‘The Burbs’ Trailer Sets Up Another Questionable IP Reboot

by

Peacock released the first trailer for its TV remake of The ‘Burbs on January 9, 2026, and it immediately disappointed many fans. The show appears to be an unnecessary and frustrating re-imagining of Joe Dante’s 1989 cult classic. It seems whoever greenlit an 8-episode series based on The ‘Burbs should reconsider their choices. The trailer feels like a silly Saturday Night Live sketch and doesn’t capture the dark humor of the original film, which starred Tom Hanks.

Keke Palmer is a talented actor, but it’s an unfair challenge to ask anyone to recreate Tom Hanks’ iconic role in The ‘Burbs. This new TV show seems destined to fail, and it’s another example of streaming services damaging classic movies by needlessly turning them into series. It appears The ‘Burbs remake won’t be successful.

‘The Burbs‘ Needlessly Recycles an ’80s Horror Comedy Classic

Keke Palmer stars in The ‘Burbs, a new series created by Celeste Hughey (known for Dead to Me and Palm Royale). The show follows Samira Fisher, who moves with her husband, Rob (Jack Whitehall), and their baby from the city to the seemingly peaceful suburb of Ashfield Place – touted as the safest town in America. However, their quiet life is disrupted when a mysterious death occurs and suspicion falls on their unsettling neighbors who live in a spooky Victorian house.

All eight episodes of the new series will be available on Peacock starting February 8, 2026. The show stars Julia Duffy, Paula Pell, Mark Proksch, Kapil Talwalkar, Justin Kirk, Kyrie McAlpin, Haley Joel Osment, RJ Cyler, Randy Oglesby, Max Carver, Erica Dasher, and a number of other lesser-known television actors. Although the cast is filled with talented performers, it doesn’t quite have the same comedic power as the original 1989 film The ‘Burbs, which starred Tom Hanks.

Okay, I’ve seen the trailer for this new take on The ‘Burbs, and honestly? It’s not good. It dropped on YouTube and immediately got slammed. We’re talking over four million views, but mostly people are reacting with… well, eye rolls. Everything feels incredibly generic – the way it looks, the jokes, even the characters. It just doesn’t capture the spirit of the original at all. In fact, the top comment pretty much sums it up: someone pointed out it feels like a rejected Saturday Night Live sketch, and that comment has nearly 500 likes. It’s a harsh assessment, but sadly, I think they’re right.

The trailer for the new show doesn’t look promising. Its cheap, artificial style feels like a bad imitation of the original The ‘Burbs, and it’s hard to imagine it will be as good, or even come close. It almost feels like the entire production was designed around a playful reference to a line from the original film – a joke about finding human bones and saying, “The house needs a lot of work, but it has good bones.”

Why ‘The Burbs’ TV Series Will Never Live up to the Original Movie, Explained


Universal Pictures

Despite receiving mostly negative reviews when it first came out, The ‘Burbs gradually gained a dedicated fanbase over the years. Interestingly, the movie was filmed on the same Universal Studios backlot street later used for Wisteria Lane in Desperate Housewives. Director Joe Dante masterfully blended lighthearted humor with genuinely scary moments in this PG-rated horror comedy. Tom Hanks, in one of his final purely comedic performances, brilliantly plays Ray Peterson, a typical suburbanite who’s hesitant to suspect his strange new neighbors are involved in something sinister.

What really makes The ‘Burbs so enjoyable to watch again and again is the fantastic supporting cast around Tom Hanks. Carrie Fisher plays Ray’s exasperated wife, Carol, who finally gets fed up with his wild suspicions and leaves town, letting him obsess over his belief that the new neighbors, the Klopeks, are involved in something sinister. The neighbors themselves are a memorable bunch, including the frantic Art (Rick Ducommun), the stern and funny military veteran Rumsfield (Bruce Dern), and the teenage Ricky (Corey Feldman), who turns the adults’ increasingly paranoid investigation into a neighborhood spectacle by inviting his friends to watch.

Ray gradually begins to believe his neighbor’s nosy actions are justified, convinced the Klopeks are up to no good. Director Dante masterfully keeps the audience guessing about the family’s true nature until the very end. This is largely thanks to the inspired casting of Henry Gibson as the seemingly kind Klopek brother and Theodore Gottlieb as his sinister brother, Reuben. Both actors brilliantly play with the neighbors’ fears, creating humorous and unsettling moments of suburban paranoia.

Okay, so I’m a huge fan of the original The ‘Burbs, and honestly, I just don’t see how this new Peacock version can even begin to compare. The original was so fresh and funny, with a perfect cast, and Joe Dante really nailed that mix of comedy and creepiness, just like he did with Gremlins. It makes me wonder why they even bothered to remake it, and more importantly, who is this new version even for? It just doesn’t capture what made the original so special.

Exactly Who is ‘The Burbs’ TV Show Made For?


Peacock

Adapting the 1989 film The ‘Burbs into a 2026 TV show isn’t the biggest challenge—the real question is who this new show is for. Considering that half the original cast will no longer be with us, and without stars like Tom Hanks and Bruce Dern, it’s hard to see why fans of the movie would be interested in a show that so closely retreads familiar ground.

Subscribe to the newsletter for smarter takes on reboots

Join the newsletter for sharp, no-nonsense coverage and analysis of streaming remakes, TV reboots, and film-to-TV adaptations — clear context and critique to help you parse what works, why, and what to care about.

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s
Terms of Use
and
Privacy Policy
. You can unsubscribe anytime.

The trailer heavily features a scene mirroring the iconic moment in the movie when Ray and his team investigate the Klopek family’s house. Beyond simply switching the lead character’s gender, it’s unclear what fresh elements the show brings to the table. The big question is: how will the show distinguish itself from the original film and offer something new to justify its creation?

It probably won’t be very good. Like many streaming shows, the middle episodes likely won’t add much to the story – they’ll just fill time. While it’s nice to know each of the eight episodes is only 30 minutes long, that still makes for a frustratingly long, four-hour version of a movie that originally ran for just 100 minutes.

The show adds pointless and uninteresting backstories just to make the episodes longer, and it rushes through the plot of the original movie. This puts it on a path to becoming another disappointing TV remake of a classic ’80s film – like the unnecessary reboots of Ferris Bueller and Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventures – that nobody wanted.

Read More

2026-01-15 21:41