Keke Palmer will play the lead role in a TV adaptation of the black comedy “Suburbanites,” which has been ordered directly to series by Peacock.
Celeste Hughey (“Palm Royale,” “Dead to Me,” “High Fidelity”) will adapt the film for television. Seth MacFarlane will serve as executive producer, as will Brian Grazer of Imagine Entertainment, who produced the film. Dana Olsen, who wrote the screenplay, will serve as co-producer.
The series, like the film, is filmed on the Universal Studios lot. “Suburbia” was released in 1989 and starred Tom Hanks, Carrie Fisher, Bruce Dern, Rick Ducommun and Corey Feldman. In the film, the residents of a suburb suspect their new neighbors of being ritual murderers. The film, produced by Universal Pictures, grossed just over $49 million against a reported budget of $18 million. Today it is considered a cult classic.
The official logline for the series reads: “Set in modern-day suburbia, ‘The ‘Burbs’ follows a young couple who return to the man’s childhood home. Their world is turned upside down when new neighbors move in next door and unearth old secrets of the cul-de-sac. Plus, new deadly threats shatter the illusion of their quiet little neighborhood.”
Hughey will executive produce in addition to writing the script, while Palmer will executive produce in addition to starring. MacFarlane is executive producing under his Fuzzy Door banner along with Erica Huggins and Aimee Carlson. Grazer is executive producing through Imagine Entertainment along with Kristen Zolner and Natalie Berkus. As previously mentioned, Olsen will be co-executive producer. The studio is UCP, with Fuzzy Door currently under an overall deal with UCP.
Palmer has won two Emmy Awards to date – one for Best Actress in a Short Comedy or Drama Series for “Turnt Up with the Taylors” and another for her work as host of the reboot of the game show “Password.” She is known for her roles in films and series such as “Nope,” “Hustlers,” “Akeelah and the Bee,” “True Jackson, VP,” “Scream Queens,” and “Berlin Station.” Palmer is also a successful singer and has released several albums.
Fuzzy Door is currently producing the “Ted” prequel series at Peacock, which is currently preparing its second season. As part of the current overall deal, the company also produced the science series “The End Is Nye” starring Bill Nye. Imagine’s recent TV credits include “Under the Banner of Heaven” on FX, “Swagger” on Apple TV+, “The Ms. Pat Show” on BET+ and “The Lost Symbol” on Peacock.
Palmer is repped by 3 Arts Entertainment, Luna PR and Hertz Lichtenstein. Hughey is repped by UTA, Kaplan Perrone Entertainment and Hansen Jacobson. Fuzzy Door is repped by WME and Jackoway Austen Tyerman. Olsen is repped by attorney Daniel Riviera.
“The ‘Burbs” is the latest example of Peacock adapting or rebooting a Universal series for streaming. The streamer also currently airs series such as “Ted” and “Bel-Air” (a dramatic reboot of “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”), while previously airing a reboot of “Saved by the Bell” and “Punky Brewster” as well as “Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin.”
