We’ll agree that Netflix has paved the road for other streaming networks to generate fascinating original content, but Hulu’s finest series are historic in their own right. It was the first streaming service to win an Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series for The Handmaid’s Tale in 2017. In reality, that was one of eight Emmys won by the series in its first season, and it continued to get nominations and victories through the years.
While there has been more competition for streaming eyes since Hulu first gained critical acclaim, the network continues to stand out for its carefully selected library of original programs and network collaborations that make it the home of FX shows and more.
Here are some of the best shows to watch on Hulu right now.
Normal People
Normal People, based on Sally Rooney’s bestselling 2018 novel of the same name, follows the on-again, off-again relationship of two Irish teenagers at the two ends of the social scale, Marianne (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and Connell (Paul Mescal), from their first dalliance in high school to their years at Trinity College in Dublin. The 12-episode limited series vividly conveys the agony and passion of youthful love as the couple fights with friendships, trauma, and mental health.
The Handmaid’s Tale
The Handmaid’s Tale is set in a dystopian future in which a totalitarian patriarchal theocracy called the Republic of Gilead laws over most of the territory that used to be the United States. It follows the hardships of fertile women, known as the red-robed Handmaids, who are compelled to bear kids for high-ranking men and their wives after environmental disasters have rendered much of the population sterile. The show, based on Margaret Atwood’s bestselling 1985 novel of the same name, has been renewed for a sixth and final season, which will conclude the story of Handmaid-turned-enemy-of-the-state June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss) while setting the stage for the upcoming sequel series The Testaments.
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is the pinnacle of escapism on television, as if the ordinary person’s id were in charge of a long-running cable sitcom. Sunny is the type of series that relishes in refusing to let its leads develop as individuals, following the everyday lives of a morally corrupt, self-absorbed, psychologically ill, and sometimes unchangeable foursome who owns and manages a pub in Philadelphia. As the seasons have progressed, the group has only become more selfish and oblivious to the world around them. They keep behaving badly and seldom learn from their errors (but in a hilarious way) owing to the thirty-minute comedy structure, which allows the show to blow itself up on a weekly basis and reset the clock in the next episode.
Tiny Beautiful Things
You are a Katheryn Hahn fan if you are an intelligent entity that can think for itself. Hahn appears as a writer whose life is in flux as she looks back on her earlier years to recall the person she aspired to be in her new series, a remake of Cheryl Strayed’s 2012 collection of essays from her advice column. The series is split into two timelines: one as a grown-up and one as an adolescent. It has all the makings of a tearjerker, therefore keeping a hanky nearby. On the debut day, all eight episodes will be available.
Only Murders In The Building
When a ghastly killing happens in their luxury Upper West Side apartment block, a shared passion with a true-crime podcast draws together an unlikely trio of New York City neighbors, Charles (Steve Martin), Oliver (Martin Short), and Mabel (Selena Gomez), to hunt for a killer close to home. The oddball murder mystery aired in 2021 and immediately became Hulu’s most-watched original comedy. Only Murders’ upcoming third season will have A-list visitors Meryl Streep and Paul Rudd among its star-studded cast.
What We Do In The Shadows
What We Do in the Shadows, a comical mockumentary about a gang of vampires sharing a house was written, co-directed, and costarred in 2014 by Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi. This 2019 series relocated the vampire action from New Zealand to Staten Island and introduced a new gang of vampires that struggle to get out of bed, let alone take over New York City. In the fifth season, which premieres on July 13, Nadja heals from a mystical curse, energy vampire Colin campaigns for office, and gentleman scientist Laszlo seeks to discover out the mystery behind Guillermo’s alterations. If you aren’t currently watching, this is the time to start.
The Bear
Even if you haven’t watched The Bear, you’ve almost certainly heard of it. The enthralling series, which premieres in June 2022, was all everyone could speak about last summer and with cause. Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) is a fine dining celebrity who returned to his hometown of Chicago to salvage his family’s faltering sandwich store following the suicide of his brother. While Carmy first struggles to adjust to his new house and the back-to-basic manner of his inherited business, he soon realizes that it is not too late to transform both himself and the restaurant. Anyone who spends time in a bustling kitchen knows how stressful it can be, and The Bear does a wonderful job of conveying that experience. While the narrative appears straightforward, much of Carmy’s past is shrouded in mystery, and it’s revealed in amuse-bouche-sized chunks throughout the series. It’s time to feast now that The Bear’s eagerly awaited second season is available on Hulu.
