Garcelle Beauvais Teams With Peacock for New Murder Mystery Series

Garcelle Beauvais has officially left the zip code of Beverly Hills, but she isn't leaving the drama behind. In fact, she’s leveled up from screaming at dinner parties to solving murders. Peacock has officially snagged a development deal for Keep Your Friends Close, a murder mystery series that feels like the natural evolution for a woman who has spent years navigating a circle of friends who would arguably sell each other out for a guest spot on a reunion special.

Produced by Beauvais and Leo Richardson, the mind behind the addictive messiness of Tell Me Lies, this project is being billed as a cross between The Burbs and Knives Out. Set in the manicured, high-stakes world of West Hollywood, the story kicks off when the president of the local Mom’s Club turns up dead. The catch? The killer is almost certainly one of her "best friends." It’s a premise that feels tailor-made for the Peacock streaming era: glossy, slightly mean-spirited, and obsessed with the cracks in a perfect social veneer.

For fans of Garcelle Beauvais, this move is a pivot that makes total sense. Having recently walked away from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills to find a "fresh start," she is leaning hard into her scripted roots. While it’s currently unclear if she will step in front of the camera as the jaded detective tasked with cracking the case, her fingerprints are all over the executive producer credits. Richardson’s involvement suggests the writing will be sharp enough to draw blood, moving away from the campiness of a soap and toward something more biting and cynical.

The timing couldn't be better for Peacock. The platform has found its stride with "guilty pleasure" mysteries like Poker Face and Based on a True Story, proving there is a massive appetite for crime stories that don't take themselves too seriously. Keep Your Friends Close aims to tap into that same vein of suburban satire, poking fun at the intense politics of elite parenting circles while maintaining a genuine whodunit tension.

Whether this series becomes the next binge-worthy hit or just another stylish procedural remains to be seen, but with Beauvais at the helm, the fashion will be impeccable and the shade will be lethal. If the show is even half as entertaining as a Beverly Hills cast trip, we’re in for a treat.

Keep an eye on this space as casting news drops, we have a few ideas of which former co-stars might make the perfect "suspect" cameos.