Soleil Moon Frye is well known for her role in "Punky Brewster," which ran for four seasons during the 1980s. The role made Moon Frye a household name and made an impact on children everyone. The actor later went onto star alongside Melissa Joan Hart in the last few seasons of “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch.” "Punky Brewster" follows a young girl named Punky, who was left by her father and abandoned by her father, only to be taken in by a grouchy elderly widower. The show also finds Punky befriending Cherie, a girl of Punky's age living with her grandmother in the same building as Punky.
Moon Frye is returning as Punky for the upcoming Peacock revival, with Cherie Johnson also set to reprise her role.
Revivals and reboots have been a trend that has swept across various networks and streaming services, with “Punky Brewster” being the latest in a string of revivals. CBS has seen high success with remakes of “Hawaii Five-O,” “Macgyver,” and “Magnum PI." In contrast, the CW has received positive feedback with “The Flash,” “Roswell, New Mexico,” “Charmed,” and the upcoming new series of "Superman and Lois" and “Walker.” Disney has seen success with sequels to “That's So Raven” and “Boy Meets World,” though the “Lizzie McGuire” sequel was officially ended. NBC jumped on the trend with the revival of “Will & Grace” and made plans for more reboots found on their Peacock streaming service.
NBC released a sequel to “Saved by the Bell” among their programming lineup.
Punky Brewster is back
The upcoming Peacock revival of "Punky Brewster" will officially premiere on February 25 and is expected to land with ten episodes' full-season order. Soleil Moon Frye took to Instagram to share the exciting news she paired with a cast photo.
The actor gushed about her gratitude and love for the upcoming journey while expressing how the revival helped her regain her Punky power. The actor shared in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that she was beyond thrilled to have a chance to bring this character back and expressed her love to everyone involved that made it possible.
The actor also promised to do her best to bring the Punky magic back to life and do her best to make Punky fans proud.
The revival plot focuses on a now-adult Punky Brewster who is a single-divorced mother of three who meets a young girl in the foster system who reminds her of what she was like as a child. Quinn Copeland plays young foster child Izzy while Freddie Prinze Jr. is Punky's ex-husband. The rest of the cast rounds out with Oliver De Los Santos, Noah Cottrell, and Lauren Donzis. TVLine reported that all episodes of the original “Punky Brewster” could be found on Peacock.
Freddie Prinze Jr. is well-known for his roles such as “She's All That,” “Scooby-Doo,” which he starred in alongside his wife Sarah Michelle Gellar, his short live comedy “Freddie,” and scary movie “I Know What you did Last Summer." The actor spoke with People about his decision to take a step back from acting by explaining how nothing was filmed in LA anymore except a few projects a year, so he decided to focus more on his family.
The “Punky Brewster” revival is what drew him back into acting. It helped that the show was filmed in LA, but the actor explained how he fell in love with the script and even started singing the "Punky Brewster" theme song all over again. The actor opened up with how he found out about the role thanks to his friend Brian Austin Green who called him and told him to read the script. The actor shared that he wouldn't have even looked at the script if it hadn't been for Austin Green.
Other shows on Peacock
The streaming service offers a variety of fan-favorite shows such as “30 Rock,” “The Carol Burnett Show,” “Eureka,” and “Friday Night Lights,” among several others. The streamer offers a variety of original programming such as “Brave New World,” “Cleopatra in Space,” “Curious George,” “Where's Waldo,” “Psych 2: Lassie Come Home,” “In Deep with Ryan Lochte,” “Lost Speedways,” “The Capture,” and “Intelligence.” The full series of “Psych” can be found on the streaming service, with the first "Psych" movie being the last to air on the USA network.
The show originated on the USA network with James Roday and Dule Hill starring as best friends Shawn and Gus.
Other shows expected on the streaming service include a third season of “AP Bio,” a reboot of “Battlestar Galactica,” new series from Tina Fey called “Girls5Eva,” and an interview series from Kevin Hart. The streaming service also acquired the international programs “Hitmen" from England, “Five Bedrooms” from Australia, and “Departure” from Canada. The British comedy "Hitman" stars Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins, who play two best friends whose constant bickering causes their various jobs to derail. A second season is expected this year. “Departure” follows the search for a plane that went missing over the Atlantic Ocean.
Kendra Malley and Howard Lawson are brought onto the case, which takes them up against battling forces that could prevent them from finding the answers they seek. The show was renewed for a second season. “Five Bedrooms” finds five people making a rash decision when they meet at the singles table at a wedding. This group of unlikely friends decides to buy a five-bedroom house to solve all their problems. A second season was rescheduled to premiere this year.
Original Programming on Peacock Streaming
The “Saved by the Bell” sequel saw several cast members' return, with Elizabeth Berkley and Mario Lopez leading the show with a new cast of kids. Berkley went onto star in several movies while Lopez found success as a host for Access Hollywood and the short-lived game show Candy Crush.
Other members from the original series include Zach Morris himself, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, and Tiffani Thiessen, with Lark Voorhies later announcing her own plans to be part of the show. The only members from the show not to return are Dustin Diamond, who played Screech and caught criticism for his tell-all book about the cast, and former Principal Belding played by Dennis Haskins. The sequel recently came under fire for insensitive comments about Selena Gomez. No word on whether the new “Saved by the Bell” will be picked up for a second season.
“Brave New World” was canceled after one season, but it can still be found on the Peacock streaming service. The show was based on the book of the same name by Aldous Huxley.
“Brave New World” follows a futuristic society that prohibits money, family, monogamy, privacy, and history with an AI system called Indra connecting citizens based on a ranking system that shows how well they follow the rules of society. Eventually, the characters are pulled into a rebellion against the societal system. The short-lived series stars Alden Ehrenreich, Harry Lloyd, and Jessica Brown Findlay.
The Tina Fey produced series “Girls5Eva” follows former members of a girls' group who are considered one-hit wonders are reuniting to give their dreams of stardom one more shot. The upcoming Peacock original stars Sara Bareilles, Busy Philipps, Renee Elise Goldsberry, and Paula Pell. The show may have the same savage humor as Fey, who is known for vocalizing her opinions, especially those on politics.
“AP Bio” is a comedy that was canceled after two seasons before Peacock picked it up for the third season and has since renewed for a fourth season of eight episodes that will premiere sometime this year. News of the renewal came with EP Mike O'Brien expressed his excitement to Deadline about doing more episodes. The comedy stars Glenn Howerton, Paula Pell, Patton Oswalt, Mary Sohn, Jean Villepique, and Lyric Lewis.
“Battlestar Galactica” is a cult classic science fiction drama that ran for four seasons and was a remake of the 1978 series. Sam Esmail is the creator of the USA network drama “Mr. Robot” and will be behind the upcoming new installment of "Battlestar Galactica." Back in October, the creator assured Syfy Wire that the new show wouldn't be a reboot and explained that he had no intention to reboot Ron Moore's series. The plan is to take on a new story within the world's mythology while staying true to the “Battlestar Galactica” spirit. All these fan-favorite shows can be found on the Peacock streaming service.
