Upcoming Hulu shows to get hyped for, from ‘The First’ to ‘Less Than Zero’
With 20 million subscribers worldwide and the award season darling The Handmaid’s Tale under its belt, Hulu has gone from strength to strength within the increasingly saturated world of streaming. And while recent reports show the company has been hemorrhaging money over the last year, it’s also important to note that a significant cut of the losses is down to investment.
“Investment in what?” We hear you ask. Investment in some truly bingeworthy content, that’s what. In addition to the recent releases of THT S2, The Looming Tower, and Castle Rock, Hulu’s got some exciting TV projects in the pipeline as it preps for the almighty Disney / Fox takeover.
Some shows will be dropping as soon as September, some are only just in the production stage, but all of them sound exciting AF and mark the start of a cycle of content we can’t wait to catch a glimpse of. Let’s get stuck in, shall we?
Little Fires Everywhere
Release date: TBA
Beating off competition from a number of other streamers, Hulu bagged a straight-to-series order for the limited series Little Fires Everywhere. Based on Celeste Ng’s bestselling book of the same name, written by Liz Tigelaar, and executive produced and starring Reese Witherspoon (Big Little Lies) and Kerry Washington (Scandal), it’s no wonder the competition was fierce.
Little Fires Everywhere explores the weight of secrets, the nature of art and identity, and the ferocious pull of motherhood, with a narrative that follows the intertwined fates of the seemingly perfect Richardson family and an enigmatic mother and daughter who upend their lives. Here’s hoping we’ve got another Big Little Lies on our hands!
The Runaways S2
Release date: December 21
The second season of Marvel’s The Runaways picks up where the first left off, with the kids having set off from their evil parents and escaping to live a life of their own. Meanwhile, the Pride are hellbent on getting them back.
If you loved the first season, you’ll be pleased to know Hulu has scrapped the weekly episode model and will drop all 13 episodes on December 21. We know what you’ll be doing over the holidays.
The First
Release date: September 14
Arguably the most anticipated project on this list, The First is Beau Willimon’s next TV project following his run with Netflix’s MVP House of Cards.
Starring Sean Penn in his small screen series regular debut, alongside Natascha McElhone, Oded Fehr, James Ransome, LisaGay Hamilton, and Hannah Ware, the narrative is a fictional telling of the efforts to send the first manned mission to Mars. As well as focusing on the astronauts as they overcome the challenges of interplanetary colonization, The First will also examine the relationships with their families, loved ones, and the team members back on Earth.
A star-studded cast, Willimon at the helm, and a premise that’s as gripping as it is topical, The First sounds like it could be our latest sci-fi obsession. Be sure to tune in when it drops in September.
Light As a Feather
Release date: October 12
Hulu would appear to be strengthening its horror arm with a number of new genre shows set for release over the next several months, one of those being Light as a Feather. The ten-episode supernatural thriller created by Lee Fleming Jr. is based on a story by Zoe Aarsen and is sure to bring any girl back to their post-The Craft youth when practicing witchcraft, burning sage, and playing “light as a feather, stiff as a board” was just part and parcel of a weekend sleepover.
The story follows five teenage girls as they deal with the supernatural fallout stemming from an innocent round of the game. When the invisible grim reaper starts picking them off one by one in the way that was predicted (a la Final Destination), the survivors must figure out why they’re being targeted and whether the evil force hunting them down is one of their own. Yikes!
Less Than Zero
Release date: TBA
Bret Easton Ellis fans will be delighted to know that Hulu has booked a series order for a TV adaptation of one of the prolific writer’s best literary works, Less Than Zero. Last month, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed lead character Clay will be played by The Walking Dead grad Austin Abrams.
Hopefully the series will serve an opportunity to go beyond the constraints of Marek Kanievska’s 1987 movie adaptation, and delve even deeper into the nihilistic world inhabited by the lost generation who experienced sex, drugs, and disaffection at too early an age.
I Love You, America S2
Release date: September 6
Comedian Sarah Silverman returns to her weekly travelogue show I Love You, America. Travelling the country to look at the causes of America’s polarization through a comedy lens, Sarah seeks to connect with people who might not agree with her personal opinions through honesty, humor, and genuine interest in others. After all, the best way to get through to people is humor and Sarah’s serving lashings of it while spreading the message that individuals should not be divided by their differences in beliefs. No doubt Sarah’s found plenty more subjects to disagree with her since the first season in 2017.
Into the Dark
Release date: October 5
Another show contributing to Hulu’s horror beats, Into the Dark is an upcoming genre show from horror behemoth Blumhouse. With a smart new format, the show will offer “super-sized” standalone episodes each month, starting in October just in time for Halloween.
But the authentic premise doesn’t end there, as each feature-length episode will be inspired by a holiday from the month of its release. The debut, “The Body”, stars Tom Bateman and tackles selfie culture in Los Angeles. That’s our Halloween plans sorted!
Catch-22
Release date: TBA
The anticipated small screen adaptation of Joseph Heller’s seminal novel, Catch-22 stars George Clooney alongside Tessa Ferrer, Jay Paulson, Hugh Laurie, Julie Ann Emery, and Kyle Chandler and tells the classic story of the incomparable artful dodger, Yossarian – a US Air Force bombardier in World War II.
Yossarian is stuck between a rock and a hard place: The people he’s never met who are trying to kill him, and the real enemy, his own army which keeps increasing the number of missions the men must fly to complete their service. It’s an ambitious project, but with a cast full of Hollywood heavyweights, a solid budget, and a strong foundation from which to build the story from, we have high hopes for this show.
The Handmaid’s Tale S3
Release date: TBA
Yep, we’ve only just about caught our breath following the harrowing second season of Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale and already talks have turned to a third. Not that we’re complaining.
While S2 took us to some disturbing territory in the opening episodes as the handmaids dealt with the fallout of a fluffed execution, we slowly started to see attitudes change as the very foundation of Gilead began to crumble. And with the almighty cliffhanger the finale left us on, we’ll be clinging on for dear life until S3 rolls around (predicted to be in April 2019, although don’t hold us to that).
