Peacock Rolls Out Live Interactive Companion Series ‘Watch With’

Combining the power of technology and talent, Peacock is launching “Watch With,” a new product experience that allows fans to watch special episodes alongside their favorite talent, with real time reactions, live commentary and unfiltered Q&A.

Directly following the Season 2 premiere of Peacock’s drama series Bel-Air, “Watch With” officially launches with Jabari Banks and Olly Sholotan on Feb. 24 at 9 p.m. ET. The feature will soon extend to Eurovision with two-time Olympian and NBC correspondent Johnny Weir; The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip with Candiace Dillard Bassett and Marysol Patton; plus more to be announced.

According to Peacock, “building a bold slate across various content genres and formats, ‘Watch With’ is a user experience that empowers marketers to take fans behind the scenes of their favorite content and engage with the stars, directors and creators that bring the storytelling to life. This series of fan-powered events are designed to present a seamless split screen view that allows talent to answer questions and interact in real time, creating a unique streaming event that can only be found on Peacock.”

As soon as the user enters the livestream, they will see a video overlay of talent providing commentary on the episode, alongside a count of how many fans are watching. The event will also keep pulse on all live social chatter, bringing buzzworthy moments and questions up to the talent in real time via the #WatchWithPeacock hashtag.

With ongoing testing for continual optimization, the “Watch With” feature first appeared in beta form on the platform last year with Miami Housewives, Larsa Pippen and Marysol Patton.

“After exceeding our viewership forecasts, we’re highly encouraged by the first test of ‘Watch With’ as a way to super-serve fans with a live communal viewing experience,” said John Jelley, NBCUniversal senior vice president, product & UX, Peacock and direct-to-consumer. “As we work to build an unrivaled audience experience at Peacock, we’re looking to continue experimenting with in-product innovations that enhance the streaming experience and break into the cultural zeitgeist.”

“Watch With” delivers limitless opportunities to re-experience new or nostalgic content and joins Peacock’s growing portfolio of interactive experiences. This includes “Choose Your Reality,” an interactive storytelling feature that grants control to the viewer, with options and prompts to go deeper into select scenes. The feature will launch in Season 3 of The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip first on Roku devices.

Set in Los Angeles, Bel-Air reimagines the classic sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air through a new, dramatic take on Will’s complicated journey from the streets of West Philadelphia to the gated mansions of Bel-Air.