THE 'BURBS (2026) Review: Welcome to the Neighborhood

Things are not how they appear in suburbia.

The 'Burbs (2026)
The mystery comedy series premieres Sunday, February 8, exclusively on Peacock TV. I've seen all eight episodes.

Inspired by Joe Dante's 1989 movie, written by Dana Olsen and starring Tom Hanks, which I wrote about here, the new series, created by Celeste Hughey (Dead to Me, Palm Royale, High Fidelity), begins in the same fictional town, Hinkley Hills, with a nod to Hanks, by picturing him as the town's original founder.

From there, the series begins gently diverging from the original, on modern currents that are sometimes jarring. (The dialogue, for example, now includes frequent profanities that would land it an 'R' rating, as opposed to the original film's 'PG-13' rating.) In other ways, it's quite welcome to see, among other nice touches both large and small, that the cast has been diversified to encompass a broader range of colors and sexual orientations.

Keke Palmer, who also serves as an executive producer, stars as Samira Fisher, who is married to Rob Fisher (Jack Whitehall). Still in a relatively new relationship, but now with an infant, they have decided to move from the (unidentified) city into Rob's childhood home in suburbia.

It's a strange notion for the city-raised Samira, yet not entirely alienating. Their new neighbors are friendly and welcoming, for the most part, including Rob's childhood friend Naveen (Kapil Talwakar), as well as recently widowed Lynn (Julia Duffy), married but living alone Dana (Paula Pell), and quirky Tod (Mark Proksch).

Everyone's backstories are gradually sketched in through the series, as needed by the narrative. New neighbors who have just moved next door to Samira and Rob, however, pique everyone's interest, especially since the house has been vacant for years.

Like the original movie, the tone of the series shifts from comedy to mystery to darker territories. The series departs from the movie by including doses of bracing reality, acknowledging that not everyone in the neighborhood is as welcome as they should be, and that some of the neighbors are dealing with more serious issues than what's for dinner.

The cast's ability to shift with the genre tides, as it were, and adeptly attune their performances to each other and to the material from a variety of writers and directors, attests to their strength and versatility. Keke Palmer, of course, stands out, as she has been straddling genres with her characters for years. But she's not alone here.

Jack Whitehouse moves easily from an affable fellow to suggest that he might be someone far darker. Sitcom vet Julia Duffy and longtime comic Paula Pell are both able to convey more dramatic tones, and, in a similar way, Mark Proksch goes from quirky to just plain weird

In comparison with the movie, the series moves more slowly and gets sidetracked more often -- not unusual notes for a movie-to-series adaptation. And the mysteries here are not, exactly, riveting; they're more accurately characterized as interesting that they chose to go there.

Even if it does not demand a full-on binge experience, it's entirely pleasurable to spend this much time with these characters, more than justifying the existence of The 'Burbs as a series in 2026.

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