3 cozy shows on Peacock to beat the Sunday Scaries

Peacock is full of high-intensity series like "Ponies," "All Her Fault" and "The Copenhagen Test," but it's also home to plenty of shows that soothe the nerves rather than test them. And with the rousing Winter Olympics sadly now over, you might be in the market for a new feel-good watch, especially with the beginning of yet another hustling, bustling work week looming over you.

Thankfully, Peacock — one of the best streaming services around — is here to help with charming sitcoms, lively variety shows and more that will help you shake off those Sunday scaries and rid your mind of that upcoming Monday meeting (for the meantime, at least).

'The Paper'

The Paper | Official Trailer | Peacock Original - YouTube

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The Peacock platform already plays host to many of our regular comfort shows, including "New Girl," "30 Rock," "Parks & Recreation" and "The Office." Add "The Paper," a spinoff series of the latter beloved workplace sitcom, to that cozy list.

It might seem counterintuitive to avoid the Sunday scaries by watching a work-related comedy, but the Domhnall Gleeson-led series — a mockumentary following the staff of a historic Midwestern newspaper in Toledo as they try to rejuvenate the struggling local pub — is warm and funny enough that you'll soon be wishing you were on staff at the Truth Teller.

Along with Gleeson and Dunder Mifflin familiar face Oscar Martinez (Oscar Nunez, reprising his "The Office" role), "The Paper" cast includes Sabrina Impacciatore, Chelsea Frei, Melvin Gregg, Gbemisola Ikumelo, Alex Edelman, Ramona Young and Tim Key.

Watch "The Paper" on Peacock now

'Girls5Eva'

Girls5eva | Official Trailer | Peacock - YouTube

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A powerhouse quartet of actresses — Sara Bareilles, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Busy Philipps, and Paula Pell — make up Girls5Eva, a one-hit-wonder girl group from the 1990s who reunite after 20 years for another shot at pop-star success. Those musical dreams are made slightly more complicated this time around by the fact that the women are now solidly middle-aged, with all of the pesky realities (needy spouses, growing kids, aging parents, shoulder pain, mammograms and the like) that come with it.

Produced by "30 Rock" cohorts Tina Fey, Robert Carlock and Jeff Richmond (who also composed the music for the series), the musical comedy is fast-paced and fiercely funny but with an uplifting spirit and a good amount of sweetness in its depictions of the supportive friendship between its core ladies. And, yes, you will very much get those songs stuck in your head!

Watch "Girls5Eva" on Peacock now

'The Carol Burnett Show'

The Dentist from The Carol Burnett Show (full sketch) - YouTube

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Variety shows are the purest form of entertainment — you don't have to follow some winding, continuous seasons-long plotline, they usually feature a lively mixed-bag of musical performances, sketch comedy and dance numbers, and they're often populated by a talented and colorful cast of characters.

Peacock is the streaming home of arguably the most famous variety show around, "Saturday Night Live," but if you want to mix things up from your usual weekend view, revisit the excellent throwback that is "The Carol Burnett Show." Cited as one of the greatest TV shows of all time, the iconic one-hour variety series sees its titular star joined in uproarious comedy skits by a top-rate ensemble (Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence and Tim Conway among them) and all-star guests (Lucille Ball, Bernadette Peters, Dick Van Dyke and more).

Watch "The Carol Burnett Show" on Peacock now

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Christina Izzo is a writer-editor covering culture, food and drink, travel and general lifestyle in New York City. She was previously the Deputy Editor at My Imperfect Life, the Features Editor at Rachael Ray In Season and Reveal, as well as the Food & Drink Editor and chief restaurant critic at Time Out New York.

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