The 'Burbs Movie Easter Eggs in Keke Palmer's New Peacock Series
The 'Burbs series creator tell us about some fun connections to Tom Hanks' 1989 movie.
**SPOILER WARNING! This story reveals spoilers about Peacock's 'The Burbs series!**
Anytime a classic movie or a series gets a reimagining, the original fans get nervous about what the new creative team is going to do to with it. In the case of Peacock's new mystery/thriller series, The ‘Burbs (now streaming on Peacock), loosely based on the 1989 Tom Hank's cult classic of the same name (also streaming on Peacock), the show's revival was in very good hands.
During a set visit to The 'Burbs last year, creator/showrunner Celeste Hughey (Palm Royale, Dead to Me) told Peacock Blog that she was a fan of the original film, directed by Joe Dante (Gremlins) and written by Dana Olsen (George of the Jungle - 1997), and that she wanted to transfer the black comedy of that piece into a more contemporary story.
"Having worked on a show, High Fidelity, that was honoring really beloved original material, it was important for me to honor the DNA and the fans of the movie," Hughey said of a prior job she had adapting a film to series.
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With 'The Burbs, Hughey wanted to pull from her own story as a mixed race kid growing up in a mostly white suburban neighborhood and to have Keke Palmer embody the protagonist Samira Fisher as a smart but exhausted new mom susceptible to her darkest suspicions.
"It was important for me to tell a fish out of water story about a Black woman and a new mother and experiencing the world through her eyes, and Keke is the perfect person to do that," Hughey said. "But, to honor the movie that was super important to me and the fans too."
While there's no official 'Burbs Cinematic Universe, there are subtle ties and Easter eggs in the series that are connected to the movie, which we break down below.
Easter Eggs from the 1989 Tom Hanks movie hidden in Peacock's new series, The 'Burbs
Keke Palmer discusses filming the series in the exact location where the movie was filmed
Right from the first episode, "The Goddamn Brownies," the biggest connector of film to series is the location where both were filmed — Colonial Street on the Universal Studios back lot in Los Angeles. Both projects use the name of Hinkley Hills as the town where the events take place.
Thirty-six years after the movie, the Peacock series used the same exact same cul-de-sac to create their idyllic Ashfield Place suburban neighborhood. In the film, it was the same houses just dressed for the time and using the name Mayfield Place.
"I love working on this lot because of the history, of course," Keke Palmer said to Peacock Blog about the location. "We're actually filming on The 'Burbs street, the actual original one, so that's really fun, and it feels nostalgic in a weird way."
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In the film, the established nosey neighbors Ray Peterson (Hanks), Art Weingartner (Rick Ducommun), and Mark Rumsfield (Bruce Dern) are suspicious of the odd Klopeks, whose rundown home sets off their inner alarm bells.
What was Ricky Butler’s home in the film is now in the series the rundown Victorian home, or Hinkley House, once owned by the Grants and recently purchased by Gary (Justin Kirk).
Hughey said The 'Burbs movie was a product of its time, so she wanted to make the Victorian home in her series scary because of the infamous disappearance in its history and not about who owned it. "The Klopeks are a foreign family and people are a little unsure about them," she said of the film. "But this is more because of the Covid of it all, where we've had to know our neighbors and rely on each other, and that is more the essence of our show, how we interact with the world now. Where there's a little division and trying to find common ground with everyone around you, which is possible."
Cameos from The 'Burbs movie in Peacock's The 'Burbs series
Fans of the movie will immediately recognize three big cast cameos from the movie into the series. In the first episode, "The Goddamn Brownies," Samira goes to the Hinkley Hills Library to get information about the history of Hinkley House. She watches a historical movie reel about the history of the town and its founder, H. Horace Hinkley, who built Hinkley House. When they show his sepia toned photo, it's a photo of Tom Hanks as a nod to his role in the film.
The librarian Judy, who gives Samira a very hard time, is played by Wendy Schaal, who played Mark's wife Bonnie Rumsfield in the movie.
And last but not least, in the season finale episode "Only One Way Out," a local is playing pool at Drinkley's Bar and it's none other than Corey Feldman, who portrayed teen neighbor Ricky Butler in the movie.
The infamous sardines from The 'Burbs movie made it to the Peacock series too
Aside from the obvious Colonial Street connection, both The 'Burbs projects also share an appreciation for tin fish, specifically sardines. In the movie, the Klopeks welcome the neighbors over and serve them slimy sardines.
Hughey said they wanted to recreate that classic moment in their own way when Samira, Dana (Paula Pell) and Tod (Mark Proksch) invite themselves over to Gary's and meet his "wife" Betsy. She also serves them sardines, which Hughey said Palmer was down to actually eat for the very first time for the scene.
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"The sardines is just funny," she laughed. "I think we all remember it from the movie because it's such a moment of like, 'Ugh.' It's just always that thing of like, who serves sardines? It's such a weird idea."
Get your fill of sardines by catching both The 'Burbs series starring Keke Palmer and The 'Burbs film starring Tom Hanks, streaming now on Peacock!
