Tina Fey owes me

Since NBCUniversal launched Peacock last July, I've ignored the streaming service; I'm not particularly nostalgic for reruns of The Office, and I can (mostly) stay away from Harry Potter and his wizard friends Even the additions of Soccer Premier League and WWE Wrestling were not enough to make me pay attention to what Peacock had to offer, much less set aside $5 a month to pay for an ad-supported version of the service

Then I made the mistake of trying Girls5Eva

That's not a knock on the show itself; in the style of her past shows like 30Rock and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, produced by Meredith Scardino and executive produced by Faye, it's a lot of fun The fifth person The story follows the four surviving girl band members who were killed in an infinity pool accident, but who go on to make a comeback from their one-hit wonder glory days in the 1990s

The show is a sharp satire on the music business, taking aim at the thoroughly inappropriate lyrics sung by modern girl groups (It's hard to tell whether the lyrics to "Jailbait" or "Dream Girlfriend" need a warning label) If one of the show's jokes doesn't hit the mark, there are usually a half dozen more waiting just behind And when they sound like Simon & Garfunkel through and through New York Lonely Boy, you can only marvel in dismay

No, Girls5Eva is great It was Peacock's choice of distribution method that infuriated me Because Peacock, like a drug dealer who has switched drugs to sell a refreshing TV comedy, wants you to know that the first one is free; in the case of Girls5Eva, the first three films are free

Put another way, Peacock's free tier lets you watch the first three episodes of Girls5Eva And while you're engrossed in the show, admiring Sara Bareilles' clever comedic sense, wondering if Busy Philippine was born to play this role, and thrilled to see Stephen Colbert as a pop music Svengali, Peacock cheekily informs us that if we want to see the remaining five episodes of the first season, we'll have to get a subscription

You're devilishly clever, Peacock

This is a bit of a dilemma for me, as I hate blindly adding streaming services I quit cable TV to save money on my monthly entertainment budget, not to spend the same amount or more each month on an alphabet soup of streaming services I have limited money to pay for TV each month, and adding Peacock would mean I'd have to be stingy with one of my other streaming options; I canceled Netflix to watch NWSL soccer and added Paramount Plus, which I've been using for the past few years

But that doesn't leave us with much to cancel Our Apple TV subscription is now free, courtesy of Tim Cook and the purchase of many, many Apple hardware; Hulu's service is bundled with our Spotify subscription, and as a perk we get free shipping on Amazon I get Amazon Prime Video I also have Disney Plus, but I would have to sleep with one eye open if I even thought about canceling Netflix ("You know what I really miss?" I said dreamily at breakfast, then stared at me and clearly added, "Netflix")

Instead, we might have to do the streaming service equivalent of a "smash and grab"--pay $499, watch as much Girls5Eva as we want, and before anyone notices, Peacock's subscription and cancel your Peacock subscription before anyone notices For example, "Rutherford Falls" (another Peacock exclusive with a strong pedigree and an appealing cast) Or maybe I will start to get enthusiastic about Peacock's wonderful library of Alfred Hitchcock films Or, if my contract lasts through the summer, Peacock may add NBC's Olympic coverage (For now, it will likely be just studio programming from Tokyo, but one day the men's water polo and fencing finals may be broadcast on the Peacock) Before you know it, it will be the end of summer and the Premier League will begin again

Congratulations Tina Fey, and best wishes to the cast and crew of Girls5Eva Bills will be in the mail shortly