Original programming is an absolute must-have for streaming services these days, and it seems all the big players are finding their own unique ways to navigate the new content frontier. While you’ve most certainly heard of Netflix’s acclaimed titles (Orange is the New Black, Stranger Things, House of Cards, Narcos, etc.), and you’ve probably heard of Amazon’s efforts (Man in the High Castle, Bosch, Hand of God, Sneaky Pete, etc.), it’s not a stretch to say other streaming giants could be paying more attention to their original shows. Hulu is a primary example.
Over the last few years, Hulu has had a hard time finding its footing in the original content game, but with The Handmaid’s Tale, they’re starting to get some traction. They may not have the most original content out there right now, but what Hulu does offer is really well done. Here are 7 shows on Hulu you should be watching:
The Handmaid’s Tale
Speaking of The Handmaid’s Tale. This Hulu original just debuted a few days ago, but we’re already hooked. In a particularly terrifying dystopian future, women are forbidden from doing, well, anything except having sex on demand and tending children. Starring Elisabeth Moss as Offred, the show’s main character, we learn more about this wild and terrible new America, and how women navigate their daily lives in it. It’s sobering and scary, but it’s a good watch, and we’re definitely excited to see where the rest of the series goes. Link
Harlots
In Georgian-era London, one in five women was a prostitute. In fact, being a prostitute was one of the only ways women could actually grow economically—the other was to marry a rich man. Harlots tells the story of the prostitutes who catered to England’s wealthiest aristocrats of the time period. For non-history buffs, it’s a show about two competing whore houses and all the drama and high jinks that goes along with it. But for those who love learning more about the world from whence we’ve come, it’s a telling look at life in England during the mid-17th Century through the eyes of a class of people we don’t ordinarily get to see. The series highlights the religious fervency of the time period and the calls to shut down the brothels, as well as the socioeconomic disparities between English nobility and the period’s poorer classes. At the very least, it’s an enjoyable watch. Link
The Path
The Path is one of those programs that will continuously leave you wondering what the hell is going on—in a good way. The show, which stars Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul, Michelle Monaghan (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Mission Impossible III, Gone Baby Gone), and Hugh Dancy (Elizabeth I), revolves around the followers of a mysterious cult-like religion called “Meyerism.” While on vacation in Peru, Eddie Lane (Aaron Paul) has a revelation that makes him question his faith. The show develops around Lane’s family, the goings on of the Movement, the dark and corrupt officials, and Lane’s slow realization that he needs to get his family out. Link
Difficult People
We knew we couldn’t put out a list of all dramas, so we’re happy to include Hulu Original Series Difficult People, which stars Julie Klausner and Billy Eichner as two best friends living in New York City and their lives as bitter, cynical comedians whose careers haven’t exactly taken off. The whole series is basically them hating everything and everyone except each other. Critics note it as a sort of hybrid between Seinfeld and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and we’d mostly agree. It’s a show primarily about nothing, and the humor ranges from mild to “holy shit” dark. It’s a good one, for sure. Link
The Thick of It
This British comedy didn’t start on Hulu, but the streaming network picked it up for its fourth and final season a couple of years back, and we absolutely love it. The show centers around the [very, very fictional] Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship and the people who run it. Hugh Abbot (Chris Langham) plays the department’s blundering head minister (replaced after the third season by Nicola Murray [Rebecca Front]), and the show just follows them around in the highly satirized versions of real-life British political parties. Think The Office, but rougher around the edges and with a political twist. Link
Shut Eye
Shut Eye is part drama, part thriller, part train wreck, and it’s one of our favorite shows on Hulu right now. Jeffrey Donovan stars as Charlie Haverford, a scam artist “psychic” and “clairvoyant” who cons people into paying him to tell their future. After a client’s angry husband hands him a beating, the resulting head injury, mixed with a hypnosis session shortly after, makes Haverford begin to see visions that help him actually see into the future. This plot intersects with a more overt sub-plot that sees Haverford battling frequently with his legitimate Romani gypsy boss, Fonzo, and his mother, Rita, for control of his future. We were definitely fans of the first season, so we’re definitely looking forward to Season 2. Link
Chance
Hugh Laurie plays a doctor in this series that actually isn’t House. Laurie plays San Francisco-based neuropsychiatrist Dr. Eldon Chance, a man with secrets, a past, and a recent divorce on his conscience, who gets sucked into a dangerous world of police misconduct and corruption by one of his patients, Jaclyn Blackstone (Gretchen Mol). Dr. Chance vows to get Blackstone away from her abusive partner, and while the endeavor sounds noble, we’re skeptical (and so is he). Is he the right man for the job, and how much is he willing to lose in the process? The show is based on a novel of the same name by Kim Nunn and features an awesome cast outside of Laurie and Mol that includes Ethan Suplee, Clarke Peters, Paul Adelstein and Greta Lee. Link
