While COVID-19 and the ensuing lockdown limited the number of new and original series Peacock is premiering with, a handful of international acquisitions and originals are currently on offer. Here’s The A.V. Club’s takes on a few of them:It’s been nearly three years since Steve Franks and his co-writer James Roday Rodriguez () kicked off their ersatz continuation series with , a joyful affair that reunited the cast and made a great addition to the holiday movie canon. But Lassie Come Home doesn’t spend much time catching us up on the interim adventures of Shawn Spencer (Rodriguez), Burton “Gus” Guster (Dulé Hill), Juliet O’Hara (Maggie Lawson), and of course, Carlton Lassiter (). In true Psych fashion, after a mysterious opening, the movie throws an only slightly less enthusiastic Shawn and Gus right into their next case, which centers on one of their own. []This Brave New World never quite emerges from its source material’s long shadow, which includes the penumbra of spiritual successors (or kin) like and . But the show’s superb cast certainly gives it all they’ve got as they navigate David Lee’s polished yet vaguely unnerving production design. New London was built on the ruins of the old one following some climate-related catastrophe, not that the Alphas who perch ever more precariously atop the city’s social hierarchy ever notice. It’s not their place to—an Alpha-Plus like Bernard Marx (Harry Lloyd) is responsible for the “social body,” which mostly means they’re supposed to reap all the benefits of being genetically engineered to be the best: the best-looking, the best positioned. []Created and written by Nick Mohammed, a very funny gentleman whose profile is decidedly higher in the U.K. (though Americans might possibly recognize him from , , or ), Intelligence takes place within the U.K.’s Government Communications Headquarters, where agents do battle against international cyber criminals. They’re a socially awkward bunch at best, as one might expect from folks who are rarely required to leave the confines of their computer desks: Tuva (Gana Bayarsaikhan) is tall, intense, and oozes a slightly threatening sexuality; Mary (Jane Stanness) lives with her mom, dresses frumpily, and freely admits that she looks older than she is; and Joseph (played by Mohammed) has a habit of blurting things out before contemplating either their accuracy or appropriateness. Their boss, Christine (Sylvestra Le Touzel), tolerates their eccentricities because they have a history of getting the job done, but when they’re abruptly joined on their team by Jerry Bernstein (David Schwimmer), a fiery, arrogant NSA agent, it’s like throwing a grenade into their midst, blowing any sense of order to smithereens. []The Capture, already a popular British thriller, arrives this month on Peacock, positively brimming with action. The series from creator Ben Chanan tackles pertinent themes including excessive surveillance, evidence manipulation, fake news, and corruption within the government, police, and justice system. Season one is a fascinating exploration of the soaring dependency on technology to solve crimes, but it also offers a terrifying perspective on how the same tools can be maneuvered to present, per the phrase made popular by a senior White House aide, “alternate facts.” While the show starts off strong and conjures up twisty cliffhanger endings, it falters in the end due to the convoluted plot. However, with only six episodes, The Capture is just gripping enough to binge in one sitting. []
