Peacock's New Remake of a Cult Comedy Proves Some Movies Should Never Become TV Series

Streaming services have a habit of reworking classic films into multi-episode projects. The latest victim of the reboot trend is Joe Dante's cult comedy from 1989, The 'Burbs, starring a young Tom Hanks and Carrie Fisher.

The Peacock series of the same name attempts to combine detective fiction, a sitcom, and a soap opera but is hopelessly bogged down in genre muddles.

What Is 'The 'Burbs' About?

Samira and Rob moved from the big city to the quiet New Jersey suburb with their baby. Samira, a lawyer by training, had given up her career to care for her child, but she quickly became mired in the boredom of homemaking.

She is drawn to the old Victorian house across the street where a teenage girl died under mysterious circumstances twenty years ago. The locals don't like to remember that story, but it only intrigues Samira.

A group of equally bored neighbors quickly gathers around her, and together, they begin their investigation.

'The 'Burbs' Is a Mediocre Remake of the Cult 1989 Comedy Starring Tom Hanks

Joe Dante's original movie delved into the darker aspects of suburbia, such as middle-class boredom, xenophobia, male depression, and the rejection of outsiders.

The TV series starts from the same place, but loses everything that made the original feel alive along the way. The filmmakers mechanically transpose the plot to the present day but forget to imbue it with new meaning.

The main character's gender reversal could have sparked a conversation about women's roles in society, but instead, the heroine passively accepts the housewife role from a 1950s commercial.

'The 'Burbs' Is an Outdated Project That Gets Lost in Its Own Genres & Lacks Social Commentary

As a detective show, The 'Burbs is too sluggish – the intrigue barely flickers, and the secrets are revealed casually without building suspense. As a comedy, it relies on repetitive jokes that become stale by the middle of the season.

As a soap opera, it doesn't live up to the passion of Desperate Housewives. Even when played by charming actors, the characters remain two-dimensional because they lack social or psychological depth.

They simply have nothing better to do than investigate crimes out of boredom. In the original, boredom was the subject of study. Here, however, it becomes the driver of the plot, which is a significant difference.

Instead of a sharp, relevant commentary on life in modern America, viewers are given an old-fashioned, toothless, and completely safe story that avoids any painful topics.

What Did Critics & Viewers Think of 'The 'Burbs'?

• The 'Burbs has 79% from critics and 70% from viewers on Rotten Tomatoes.

• On IMDb, the series has a score of 6.2/10.