Netflix revives Emmy-nominated Peacock show following cancellation

Netflix has become the new home of Girls5Eva, an Emmy-nominated show from Meredith Scardino that was previously cancelled at Peacock.

The unexpected move arrives alongside the announcement that Girls5Eva has been renewed for a third season. It will now debut exclusively on Netflix while the first two seasons will be available to stream on both Peacock and the former's streaming platform. According to THR sources, the musical-comedy has struggled to carve out an audience for itself and the hope is that it will find one at Netflix. 

Developed by Scardino, best known as a writer on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, the show is also executive produced by Tina Fey, Jeff Richmond and Robert Carlock. A factor that helped the deal was Fey and Carlock's already existing relationship with Netflix. 

Girls5Eva tells the story of a 90s one-hit wonder girl group that gets an unexpected new shot at fame when a young rapper samples their song. This is not the first time Netflix has picked up a series from another platform – most notably, acquiring the first three seasons of Cobra Kai from YouTube in 2020. 

"Our deepest thanks to Peacock for bringing Girls5eva to life and supporting us creatively at every turn since the first pitch. And we are endlessly grateful to our partners at NBCU for their boundless commitment,” said executive producers Scardino, Fey Richmond and Carlock in a joint statement. 

"Today, we are thrilled to announce that our reunited girl group will be re-reunited at Netflix. We are so thankful to everyone at the streamer who fell in love with our music-filled comedy. We cannot wait to introduce Dawn, Wickie, Summer and Gloria to the global Netflix audience. Well, not fully introduce, if you look closely, Girls5eva can be seen in the background of the Woodstock ’99 documentary setting a porta potty on fire.”

Comedy has struggled at Peacock with Saved by the Bell being cancelled at Peacock earlier this year, as well as Rutherford Falls receiving the axe in September. In fact, no comedy has been renewed for a third season on the platform to date. Let's hope Girls5Eva can do better at Netflix, even if the streamer is widely known for its early cancellations too. 

Girls5Eva stars Sara Bareilles, Busy Philipps, Paula Pell and Renée Elise Goldsberry. The first two seasons can be watched on Peacock now, with the episodes then expected to drop on Netflix in 2023 ahead of the third season. 

Meanwhile, Netflix recently cancelled Bad Crimes, a new adult animated series that was being produced by the writers behind King of the Hill and The Office (US).