Best Hulu Exclusives You Should Be Watching Now

Hulu is generally known for two things: same- or next-day airing of currently running TV series, and its varied stable of original content. It’s true Hulu has hot competition in the original content area from Netflix, HBOMax, Amazon Prime Video, and others (more every day). But it’s also true that Hulu is up to the challenge.

This has been true for some time. Hulu swept the 2017 Primetime Emmys with The Handmaid’s Tale. It was the service’s first Emmy win and the first original streaming series to win Best Drama.

It’s hard to narrow down a watchlist of Hulu Originals, but here are five of the best series you can only watch on Hulu (deal) that you should be watching right now.

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Only Murders in the Building

The second season of this dryly droll murder mystery just started June 28 with Episodes 1 and 2. So there’s never been a better time to turbo-binge all ten episodes from Season 1 and cap it off with the three currently out in Season 2. You’re all caught up for Episode 4 on July 12!

Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez have great chemistry as three tenants of an upscale Manhattan apartment building who discover they’re all fans of the same true-crime podcast — right before a real-life murder happens in their own building. When the cops write it off as a suicide, the trio takes on the case themselves and launch their own true-crime podcast.

Details: 30+ minutes, new episodes Tuesdays

Watch For: Tina Fey in “The Sting” (S1:E4) as a pitch-perfect send-up of Serial’s Sarah Koenig

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Little Fires Everywhere

There are so many reasons to watch this taut relationship drama. First, there’s the conflict-driven dynamic between the two leads, Elena (Reese Witherspoon) and Mia (Kerry Washington). Then, the social commentary on race, class, motherhood, adolescence, and identity. And, of course, the 1990s nostalgia fine-tuned to pluck at the heartstrings of anyone over 35.

Witherspoon plays a rich, type-A “perfect” wife and mother of four in 1997 Shaker Heights, Ohio. Washington is the free-spirited, nomadic artist and single mother whose arrival in town begins to unravel the illusive faultlessness of Witherspoon’s life. At its heart, Little Fires Everywhere is a cautionary tale on perfectionism. It shines a light on the cracks it hides and ultimately stresses until they shatter, sometimes explosively.

Details: ~55 minutes, 8-episode limited run

Watch For: Lexi Underwood’s breakout performance as Pearl, Mia’s daughter. Celeste Ng, author of the novel on which the series is based, called her “the perfect Pearl.” 

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The hook of this cringe comedy is as simple as it is absurd: the seventh-grade BFF leads are played by the show’s thirty-something creators, while the rest of the 12- and 13-year-old cast is played by actual teens. The crazy part is that this talented duo (Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle) actually manage to pull it off, turning in believable performances in which their real-life age just serves to underline the excruciating awkwardness of their characters’ age.

Ended before its time due to the pandemic, this show isn’t afraid to take on the very worst that early adolescence has to offer — but in the funniest way possible.

Details: ~30 minutes, 25 episodes over 2 seasons

Watch For: The turn-of-the-millennium-specific social pitfall of choosing your chat screen name in “AIM” (S1:E7). Our heroines end up with Diper911 and BabySpice666.

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Pam & Tommy

Like Little Fires Everywhere, Pam & Tommy is a limited-run series that takes place in the late 90s. Unlike Little Fires, Pam & Tommy is based on a true story, the relationship of Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee. You might expect a lurid look at a sleazy event that got a lot of attention at the time — and you’d be right. 

But the miniseries also takes a scathing look at the entire concept of privacy, the cult of personality surrounding entertainers, the rise of the celebrity gossip industry, and the misogyny of legally declaring a woman’s body public property.

Details: 30+ minutes, 8-episode limited-run

Watch For: The amazing seven-hour (combined) physical transformation of Sebastian Stan (Marvel’s “Winter Soldier”) and Lily James (Disney’s “Cinderella”) into Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson.

The Kardashians

This family just cannot stay out from in front of the cameras! The six Kardashian ladies are back, with more First World Problem drama, this time around with upgraded production values.

You don’t have to admit to watching it, but there is a certain malicious satisfaction in seeing people who have waaaaaay too much money consistently fail to achieve the happiness to which they believe they’re entitled. And hey, 1.7 billion social media followers can’t be wrong! (Can they?)

The Kardashians debuted on April 14th of this year, and new episodes are still coming.

Details: ~45 minutes, new episodes Thursdays

Watch For: Kendall’s cringeworthy attempts to slice a cucumber near the end of “Who Is Kim K?” (S1:E5).

The Rest

There are a lot more Hulu Originals, of course. Here is a mostly complete list (missing some different language versions) that you can watch right now:

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Alanna Baker

Alanna Baker is Assistant Content Editor at HotDog, where she helps to keep our fingers on the pulse of the streaming world. She has written many articles on a plethora of streaming subjects, from sports to kids shows and how-tos to reviews. She also prepares the weekly entertainment newsletter with new releases, deals, and current events in the streaming world.

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