Stream It Or Skip It: ‘The Kouncil’ on Peacock, A Rom-Com In Miniature From TikTok Creator Katie Florence   

In The Kouncil, which streams all six of its 10 minute-ish episodes at once on Peacock, a 24-year-old woman turns to herselves for support after a particularly bad breakup. Herselves? Plural? Yes, because before Kouncil creator and star Katie Florence was on Peacock, she was on TikTok and Instagram and other social media platforms, submitting life’s decisions to ‘Logic,’ ‘Confidence,’ ‘Heart,’ and ‘Lady Parts’ – her council of selves. That style of confessional, vertical screen video content blends with more typical small screen romantic comedy vibes in The Kouncil, which is part of what Peacock parent NBC Universal is calling its Emerging Artists Platform. Running her peaks and valleys of her emotions through the filter of her Kouncil, Katie wonders about her present situation. “Is this because I’m a Gemini?”

THE KOUNCIL: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: With help from her friend Alana (Erika Priscilla), Katie (Florence) is moving into a new place of her own. But right now, it’s a little all over the place. “Like me,” Katie says, “it’s a work in progress.”

The Gist: Katie Florence plays a version of herself in The Kouncil. And this version, her main self, just got left on read by the cheating ex she swore to her other selves she would never text. In consultation, ‘Heart’ had taken the romantic high road. Maybe texting him would show who was the bigger person. That sentiment was immediately shut down by ‘Logic’ – Florence again, this time in glasses and business casual – who said in no uncertain terms, “Do not text that man.” The last thing they should do is reopen fresh wounds added ‘Confidence,’ appearing in full makeup and a great dress. And ‘Lady Parts’ figured the best way to get over a guy was to get under one. “Start on Tinder, then work our way down to Farmers Only.” 

Sometimes, Katie’s physical manifestations seem to have a much better handle on what she should do than her actual self does. Other times, her running commentary with them feels like an especially chaotic group chat, or a Zoom meeting that could have been an email. But as episodes of The Kouncil only last a few minutes, these ruminating sessions allow it to speed-run a bunch of exposition and backstory about Katie.

Like hey, maybe it’s time to get back out there. An aunt who died suddenly left her the rambling Venice Beach house to live in, and Alana is helping her to not spiral into navel-gazing or worse, blaming herself for the breakup. And Venice is full of baristas and bartenders who are cute and available. But then another side of Katie shows up, rocking oversized sweats and an elaborate series of frowns. It’s ‘Anxiety,’ and even the other mental members of the Kouncil have trouble getting out from under a self-made storm cloud shaped like the word “Worthless.” Can Katie get her Kouncil under control and straighten out her post-breakup life before the spiraling gets too severe? Maybe, but she’ll have to convince ‘Confidence,’ who with the arrival of ‘Anxiety’ is walking out the door. “I can’t fake my way through this.”

Photo: Peacock

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? The Kouncil joins three other new shows in Peacock’s content creator incubator: Warehouse Phase, People Like Me, and Older Hotter Wiser. And in 2024, Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine outfit brought Influenced to Prime Video, which is a talk show hosted by a group of TikTok creators. It’s funny how episodes of Influenced feel like an eternity at 30 minutes – installments of The Kouncil top out at like 10.   

Our Take: We were annoyed with the manifestation of ‘Logic’ in our own head when we read Peacock’s announcement of its “emerging artist” initiative as just more cynical corporate posturing. The established cancel culture of streamers that a gigantic entity like NBCUniversal is part of is offering a funded, highly visible platform to TV unknowns? They’re not even interested in keeping previously-funded scripted dramas with established actors from cancellation. (See Hysteria! and Teacup as recent examples.) But what a streamer like Peacock might want most is something those dramas couldn’t offer: a built-in audience from day one. It’s the same desire that must have driven HBO Max to try fitting Jake and Logan Paul’s massive following into the frame of a conventional reality show. 

Clearly, The Kouncil will be of immediate interest to Katie Florence’s existing fanbase. Its multi-headed premise grows directly out of what she established on her socials. The bigger question is whether this series and the others in Universal’s Emerging Artist cadre can make the leap to being seen as small screen shows that stand creatively on their own. (Or will they flounder in a flurry of failed conversions, like Quibi?) We live in a timeline where podcasts become shows all the time. There’s no reason social media content driven by a singular personality – or you know, the many sides of Florence’s personality – can’t establish itself on TV as well. There is a lot riding on Katie Florence, since she’s basically the star of The Kouncil times five. But she’s got plenty of front-facing charm.

Sex and Skin: Well, lots of talking and jokes about sex, that’s for sure. For the Katie Florence manifestation known as ‘Lady Parts,’ talking about sex stuff is her whole thing.

Parting Shot: Maybe we’re all the same when it comes to the counsel we seek in our head. After all of the voices speak, the dilemma grinds down until it becomes a rationalized result. “I have to know,” Katie tells her other selves. “Gonna text.”

Sleeper Star: On The Kouncil, Erika Priscilla plays Katie’s bff Alana. But Priscilla’s also a content creator in her own right, and according to her Instagram, she will also appear in the other shows under Peacock’s emerging artist umbrella.   

Most Pilot-y Line: ‘Confidence’ hangs up a sign in the new house, where all of Katie’s manifestations can see it. “It’s giving bad bitch. Starting today, we are over that man, alright?”

Our Call: The Kouncil is partly a lifestyle comedy catering to Gen Z, and partly a content experiment catering to Gen Z. Which probably adds up to it being a STREAM IT, but mostly for Gen Z. After all, episodes are shorter than the typical wait time at Crumbl Cookies.

Johnny Loftus (@glennganges) is an independent writer and editor living at large in Chicagoland. His work has appeared in The Village Voice, All Music Guide, Pitchfork Media, and Nicki Swift.