The Best Shows on Hulu to Watch Right Now
Most streaming services have delved into making their own content, but Hulu has been working on their stable of hit shows for years. Their FX on Hulu hub also means that some of the most popular shows on FX are available on the platform in full, making the collection even richer. Plus, you can always add on other subscriptions to your account, from networks like HBO and Starz, so you can catch even more of your favorite shows in one place.
It’s likely that if you’ve heard someone talking about a new show this year, it’s coming from Hulu. Below are some of the shows you know and some you didn’t that are available on the streamer. They have something for every viewer: teen drama, horror artistry, historical comedy, true crime, and even more of the Kardashian family.
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This Golden Globe-winning comedy stars Ramy Youssef as a version of himself. Youssef is a first-generation American, whose family hails from Egypt. In the show, he grows up in New Jersey and is grappling with his Muslim community and where it intersects or conflicts with his millennial lifestyle and his general questions of self-discovery. Funny, sweet, and thoughtful, Ramy will be relatable to anyone trying to make sense of where all the pieces of their lives fit together.
Based on a world created by writer Stephen King, Castle Rock follows Sheriff Alan Pangborn in his small Maine town in the early nineties. Pangborn finds Henry Deaver, a child who was reported missing, standing on the town’s frozen lake. The story skips ahead almost 30 years to another mystery, but never goes much farther than the border of the town. This psychological-horror series swill keep you engaged and guessing and avoiding the woods for a while.
The show is named after the town in which it takes place, and Letterkenny‘s episodes often open with the text, “There are 5000 people in Letterkenny. These are their problems.” The tiny town is in rural Ontario, and largely populated by immigrants who escaped Ireland during the Great famine of the 1800s. Their problems are removed from that tragedy for the most part, but some history is still being worked through.
Created by comedians Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle, the adult duo play their middle school selves, remembering every moment of awkwardness and pain that comes with growing up in excruciating detail. Some of the humor comes from watching two thirty-somethings play 13-year-olds, especially surrounded by a cast of actual children. But the pair are so real with their performances that soon you’ll just be absorbed in their every day lives and nostalgia for the early aughts.
Every season of Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story is different, even if it’s always creepy. There are also often the same actors playing different characters in each tale, like Murphy’s muse Sarah Paulson. This show is perfect when you want something a little spooky and very full of body horror.
Somehow, The Bear makes the question of whether or not a restaurant has enough sandwiches to feed their customers feel like the highest stakes television you’ve ever seen. A Michelin-star chef moves back to Chicago to take over at his late brother’s sandwich shop shortly after his death. But tensions arise when all the old timers want to keep business running as-is, even as they’re seduced by their new boss’s really excellent cooking. You’ll find yourself holding your breath over every recipe’s success or failure.
Based on the true story of the infamous crime boss Bumpy Johnson, the series follows Johnson’s return to Harlem after ten years in prison. It’s the early ’60s, and things have changed significantly since he lost power. While taking on the new Genovese crime family Johnson teams up with civil rights activist Malcolm X. A compelling historical fiction about a tumultuous time in a changing world.
The Bachelor has been on now for 26 cycles, so if you still haven’t watched it—how?? Hulu is making season 27 available to subscription owners the day after each episode airs on ABC. In the meantime, educate yourself on our culture’s most well-known elaborate televised mating ritual with 26 other seasons.
Jesse Eisenberg plays the titular role of Toby Fleishman, a divorced dad in his 40s who is trying to get back into that swinging single lifestyle. His ex-wife, Rachel, who is played by Claire Danes, takes off and leaves Toby with their kids. While in some ways they’re both getting to start over again, they’re also processing the past and where they went wrong in the first place.
The Chippendales franchise is very well-known as a place where men get naked in front of women for once. This fictional take on the enterprises’ rise and fall stars Kumail Nanjiani as Somen Banerjee, the man who creates Chippendales when he realizes how much money gals will shell out for a night of fun. Though things start out fun and sexy, the series takes a dark turn and Banerjee loses control of his creation.
Under the Banner of Heaven
Andrew Garfield stars as Detective Jeb Pyre, a very religious Mormon who is investigating the murder of Brenda Lafferty and her infant daughter. The case disturbs the detective in a myriad of ways, and it becomes difficult to reconcile his faith to the horror of Brenda’s fate. Eventually, he realizes that religion is at the heart of her death, and so is the rest of her family.
This mockumentary style sitcom was created by comedian Quinta Brunson, who brought new life to a well-known format. Fans of The Office or Parks & Recreation will find some of that fun here as they watch a group of Philadelphia school teachers struggle (and most of the time, succeed) to do the most for their kids. The show won multiple Emmys in 2022, including for Brunson, who took home the Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series award.
For a minute there, it seemed like everyone had an Elizabeth Holmes impression, but Amanda Seyfried’s performance in The Dropout pretty much nails the Theranos founder’s signature sound. If you weren’t satisfied by the documentary covering the rise and fall of the blood testing company scam Holmes created, this deeper dive into her personal life might be able to scratch that itch.
Based on the novel of the same name by wildly popular Irish writer Sally Rooney, Normal People is about two kids who meet in high school and help each other grow up into functional adults, despite the abuse, loss, and emotional trauma they experience along the way. The story is told through all the small moments that form a relationship, making it a very intimate look into a scenario many people will recognize from their own lives: first love.
Only Murders in the Building
This comedy about three amateur detectives has an incredible cast, starring pop icon Selena Gomez and comedy greats Steve Martin and Martin Short. The trio play three New Yorkers who live in an apartment building in the Upper West Side, drawn together by a murder mystery and their personal obsessions with true crime stories. This is a great show for viewers who want a few laughs along with their thrills.
The Handmaid’s Tale first only covered the original story created by author Margaret Atwood, but now in its fifth season, the show has evolved into its own universe. It has even offered some satisfying glimpses of actual revenge from the women to their oppressors, though the consequences the handmaidens face for taking it may be dire. Tune in to find out.
Fans of the classic sitcom How I Met Your Mother can enjoy some of the same zippy, light-hearted storytelling in this long-awaited spin-off. How I Met Your Father stars Hilary Duff as Sophie, a young woman looking for love in all the wrong places. And the same character in her latter years is played by the incomparable Kim Cattrall, getting to tell her son all about how she met his father in a series of flashbacks. The supporting cast is talented and delightful, and you’ll soon be as attached to them as you were to Robin Scherbatsky (who even makes a cameo).
When Keeping Up With the Kardashians went off the air it left a huge hole in programming about the Kardashian family. Thank goodness Hulu immediately greenlit a new reality show about these mega-influencers and the first season was a big hit. The second season, now streaming, promises to give us a deeper look into Kim Kardashian’s infamous and brief relationship with Pete Davidson and a whole host of other dramas that have been playing out in real time in the media.
Catherine the Great was the Empress of Russia, and while she most likely took herself very seriously, this series based loosely on her life injects her story with humor and irreverence. The Great is very funny and also full of anachronistic details that give it a very modern feel. The historical series stars Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult, and they both seem like they’re having a great time.
Solar Opposites follows a family of aliens who have crashed into Earth and can’t leave. This might be a familiar feeling to anyone born on this planet. Terry, Korvo, Jesse, and Yumyulack often debate whether or not they’re glad to be here (also familiar) as their own Planet Shlorp was a totalitarian world bent on colonizing new planets before being destroyed. These four may never successfully take over, but their antics as they decide what to do are extremely entertaining. It’s an especially good choice for fans of Rick and Morty, whose co-creator Justin Roiland executive produces it.
Shrill stars Saturday Night Live alum Aidy Bryant as a woman learning to love herself after years of trying her best to stay out of the limelight. It’s based on the best-selling memoir by Lindy West, so when she gets her happy ending, you know it’s real.
For people who can’t get enough of super hero content and for people who love a good teen drama, Marvel’s Runaways is the perfect crossover. Based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name, the series puts a spin on the ragtag group of kids fighting evil by making the evil very close to home—their own criminal parents. As they try to outrun their families, they come together as a team that can take on anything.
Starring Jessica Biel as Candy Montgomery, a Texas housewife who was accused of murdering her friend Betty Gore with an ax in 1980, this show is a creepy vintage throwback. And yes, it’s based on a true story. The real Montgomery was eventually acquitted, but details of her strange affair with Gore’s husband make for a compelling character study of the murderer next door.
This horror anthology is for people who love the genre, because each episode is basically its own movie exploring all sorts of different nightmare scenarios. Every one of the 12 episodes has a new cast of characters, new setting, and new story, though avid viewers will catch the running themes that connect them loosely together. Treat yourself to something spooky and surprising, but keep a light a on as you go Into The Dark.
This HBO limited series is based on a book of the same name by Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn. A journalist with a disturbed past returns to her hometown and her smothering family to investigate the murders of two young girls. She discovers that the violence brewing under the surface of every day life in her rural town is way too close to home. The show stars the perfectly cast Amy Adams and Patricia Clarkson.
Set on a reservation in Oklahoma, this series follows four Indigenous teenagers known as the “Rez Dogs” going to increasingly extreme lengths to save enough money for their journey to California. Created by Seminole and Muskogee filmmaker Sterlin Harjo and co-produced by Taika Waititi, the show is both hilarious and heartbreaking. But mostly hilarious.
Based on the popular book by Carola Lovering, this drama series is about a toxic love triangle that unfolds over eight years of tumultuous ups and downs. First love cuts the deepest, especially when it involves lots of emotional manipulation and secret girlfriends. Anyone who has experienced the bumpy course of young love might find some catharsis here.
Set in the same world as the film Love, Simon, this series follows a teen boy named Victor who is new at Creekwood High School. Victor is figuring out who he is and that includes his sexual identity. When Love, Simon came out, many in the LGBTQ+ community were happy to have a coming of age romcom starring a gay protagonist. Now in 2022, there’s a whole show offering that representation (as well as many others), and it’s very sweet, too.
The Mindy Project began on Fox before getting canceled after three seasons, but it was so popular that Hulu picked it up for three more. The show follows Dr. Mindy Lahiri, an OB-GYN with an obsession with romance who seems to barely understand herself, let alone her romantic prospects. The series has an ensemble cast with sparkling chemistry and it offers some of the most chaotic line readings ever presented on primetime.
This drama series is actually based on a nonfiction book titled Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America by Beth Macy. Set in a small mining town, the show dramatizes the very real opioid epidemic ravaging the rural community—and how the Sackler family had a hand in it. It’s a big story to grapple with but the eight episodes manage to share so many POVs and all the threads that tie them together.
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