Peacock's The Resort Will Star William Jackson Harper, Cristin Milioti, And Skyler Gisondo
Get ready for your next comedy-mystery TV obsession, because Peacock's "The Resort" just welcomed some new guests!
The upcoming series hails from "Palm Springs" writer Andy Siara and executive producer Sam Esmail ("Mr. Robot," the just-announced "Metropolis" series). Peacock announced that William Jackson Harper ("The Good Place") and Cristin Milioti ("Palm Springs") will star as a couple in a monotonous marriage who take an anniversary trip to the Mayan Riviera to spice things up, but end up entangled with a bizarre unsolved mystery that took place 15 years prior.
Additionally, Skyler Gisondo ("Licorice Pizza"), Ben Sinclair ("Dave"), and Parvesh Cheena ("Mythic Quest") will also star in the upcoming series. Gisondo plays a kid on vacation with his parents and his girlfriend at the resort 15 years earlier, while Sinclair will play a resort owner. Cheena plays Ted, who is vacationing at the resort with his husband, also named Ted.
The rise of the comedy murder-mystery continues
A cast this strong is already a good reason to keep an eye out for "The Resort." Harper was a highlight of "The Good Place," harnessing chaotic energy and redirecting it in hilarious ways at the worst possible moments. After all, who could forget the chaotic brilliance of the Peeps chili scene? As for Milioti, she already proved her comedic genius in "Palm Springs," where she kept the insanity of the film's high concept grounded in a rather emotional and touching story. Given she is reuniting with "Palm Springs" writer for "The Resort," let's hope the show plays even more to Milioti's strengths as an actor.
"The Resort" is the latest in a new wave of TV shows that take a comedic approach to the murder mystery, whether it's whodunnits like "The Afterparty" or "Only Murders in the Building," or broader mysteries like "The Woman in the House Across the Street From the Girl in the Window," "The Flight Attendant," or the recent "Murderville." Why are we seeing a rise in comedy murder mysteries is a mystery unto itself, but a likely suspect is the huge wave of true-crime shows of a few years back. Remember when "Making a Murderer" became everyone's obsession and suddenly Netflix was greenlighting dozens of other true-crime documentaries? Like many other genres that quickly rise in popularity only to fade away with time, it's likely we're just seeing a wave of writers taking a satirical look at a genre that was the biggest thing not that long ago.
Will "The Resort" give us another winner like "Only Murders in the Building"? Or will it fail to check-in? Time will tell. The eight-episode series doesn't have a release date just yet, but it is set to premiere on Peacock.