- - How “The Burbs” Series Gave a 'Little Wink' to Original Star Carrie Fisher and Featured Tom Hanks

Brenton BlanchetFebruary 9, 2026 at 9:14 PM

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Tom Hanks and Carrie Fisher in 'The Burbs' (left); Keke Palmer in 'The Burbs'

Courtesy Everett Collection; Elizabeth Morris/PEACOCK

Warning: This post contains spoilers for The Burbs.

Tom Hanks makes a minor cameo in Peacock's The Burbs, while fellow original film costar Carrie Fisher is also subtly represented in the show

Series creator Celeste Hughey broke down both acknowledgements in an interview

The Burbs, starring Keke Palmer and adapted from the 1989 film of the same name, is now available to stream on Peacock

There are nods to Tom Hanks and Carrie Fisher in The Burbs, a new series adapted from their 1989 film of the same name.

The mystery-comedy from Peacock, starring Keke Palmer, has led fans to spot a (sort-of) cameo from Hanks, as well as a subtle nod to Fisher, who died in 2016. Speaking with Screen Rant tied to the release of The Burbs, series creator Celeste Hughey confirmed that Hanks' likeness was used for an image of H. Horace Hinkley, the fictional founder of the Hinkley Hills neighborhood that Palmer's Samira and her husband Rob (Jack Whitehall) move into.

"We were hoping to get him in some way, shape or form. And we found this opportunity to have him play the founder of Hinkley Hills, H. Horace Hinkley, just an image, and he was really happy to sign on for that and give his permission," Hughley told the outlet.

Hanks, 69, isn't the only original Burbs star to cameo, either.

"We also have Wendy Schaal, who played Bonnie Rumsfield in the first movie. She plays the librarian in the first episode," Hughley added. "We wanted to continue to have those nods to the movie throughout and having Tom say yes to having his image was a day we all squealed. So one of our production companies, Imagine, is the company that originally made the movie. So an email went out to him from [producer] Brian Grazer and yeah, he said yes."

Tom Hanks in 'The Burbs' (left); Keke Palmer in 'The Burbs'

Universal/courtesy Everett Collection; Elizabeth Morris / Peacock / Courtesy Everett Collection

Hanks played the lead, Ray Peterson, in the 1989 film, while Fisher played his wife, Carol. Her name also appears in the Peacock series, just as more of a nod. "Rob and Samira’s last name is Fisher," Hughley said of Palmer and Whitehall's characters.

"So that was our little wink to her. It’s the Fisher family after Carrie Fisher," she added.

The eight-episode dark comedy stars Palmer as a new mom who moves back into her husband's old stomping grounds of Hinkley Hills. While the neighborhood is touted as being the "safest town" in the U.S., Samira quickly learns that not all is as it seems with her neighbors. The cast is rounded out by Paula Pell, Justin Kirk, Julia Duffy, Kapil Talwalkar, Mark Proksch and more.

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Speaking with PEOPLE ahead of the show's release, Palmer said she "had no clue" who the show's villain was going to be upon first reading the script. But she had her suspicions.

"I definitely was suspicious of Rob," Palmer said. "I was definitely suspicious of Samira's husband, but I felt like that was way too obvious for it to be the husband. And again, one of those fun suburban tropes that it's always the husband. So I knew there was no way that it could be that."

She added, "I was just like, 'I'm so interested to see where this is going.' I think the pilot is so unique in that way where you're just kind of unsure what you're watching, but you can't look away. And I think the rest of the series is much like that, even though you start to fall in love with these characters and really kind of understand the world they're living in."

All eight episodes of The Burbs are now streaming on Peacock.

on People

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”