Out of all the streaming services to choose from, Hulu has steadily been rising to rival that of Netflix, HBO Max, and Apple TV+ in terms of its original content. With the combined powers of FX and Disney, Hulu offers a variety of original programming from dystopian sci-fi to murder mysteries, dramas, comedies,horrors, and historical shows.
Hulu has a lot of Emmy-winning series already, and there are some notable directors and producers behind them, including the likes of J.J. Abrams, Alex Garland, Steve Martin, and Tony McNamara. When you next launch your streaming app for Hulu, make sure to add a few of these to your watch list.
IMDb Rating
Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij
Emma Corrin, Clive Owen, Brit Marling, Harris Dickinson, Kellan Tetlow, Raúl Esparza, Louis Cancelmi, Joan Chen, Ryan J. Haddad, Jermaine Fowler, Pegah Ferydoni, Edoardo Ballerini, Christopher Gurr, Alice Braga, Javed Khan, Britian Seibert, Daniel Olson, and Neal Huff
1
2023
89%
7.1
A Murder at the End of the World comes from Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij, the same duo behind Netflix’s The OA, and what they have in store with this story is less mind-bending but still equally original and brilliant. This miniseries is a genre mash-up of true crime, amateur sleuthing, corporate billionaire satire, and AI technology,like a Black Mirror episode.
The main character is a Gen Z amateur sleuth named Darby who brought a serial killer to justice with her lover, Bill, but now finds herself investigating Bill’s murder in the present, after reuniting at an isolated Oslo retreat owned by a billionaire CEO. It’s an excellently paced and suspenseful murder mystery with a clever AI twist.
Alex Garland
Sonoya Mizuno, Karl Glusman, Nick Offerman, Alison Pill, Cailee Spaeny, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Jin Ha, Zach Grenier, Amaya Mizuno-André, Jefferson Hall, Georgia King, Linnea Berthelsen, Aimee Mullins, Alejandro De Mesa, Akshay Kumar, and Janet Mock
2020
82%
7.6
Alex Garlandis a thought-provoking filmmaker, with works such as Annihilation, Warfare, and Ex Machina, and he brings that energy to Devs. This miniseries focuses on a team of developers at a secretive unit within the tech company Amaya, filmed on the beautiful campus of UC Santa Cruz as a way of paralleling the tech giants of Silicon Valley.
While largely a sci-fi series questioning a predetermined universe, Devs is also a murder mystery, with the main character’s boyfriend being killed after trying to steal the data from the Devs division. The series will pit Sonoya Mizuno’s Lily Chan against the head of Amaya, Nick Offerman’s Forest, and his head of security, Kenton. There’s also quite a notable supporting cast.
Danny Strong
Michael Keaton, Peter Sarsgaard, Michael Stuhlbarg, Rosario Dawson, Kaitlyn Dever, Will Poulter, John Hoogenakker, Ray McKinnon, Mare Winningham, Will Chase, Phillipa Soo, Ian Unterman, Raúl Esparza, Brendan Patrick Connor, Lawrence Arancio, and Andrea Frankle
2021
8.6
Dopesick is based on the 2018 non-fiction novel of the same name by Beth Macy, and it’s a series that gives a personal look into America’s opioid crisis. It follows a team of Assistant US Attorneys who are taking on Purdue Pharma in court, the maker of OxyContin.
You get the perspective of the sinister Sackler family, a doctor working in the mining town of Finch Creek, an injured young miner played by Kaitlyn Dever, and the DOJ. The acting talent is immense, and the writing and cinematography are likewise fantastic. From the very opening scene, you’ll see why Michael Keaton took all the awards for his character, Dr. Samuel Finnix.
Erica Lipez
Joey King, Logan Lerman, Lior Ashkenazi, Hadas Yaron, Robin Weigert, Amit Rahav, Henry Lloyd-Hughes, Sam Woolf, Eva Feiler, Moran Rosenblatt, Lihi Kornowski, Marina Bye, Ido Samuel, Marin Hinkle, and Michael Aloni
2024
93%
7.7
We Were The Lucky Ones tells the powerful history of the Kurc family during the Second World War, who all became separated during the Nazi Occupation and then miraculously reunited with each other afterward. It’s based on the book by Georgia Hunter, who wrote this incredible story based on her own family’s survival during the Holocaust.
The miniseries gives you one of the most personal and raw accounts of a Jewish family going through the Holocaust from the very beginning to the very end of the war, showing you a true, resilient survival tale where a close-knit family bond keeps everyone going. Where one brother cannot return home to Poland, the other Kurcs are fighting in the war or with the resistance.
Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks
Cosmo Jarvis, Anna Sawai, Hiroyuki Sanada, Tadanobu Asano, Takehiro Hira, Hiroto Kanai, Moeka Hoshi, Shinnosuke Abe, Tokuma Nishioka, Yûki Kedôin, Akiko Kobayashi, Yuki Kura, Hiromoto Ida, Tommy Bastow, Fumi Nikaidô, and Néstor Carbonell
3
99%
Shogun originally began as a Hulu and FX miniseries, but its acclaim led to more seasons, and the show rightfully swept countless awards. The series adapts the novel by James Clavell, centering onthe political intrigue of 17th-century Japanfrom the point of view of English sailor John Blackthorne.
Though the pacing can be a slow and underwhelming crawl at times, the locations and cinematography are gorgeous. Shogun also offers some of the most well-developed TV characters, especially Anna Sawai’s Mariko, Hiroyuki Sanada’s Toranaga, and Tadanobu Asano’s Yabushige, and the cultural aspects and period drama are compelling.
Tony McNamara
Elle Fanning, Nicholas Hoult, Phoebe Fox, Douglas Hodge, Sacha Dhawan, Gwilym Lee, Adam Godley, Belinda Bromilow, Bayo Gbadamosi, Florence Keith-Roach, Danusia Samal, Jane Mahady, Alistair Green, Julian Barratt, Henry Meredith, Freddie Fox, and Grace Molony
2020-2023
96%
8.1
The Great comes from Tony McNamara, the Oscar-nominated writer of Poor Things and The Favourite. In its short-lived three seasons, The Great tells the ‘somewhat true story’ of Russia’s first female empress, Catherine the Great, as she vies for control of the Russian Empire from her husband, Tzar Peter III, to bring about major reforms.
The Great follows the court of Catherine and Peter, with some of the funniest and most memorable characters satirizing Russian history. The deadpan humor and writing are some of McNamara’s best, giving you a hilarious period drama and political satire that will have you repeating the word ‘Huzzah!’ along with the characters.
Steve Martin and John Hoffman
Selena Gomez, Steve Martin, Martin Short, Michael Cyril Creighton, Jackie Hoffman, Teddy Coluca, Amy Ryan, Tina Fey, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Paul Rudd, Michael Rapaport, Jane Lynch, Ryan Broussard, and Jayne Houdyshell
5
97%
In Only Murders in the Building, Selena Gomez, Steve Martin, and Martin Short star as neighbors of The Arconia,a New York apartment buildingwhere a string of murders occur. Together, the trio start a podcast series on solving the true crime mysteries within their building, circumventing the police investigation that’s also taking place.
Every season will feature a new murder mystery for Mabel, Oliver, and Charles to solve, but the series is overall hilarious and lighthearted, with the opening theme by Siddhartha Khosla being wonderfully cozy as well. Some of the supporting cast in later seasons will include Cara Devligne, Meryl Streep, Paul Rudd, and Eugene Levy.
Dan Fogelman
Sterling K. Brown, James Marsden, Julianne Nicholson, Krys Marshall, Sarah Shahi, Nicole Brydon Bloom, Jon Beavers, Aliyah Mastin, Percy Daggs IV, Matt Malloy, Richard Robichaux, Eddie Diaz, Darin Toonder, Charlie Evans, Ian Merrigan, and Verlon Roberts
2
84%
7.9
Hulu’s Paradise is an all-in-one political thriller, murder mystery, and sci-fi series from the creator of This is Us, Dan Fogelman. The director reunites with actor Sterling K. Brown, who plays the main protagonist, Xavier Collins, a Secret Service agent assigned to James Marsden’s former President Cal Bradford.
All the mystery is set in motion when the former president is assassinated. What follows is a series of twists and turns that will keep you engaged until the finale, which will finally answer who killed Cal Bradford. The story also borrows from narratives like Designated Survivor, Fallout, and Apple TV+’s Silo. Julianne Nicholson is also outstanding.
Christopher Storer
Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edebiri, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Liza Colón-Zayas, Lionel Boyce, Abby Elliott, Edwin Lee Gibson, Matty Matheson, Corey Hendrix, Molly Gordon, Oliver Platt, Richard Esteras, Jose M. Cervantes, Ricky Staffieri, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jon Bernthal, Will Poulter, Olivia Colman, Gillian Jacobs, David Zayas, and Bob Odenkirk
4
8.5
One of the most popular TV shows, also dominating the Golden Globes and Emmys, is The Bear, a comedy-drama series that takes you into the high-stress world of cooking and restaurant management. The main character is Carmen ‘Carmy’ Berzatto, a volatile young chef who leaves behind Michelin Star fine dining to take over his older brother’s sandwich shop after his tragic death.
Like Succession, The Bear is a show defined by its cast, with some of the best performances and memorable character interactions. Notable episodes include ‘Forks,’ ‘Fishes,’ and ‘Napkins.’ By the third season, Carmy will turn the sandwich shop into The Bear, an upscale restaurant where his menu and demands are often met with conflict from his co-workers and family.
Bruce Miller
Elisabeth Moss, Yvonne Strahovski, Ann Dowd, Madeline Brewer, O-T Fagbenle, Samira Wiley, Max Minghella, Bradley Whitford, Joseph Fiennes, Amanda Brugel, Sam Jaeger, Ever Carradine, Alexis Bledel, Stephen Kunken, Nina Kiri, Bahia Watson, Mckenna Grace, Sydney Sweeney, Timothy Simons, Carey Cox, Josh Charles, Athena Karkanis, and Jordana Blake
6
2017-2025
83%
8.3
The Handmaid’s Tale is a thought-provoking, dark, anddystopian narrativebased on the novel by Margaret Atwood that’s also eerily reflective of the times. It follows the story of June Osborne, a wife and mother in Gilead who was separated from her husband and daughter to be a Handmaid for Commander Fred Waterford and his wife, Serena Joy.
The Republic of Gilead is an oppressive religious totalitarian regime of what was once the United States of America, forcing Handmaids to bear children for the infertile ruling class while being controlled by Aunts and Commanders. June will try to desperately reunite with her daughter, Hannah, and you’ll also follow the other Handmaids who are in the resistance fight alongside June.
