There’s a good chance you’re already familiar with Hulu’s buzziest shows— Only Murders in the Building, The Bear, and The Handmaid’s Tale among them. Those are all good shows—great, even!—but there are others that are just as good, and some that are even better.
Like Netflix and Max, Hulu has been developing its own original (and co-produced) shows since 2012, building a library that goes well beyond repackaged shows from the broadcast networks.
Chad Powers (2025 – )
One minute, Russ Holliday (series star and co-creator Glen Powell) is the biggest name in collegiate football, with a future that couldn't be brighter. The next? He's fumbled a touchdown and later shoved a fan into a cancer patient using a wheelchair. Not great! Eight years later, he's looking for a comeback and so, shades of Mrs. Doubtfire, he reinvents himself via prosthetics and a wig as the title's Chad Powers, a charmingly naive athlete who signs on to the football team at a tiny Georgia college (and who looks a little like Owen Wilson for some reason). It's a goofy premise, but Powell's performance sells it, and the show becomes more engaging as Russ/Chad is forced to ask himself whether this new persona is a con, or the person he'd like to be. Stream Chad Powers.
Alien: Earth (2025 – , renewed for a second season)
Noah Hawley's new spin on the Alien universe (it's technically a prequel, but who can keep track?) is primed to explore some of the key themes of the series (greed, hubris, and the general shittiness of capitalism) without feeling entirely beholden to what came before. Sydney Chandler plays Wendy, a dying girl whose consciousness is transferred into a synthetic human body as part of an experiment conducted by the mega-corporation Prodigy. When a space vessel from a competing company crashes on Earth under mysterious circumstances, she and others like her are sent to help out and snoop around. This is an Alien story, so a ship is pretty much only ever going to crash if there's a xenomorph involved, but that's only one of the many nasty secrets the so-called "Lost Boys" uncover. Stream Alien: Earth.
All's Fair (2025 – , renewed for a second season)
Ryan Murphy's new divorce-centric legal drama: worst show of the year? Of all time? The reviews of the show, and of lead Kim Kardashian's performance, have been absolutely savage, and a bit of an anti-All's Fair arms race seems to have developed among critics as to who can go the hardest: The Telegraph's Ed Power said it's "a crime against television," The Guardian's Lucy Mangan said of it: "I did not know it was still possible to make television this bad." AND YET! The show's debut was Hulu's best in three yers, and viewers have continued streaming—probably for the camp value. Good, bad, or gloriously bad, it's one of the year's most talked-about shows. Niecy Nash-Betts, Teyana Taylor, Sarah Paulson, Judith Light, and Glenn Close join Kim in the shenanigans. Stream All's Fair.
Cat's Eye (2025 – )
Sisters Hitomi, Rui, and Ai run the title's Cat’s Eye Café, a cute little neighborhood coffee house. By night, though? They're world-class art thieves: Hitomi is an incredible athlete, Rui a master strategist, and Ai, the youngest sister, builds the gadgets. There are plenty of complications, of course, but the biggest involves Detective Toshio: he's hot on the heels of the art thieves, but also Hitomi's boyfriend. Whoops! This is a stylish and energetic update to the very popular '80s manga and anime series, but no Cat's Eye background is required. Stream Cat's Eye.
Reasonable Doubt (2022 – )
Emayatzy Corinealdi (Middle of Nowhere, The Invitation) stars here as Jax Stewart, a former public defender now working at a high-powered LA firm. By turns she's a self-righteous do-gooder and deeply messy—she's not always the most likable character, and she often feels more strongly about her cases than about her actual clients. For all the show's juicy, soapy charms (it was created by Scandal writer Raamla Mohamed), that occasional indifference feels real. One of the show's major throughlines, particularly in the first season, involves Jax's separation from her husband and the reappearance in her life of a former client (Michael Ealy) who's just recently been released from prison, and with whom she still has heat. Stream Reasonable Doubt.
Paradise (2025 – , renewed for a second season)
Paradise reunites This is Us creator Dan Fogelman with one of that ensemble's stars, Sterling K. Brown, for something quite different. This high-concept science-fiction series looks more like a political thriller at the outset: We're in, apparently, an affluent suburban town in which everything looks fairly tidy—it's the home of Brown's Xavier Collins, a widower and Secret Service agent to a President who, we learn, was murdered (much of the show happens in flashback). Before the first episode is over, we learn that Collins is a suspect in the murder—and also that this quiet suburb is something far weirder. James Marsden plays the President, and he's received good reviews for the role alongside Brown. Fogelman and co. bring an emotional intensity and range to a concept that gets pretty wild. Stream Paradise.
The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox (2025)
In 2007, 19-year-old Amanda Knox arrived in Perugia, Italy, only to find herself arrested and accused of the murder of her roommate, Meredith Kercher, weeks later. The prosecution did a remarkable job at smearing Knox's name in the Italian press, such that she was was eventually convicted of murder despite an almost total lack of evidence, and the fact that the actual killer had already been tried and convicted. Grace Van Patten is pretty great in the lead, and the series does a phenomenal job of dramatizing the various missteps and fabrications that lead to a conviction. A bit of fascinating behind-the-scenes with this one: while the family of Meredith Kercher did not participate, Knox herself executive produces alongside Monica Lewinsky, another person who knows what it is to be tried in the media. Stream The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox.
Deli Boys (2025 – , renewed for a second season)
Pakistani-American journalist and producer Abdullah Saeed had been best known for his investigative reporting and Vice documentaries, many of them dealing with the impacts of cannabis laws. The experience lends a unique perspective to this comedy series that follows two brothers—hardworking Mir (Asif Ali) and hard partying Raj (Saagar Shaikh)—following the death of their wealthy father. In quick succession they learn that the bulk of their family's money comes not from the public-facing chain of delis, but from the illegal drug operation running behind the scenes. It's fast-paced and frequently very fun, feeling like nothing else on TV right now. Stream Deli Boys.
Mid-Century Modern (2025)
Hyped (if "hype" is the right word for what I'm about to describe) as an all-male Golden Girls update, Mid-Century Modern stars the great trio of Nathan Lane, Matt Bomer, and Nathan Lee Graham as three gay middle-aged friends who live together as a kind of found family. It comes from Max Mutchnick and David Kohan, creators of Will & Grace, and feels like a throwback in many ways—but we could do worse than to enjoy an old-fashioned sitcom with a talented cast (including the last performances by Linda Lavin, who seems to have been having a blast here). Stream Mid-Century Modern.
King of the Hill (2025 – )
There's something fundamentally disorienting about this particular revival: The comfort of cartoons is, typically, that the characters don't change. But King of the Hill picks up several years after the end of the original series (which ended in 2009) with Hank and Peggy returning from years working in oil in Saudi Arabia to find that their beloved Arlen has become, well—not unrecognizable, exactly, but much different than they'd prefer. Given the pace of change for all of us over the last few years, it's a relatable feeling, even if you've not gone anywhere. Hank and Peggy are as set in their ways as they ever were, but people who remember only that aspect of the characters are quickly reminded that the two have always been capable of acceptance and growth, confident in their beliefs without being jerks to those who live differently. The returning cast members are as good as ever and, most importantly, the show is as funny as it ever was. Stream King of the Hill.
Futurama (1999 – , renewed for a 14th season)
Picked up by Hulu in 2022, this is the third-ish time that Futurama has been revived, and, even if the show's very best days are behind it, there's still a fair bit of life in the current iteration. Many episodes exemplify the series' amiable goofiness, there are a few high-concept classics mixed in: “All the Way Down” sees Bender becoming attached to multiple overlapping simulated universes, "Otherwise" calls back to an emotional time loop, and "The Numberland Gap" sees the crew pulled into a world of pure mathematics. Stream Futurama.
Queenie (2024 – , renewal pending)
Based on Candice Carty-Williams' popular novel of the same name, Queenie stars Dionne Brown as a 25-year-old British-Jamaican journalist navigating a rough breakup that sends her into a self-destructive spiral. She's a deliberately and refreshingly messy character, navigating quarter-life at an intersection of multiple overlapping identities while struggling to grow. Carty-Williams serves as the showrunner, while Brown offers up a phenomenal lead performance. Stream Queenie.
Spellbound (2023 –, third season in production)
A successor to Find Me in Paris (also on Hulu), set at that show's same Paris Opera Ballet School, Spellbound introduces a new cast and, where the earlier series dealt with time travel, Spellbound is, as the title suggests, more about magic. Here, 15-year-old American Cece Parker Jones travels to Paris to join the prestigious dance school, only to discover that she's an actual witch with a family history of magic. Now, she struggles to balance dance, magic, and her desire to be a normal teenager while dealing with the Mystics, natural enemies to Cece's type of witch. It's a solid teen drama. Stream Spellbound.
The Bravest Knight (2019 – , two seasons)
A Canadian import that you can presumably still watch sans tariff, this was Hulu's first original show for kids, and it's delightful. T. R. Knight voices Cedric, a former pumpkin farmer married to Prince Andrew (Wilson Cruz), as he recounts stories of his journey to becoming the greatest knight to his daughter, Nia. There's action, but the lessons are about how being a hero is less about fighting and more about helping others and trying to make friends rather than jumping to conclusions about people. Stream The Bravest Knight.
Hit-Monkey (2021 – 2024)
A breath of fresh air among Marvel's million+ hours of TV and movie content, the animated Hit-Monkey eschews pat morality in favor of—well, monkey violence, mostly. Named only Monkey (Fred Tatasciore), the lead is a particularly aggressive macaque forced from his tribe who is mentored by Bryce (Jason Sudeikis), an assassin who's been killed and returns as a helpful ghost. Ally Maki, Olivia Munn, George Takei, Leslie Jones, and Cristin Milioti are among the talented voice cast. Stream Hit-Monkey.
Shōgun (2024 – , renewed for second and third seasons)
So successful was the first season of this miniseries, based on the 1975 James Clavell novel, that two further seasons were commissioned to continue the story. Set at the tail-end of Japan's Warring States period, the series sees ambitious English maritime pilot John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis) finding himself shipwrecked in Japan and in the power of powerful warlord Lord Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada)—each with something to offer the other. Reluctantly serving as translator between the two is Toda Mariko (Anna Sawai), highly loyal to Toranaga but with a complicated past. The main characters all have real-life analogues, so there's a verisimilitude to everything in this (mostly) Japanese-language drama alongside the Game of Thrones-esque intrigue and drama. Stream Shōgun.
PEN15 (2019 – 2021, two seasons)
It takes a minute to get used to the show’s conceit/gimmick: Thirty-something creators/comedians Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle play young teenagers among a cast of actual 13-ish-year-olds. It’s weird, but Erskine and Konkle are so good, and the show so committed to the bit, that after a while, you forget that it’s even a thing. What’s left is an effective and funny cringe comedy that accurately recreates the pain of seventh grade with a surprising amount of heart. Though cut short after only two seasons, the show’s still very much worth the trip, and ends on a relatively satisfying note. Stream PEN15.
High Fidelity (2020, one season)
It’s easy to compare it to the 2000 John Cusack movie, but keep in mind that this is actually the third major adaptation of Nick Hornby’s 1995 novel High Fidelity—so it’s perhaps less of a remake situation than a burgeoning, generational thing. Maybe idiosyncratic music nerds of the future will get their own version, where everyone, I don’t know, shares a Spotify login? Anyway, here, Zoë Kravitz takes on the gender-flipped lead role of Rob, a biracial, bisexual record-store owner with a checkered romantic history and a compulsive need to make ranked lists, both of music and her past relationships. It can occasionally be tough to buy into effortlessly cool Kravitz’s awkwardness as a character, but otherwise the show successfully updates the beats of the book, film, and musical. The surprise cancellation after one season was a small tragedy. Stream High Fidelity.
The Orville (2017 – , three seasons)
A pick-up from Fox, Seth MacFarlane's The Orville began life looking like a slightly scatological Star Trek parody—a show with a reverence for The Next Generation but also jizz jokes. It quickly grew into something more interesting, though, as McFarlane's obvious affection for Trek sent the show off in a more serious direction—certainly by the Hulu-produced third season, it's become one of the most ambitious sci-fi shows on the air. A fourth season is allegedly on the way, though I'll believe it when I see it. Stream The Orville.
Shrill (2019 – 2021, three seasons)
Based on Lindy West’s memoir Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman, this comedy-drama stars SNL’s Aidy Bryant as Annie, the unapologetically fat heroine. Annie (and the show) make no bones about using the f-word, insisting there’s no stigma in being fat. Annie’s not interested in changing her body, though the first couple of episodes make clear that there’s plenty of other stuff the journalist is working on. Annie is an impressively funny and fully realized character, and there’s a lot of joy to be had in watching her overcome people’s perceptions of her over the course of the series. Stream Shrill.
Castle Rock (2018 – 2019, two seasons)
It’s hard to imagine a J.J. Abrams production based on various Stephen King’s books could possibly have escaped anyone’s attention, but the fact that this show was canceled after only two (excellent) seasons suggests it was a victim of Peak TV more than anything else. The promotion leaned too hard, I think, on King Easter eggs without ever making it clear that there were actual stories here, told with real dramatic heft—the first season’s “The Queen,” told from the unstable perspective of a character with worsening dementia, was one of the best things on television that year. The cast across the two seasons (each with a separate storyline) is stellar: André Holland, Bill Skarsgård, Sissy Spacek, Lizzy Caplan, to name but a few. There’s plenty of stuff for King fans to sink their teeth into, but it all works just fine on its own. Stream Castle Rock.
Into the Dark (2018 – 2021, two seasons)
This is sometimes marketed more like a collection of short-ish movies, but it’s technically an anthology series, so that’s what I'm going to call it—and there are small narrative threads that run through many of the episodes, for the benefit of attentive horror fans. There’s never been, and likely never will be, a horror anthology that isn’t a bit of a mixed bag, but that’s somehow a virtue here, in that different episodes represent different genres. Some are psychological thrillers, some are splatter, some social satire, and a couple of them star a giant furry named Pooka. They’re all entertaining and professionally produced, and the standout episodes are really great. Highlights include A Nasty Piece of Work (with the late Julian Sands hosting a nasty holiday work holiday party), immigration-themed Culture Shock, the aforementioned Pooka!, and the queer slasher Midnight Kiss. Stream Into the Dark.
Welcome to Chippendales (2022 – 2023, miniseries)
The true story of Indian immigrant Steve Banerjee (played here by Kumail Nanjiani) is wildly dramatic and juicy, but not always in the ways you might expect. Chronicling Banerjee’s rise to fortune as the founder of the soon-to-be-iconic male strip joint, the origins of Chippendales is a story in itself, but its creator’s fall is even more wild, propelling the miniseries into true crime territory: Less than a decade after the founding of his empire, Banerjee threw it away when he decided that the only way to grow the business involved murder. Murray Bartlett, Annaleigh Ashford, Juliette Lewis, and Dan Stevens also appear. Stream Welcome to Chippendales.
Harlots (2017 – 2019, three seasons)
Harlots takes the historical costume drama in unique directions, and deserved more attention than it got during its three-season run. Its women aren’t dressed in fancy dresses because they’re royalty, but because they’re high-end sex workers (if the title didn’t make clear) in Georgian England. When Margaret Wells moves her brothel to more upscale Soho, she comes into direct competition with her own former madam, who runs a high-end establishment in the same neighborhood. It’s got more sex and moves at a faster pace than more traditional period pieces, and the chess game between rival houses (as they both fight the male-dominated law enforcement establishment) makes for some juicy entertainment. Stream Harlots.
UnPrisoned (2023 – 2024, two seasons)
The always-great Kerry Washington plays Paige Alexander, a therapist who, naturally, has issues of her own that she needs to work on. Her life gets infinitely more complicated when her father Edwin (Delroy Lindo) moves in with her and her teenaged son following a long prison sentence. Her need for order is upended, while her father’s charismatic exterior conceals uncertainty about his new life. Creator Tracy McMillan based the comedy, in part, on her own experiences, and the result is a knowing but refreshingly upbeat take on life after prison. Stream UnPrisoned.
