacock put a lot of Emmy-campaign-muscle behind Girls5Evah, especially, but Emmy voters weren’t buying it. It’s gratifying that they at least recognized the white-dwarf-star joke-density of Girs5Evah, and the good work that the Ruffin writers room is putting in. Still, you can’t help but wish they’d seen fit to recognize the comedy chops that Renée Elise Goldsberry is showing on Girls5Evah. Hamilton hinted that she could funny, but she’s turning in a bravura performance as a faded diva who refuses to acknowledge her faded status (I mean, just her delivery of “I shoot geese at the airport … and I get paid by the goose” alone should win her an Irving Thalberg award, or a MacArthur. Possibly a Nobel?). The Emmys’ mystifying refusal to recognize Rutherford Falls in general and Michael Greyeyes in particular hits all the harder because Greyeyes’ turn as a smart, savvy and dryly funny Native businessman is exactly the kind of performance that gets people talking, and that show could use more people talking about it. Which is likely what’s going on here. Peacock just doesn’t have the numbers that other streaming sites do. Not just fewer original series, but fewer viewers. Earlier this month [Bloomberg reported]( that “Peacock had about 42 million sign-ups as of late April, with about one-third, or 14 million, actively using the service each month.” Those numbers just can’t compete -- literally, in Emmy voters’ case -- with streamers like Netflix, Hulu and Disney+. In Peacock’s defense, it launched last year hoping to cash in on Olympics coverage -- but then the games got postponed, causing its execs to scramble like so many beautiful barnyard fowls with their Olympic rings cut off. More streaming services are on the way, and they’re going to be facing a landscape even more crowded and forbidding than the one Peacock is dealing with now. Don’t cry for them, though -- they’re one wing (heh) of the NBCUniversal/Comcast corporate globo-mega-behemoth, which has got more wings than KFC, Hooters and Popeye’s combined. They’ll be fine. But fledgeling (heh) shows like Girls5Evah and Rutherford Falls (and also We Are Lady Parts, which is just as great but premiered too recently to be eligible for this year’s Emmys) deserve a lot more eyes on them, and awards like the Emmys can help cut through the noise and help them find an audience. Not this year, though. Hey, Peacock? Your plumage is beautiful. (Including Smother, maybe! I mean it’s entirely possible! I haven’t seen it!) Don’t let the Emmy snubs cause you to drag it in the dirt behind you! Lift it up! Spread it out! Show it to the world! --------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter continues after sponsor message --------------------------------------------------------------- We Recommend: Friend-of-the-show Jordan Morris’ has a [new hilarious sci-fi graphic novel Bubble]( based on the serialized podcast he did over on the Maximum Fun network a while back. Co-written with Sarah Morgan with art by Tony Cliff and colors by Natalie Riess, Bubble tells the story of a bunch of young gig-economy workers trying to keep their head down and make a go of it in a city surrounded by carnivorous mutant beasties. The jokes are plentiful and land hard, the art is dynamic and gorgeous and creepy, as needed (and features cameos by some of your favorite Maximum Fun podcasters). Hugely recommended. After 400 episodes, [the wonderful Answer Me This podcast]( is coming to an end. Helen Zaltzman and Olly Man (with an able assist by Martin Austwick the Sound Man) answer listeners’ questions on a range of topics that those selfsame listeners seem too lazy to Google. Zaltzman, Mann and Austwick all have other gigs, but the singular joy of listening has less to do with any actual knowledge that may or may not get imparted, and everything to do with the easy, affectionate chemistry these three generate together. I’ll miss that. Their back catalog is still up, and their final episode drops August 5th -- you’ve got plenty of time to catch up beforehand. We’ll be talking about [HBO’s The White Lotus]( on the show in the coming weeks, but if you watched the first episode last Sunday and it didn’t quite grab you -- or if it grabbed you in a disquieting way you didn’t enjoy -- just understand that I was where you were, after that first ep. But something happened in the second episode -- the characters started pinging off each other in surprising, sometimes uncomfortable ways. I plowed through the rest of the episodes non-stop, and I’m glad I did. So if you were on the fence, try staying up there through episode two, and see how you feel. In advance of [Wellington Paranormal’s long-overdue debut in the US]( I started a re-watch of FX’s What We Do in the Shadows. Which led me to do a rewatch of the movie that inspired that series. And along with being reminded of how much I love that movie and want to live inside it, I realized that it also features Wellington Paranomal’s two leads, playing the same parts. Wellington Paranormal was made before the FX Shadows series, and its tone hews closer to the original movie -- it’s drier, more deadpan. I love them all equally, in slightly different ways, and for slightly different reasons. What We Did This Week! [Schmigadoon image]( Apple TV+ On Monday’s episode [I talked to Jamelle Bouie]( about the glorious return of I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson. On Tuesday I was on Morning Edition [making some BOLD! EMMY! PREDICTIONS!]( I was right, mostly! On Tuesday’s episode, producer Candice Lim burned the late-midday oil to turn around a [quickie Emmy nom recap with me and Aisha](. On Wednesday’s episode, Stephen talked to Andrew Limbong and Anastasia Tsioulcas [about all things Britney](. [On Thursday’s episode]( Aisha talked to Odie Henderson and J.C. Howard about Starz’ Blindspotting. On Friday’s episode, Stephen and Aisha talked to Andrew Limbong [about Space Jam: A New Legacy](. Aisha also wrote about the film. Last Saturday, [Linda reviewed The White Lotus](. It’s such a terrific, timely review of a terrific, timely show. On Thursday [she reviewed Schmigadoon!]( getting all the references, because of course she did. [On Sunday I reviewed]( Wellington Paranormal. And last Saturday, Stephen reviewed [an unexpected EP]( from TMBG’s John Linnell. What's Making Us Happy?? Every week on the show, we talk about some other things out in the world that have been giving us joy lately. Here they are: - What’s making Andrew happy: [The KennyHoopla song 'Estella]( - What’s making Aisha happy: The Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis’ album [Jam and Lewis: Volume 1]( and [their interview at Vulture]( - What’s making Stephen happy: [Michael Winslow on America’s Got Talent]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Stream your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. --------------------------------------------------------------- What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: [pchh@npr.org](mailto:pchh@npr.org?subject=Newsletter%20Feedback) Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can [sign up here](. Looking for more great content? [Check out all of our newsletter offerings]( — including Music, Books, Daily News and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Pop Culture Happy Hour emails. 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