'At-Home Variety Show' Will Bring Star-Studded Performances To The Peacock Streaming Service, With Seth MacFarlane Hosting
At a time when variety and talk shows have started to dry up, Peacock is flying in to the rescue. NBC's streaming service announced The At Home Variety Show, a short-form comedy series hosted by Seth MacFarlane and featuring a star-studded line-up of NBCUniversal stars that will aid coronavirus (COVID-19) relief efforts.
It's uncertain how Peacock will fare in the increasingly crowded streaming wars, but one thing that NBC's upcoming streaming service has at its disposal is a butt load of beloved comedy stars, the vast majority of which they're bringing on board The At-Home Variety Show hosted by MacFarlane. Each episode of the daily series, which kicked off yesterday at 7 P.M. EST and will run for four weeks, is comprised of a short-form comedy segment that runs under 10 minutes.
"We are excited to stream The At-Home Variety Show on Peacock," Bill McGoldrick, President of Original Content, Peacock, said in a statement. "Peacock's launch coincides with a moment in our history when connection, community and content are more important than ever. We want to deliver fun and timely content in a way that only Peacock can, by bringing together entertainment, news and sports to support these great charities."
If you're wondering how Peacock launched a new series if the streaming service is only available to a select few at the moment, the specials can be seen on Peacock's social handles, including YouTube and Facebook. The series is a charitable initiative created to raise awareness for Feeding America, Americares, and United Way — charities on the frontline of the coronavirus pandemic. Lining up for the charitable cause is a whole host of high-profile NBC stars whose numbers are so many that the list is going to require a whole paragraph to itself.
Here is the full list of guest stars: Fred Armisen, Lauren Ash, Elizabeth Banks, Stephanie Beatriz, Elizabeth Berkley Lauren, Kate Berlant, The Bella Twins, D'Arcy Carden, Kate del Castillo, Todd Chrisley, Andy Cohen, Terry Crews, Eugenio Derbez, Beth Dover, Terry Dubrow, John Early, Dale Earnhardt Jr., David Feherty, Ben Feldman, Luis Fonsi, Will Forte, Soleil Moon Frye, Akbar Gbaja-Biamila, Jenny Hagel, Chelsea Handler, Kevin Hart, Sean Hayes, Ed Helms, John Michael Higgins, Dulé Hill, Glenn Howerton, Lyric Lewis, Alyssa Limperis, Tara Lipinski, Mario Lopez, Jane Lynch, Mary McCormack, Christopher Meloni, Mike "The Miz" Mizanin, Paul Nassif, Ne-Yo, Sierra Teller Ornelas, Patton Oswalt, Paula Pell, Amy Poehler, Ana María Polo, Carlos Ponce, James Roday, Emmy Rossum, Craig Robinson, Amber Ruffin, Mike Schur, Tony Shalhoub, Lilly Singh, Mary Sohn, Team USA Athletes, Joe Lo Truglio, Eva Victor, Jean Villepique, Mark Wahlberg, David Wain, Johnny Weir, and Larry Wilmore.
Whew, okay. That's a whole lot of stars. But it's unsurprising considering the comedy segments are shot at home and Hollywood's biggest stars are bored out of their minds. But the cause is good, and the press is beneficial for Peacock as it gears up for an official July 15, 2020 launch.
Watch the first episode, featuring Monk's Tony Shalhoub, below.