'Ponies' first look: Emilia Clarke and Haley Lu Richardson chase a Cold War murder in Peacock's new series
If you've been waiting for a sharp, moody spy story, this one's got teeth. Peacock dropped the first look at Ponies, an eight-episode thriller landing Jan. 15, and it centers on something painfully human: two women whose lives split open in an instant.
Set in Moscow, 1977, Bea (Emilia Clarke (movies and tv series)) and Twila (Haley Lu Richardson (movies and tv series)) are anonymous American Embassy secretaries until their husbands are killed on Soviet soil. That shock forces them into the shadows-where they start pulling on threads that lead straight into a Cold War conspiracy. And yes, before long, they're doing real spy work.
Here's why it hits: the show doesn't just stage cloak-and-dagger moves; it sits with the grief and grit of two people who have to become dangerous to get answers. You can feel the stakes in every choice.
Cast notes
- Emilia Clarke
- Haley Lu Richardson
- Adrian Lester (movies and tv series)
- Artjom Gilz (movies and tv series)
- Nicholas Podany (movies and tv series)
- Petro Ninovskyi (movies and tv series)
- Vic Michaelis (movies and tv series)
First-look images tease cold hallways, tighter smiles, and that specific late-'70s tension-everyone watching, nobody saying much. It's the vibe you want from a period spy piece.
Why this matters
For folks covering war and politics on TV, Ponies is tapping real Cold War paranoia and turning it personal. It's less about briefcases and more about the cost of secrets-on marriages, on friendships, on how long you (movies and tv series) can pretend everything's fine before it isn't.
First looks and trailers
Hulu rolled out the first look at The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives: Season 3 Reunion Special, premiering Dec. 3 on Disney+ and Hulu. Stassi Schroeder hosts, and the episode promises unseen footage and straight-to-the-point conversations.
On the couch: Taylor Frankie Paul (movies and tv series), Jen Affleck (movies and tv series), Whitney Leavitt (movies and tv series), Jessi Ngatikaura (movies and tv series), Layla Taylor (movies and tv series), Miranda Hops, Mayci Neeley (movies and tv series), Mikayla Matthews (movies and tv series), and Demi Engemann (movies and tv series). Expect receipts, reactions, and some long-awaited clarifications.
Also on the holiday slate, Netflix shared the first trailer for Elmo & Mark Rober (movies and tv series)'s Merry Giftmas. Elmo and the Sesame Street crew team up with former NASA engineer Mark Rober to build wildly thoughtful presents for a Giftmas exchange. Three new originals show up here: "Merry Giftmas," "Failure is Awesome," and "The Best Christmas Gift is You."
Industry moves
Lyrical Media is launching Lyrical Animation after acquiring Line Mileage. Jacob Robinson (movies and tv series) steps in as Head of Lyrical Animation, with Daniel Dominguez as Creative Director and Brad Graeber consulting on production. The focus: storytelling across film and TV, with a clear lean into adult animation.
"We built Line Mileage because we are passionate about genre-forward animation and saw a substantial, underserved audience that craved these stories," said Jacob Robinson. "The global appetite for sophisticated, adult animation has never been stronger. With Lyrical's backing, we're positioned to continue to seize that moment - combining our production expertise and fandom-focused storytelling with a company that deeply values creator ownership and long-term world-building."
On the live-action side, Lyrical Media is in post on Adam Wingard (movies and tv series)'s Onslaught and Michael Sarnoski (movies and tv series)'s The Death of Robin Hood (movies and tv series).
AI and sports broadcasting
YES Network and Camb.AI are teaming up to test out AI tools that could make games easier to follow in your own language. Camb.AI's voice and translation models can handle 150+ languages, which means fans might soon flip a game into their preferred audio without clunky workarounds.
"Tapping into the expertise that Camb.AI has built by working with leading sports and media companies to incorporate AI into their localization strategies underscores YES' commitment to explore new opportunities to serve our fans and making sports content more accessible and relatable," said Jon Litner, President & CEO, YES Network. The company has worked with Major League Soccer and NASCAR on multilingual translation before.
Curious about Camb.AI's tech? Here's their site: camb.ai.
Honors
Dr. Jane Goodall (movies and tv series) will be posthumously honored with a Realscreen Action Award at the 2026 Realscreen Awards on Feb. 3 in Miami. The award recognizes unscripted and nonfiction work that sparks real change-something she did for decades as an animal scientist and conservationist.
From the 1965 National Geographic special "Miss Goodall and the Wild Chimpanzees" to the 2017 feature "Jane," her life's work shaped how millions understand chimpanzees and conservation. Jane Goodall Productions continues that spirit with the upcoming documentary "Matriarch," developed with BBC Studios, PBS, and WNET Group. Her institute, founded in 1977, keeps pushing that mission forward. Learn more at the Jane Goodall Institute: janegoodall.org.
Dr. Goodall passed away Oct. 1 at age 91. Her longtime collaborator, wildlife photographer Bill Wallauer, will accept the award on her behalf.
The takeaway
Keep Jan. 15 circled for Ponies-it looks like a character-first Cold War thriller with real bite. In the meantime, there's a December reunion special set to stir up reality TV debate, a family-friendly Giftmas build-off that will quietly make science feel fun, and an animation outfit betting on grown-up stories.
And somewhere under all of it, the industry keeps shifting-AI translations for sports, new lanes for animation, and a reminder from Dr. Goodall's legacy that stories can change how people act, not just what they watch.
