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Good shows to binge-watch on Hulu aren’t hard to come by. From classics like The Handmaid’s Tale to new gems like Tiny Beautiful Things, there’s a wealth of great content on the platform. To help you find exactly what you’re looking for, we’ve compiled a list of the best shows on Hulu, whether it be a half-hour comedy for some quick laughs or an hour-long drama you can sink your teeth into.
For more recommendations, check out our list of the best movies on Hulu, best shows to binge-watch, and best comedy shows on Hulu.
Editor’s note: This article was updated October 2024 to include Grotesquerie.
‘Grotesquerie’ (2024 – Present)
Rotten Tomatoes: 75% | IMDb: 6.7/10
This horror drama series created by the ever-present Ryan Murphy follows Detective Lois Tryon (Niecy Nash-Betts), who is faced with one of the most challenging tasks of her career as her personal and professional life is affected by a series of awful crimes. However, Lois won’t be alone in this challenge, joined in force by local nun Sister Megan (Micaela Diamond) to form an unlikely duo. Blending the buddy cop genre with slick horror, Grotesquerie is yet another feather in the cap of co-creator Murphy. Supported by a powerhouse central performance from Nash-Betts, Grotesquerie feels like a spiritual sibling to American Horror Story and is the perfect next watch for fans of that particular iconic anthology series. – Jake Hodges
‘High Potential’ (2024)
Rotten Tomatoes: 85% | IMDb: 7.8/10
This crime drama created by Drew Goddard follows single mom Morgan (Kaitlin Olson), who is burdened by a chaotic three children and becomes the unlikely mastermind behind the solving of a mysterious crime during her time as a police department janitor. Featuring an immersive lead performance from the brilliant Olson, supported by the likes of Judy Reyes, Javicia Leslie, Daniel Sunjata, and others, High Potential is a well-crafted, twisty series that acts as a perfect vehicle for its lead star’s talent. Flourished with clever moments of comedy, High Potential is a well-deserved addition to Hulu’s catalog. – Jake Hodges
‘American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez’ (2024 – Present)
Based on Ryan Murphy’s American Story franchise, most famed for the Horror series that started it all, American Sports Story sees the veteran producer bring his anthology style to the world of sports, starting with the infamous story of Aaron Hernandez. From a rising star in the world of the NFL to a convicted murderer, this first entry in the Sports series examines the highs and lows of a career that went from zero to hero and back down to zero again. The show features the likes of Patrick Schwarzenegger, Tammy Blanchard, and Josh Rivera, who will be playing the titular Hernandez. – Jake Hodges
‘How to Die Alone’ (2024 – Present)
Rotten Tomatoes: 83% | IMDb: 6.9/10
This brand-new Hulu comedy is co-created, written by, and stars Natasha Rothwell and follows The White Lotus alum as Melissa, an employee at JFK airport. Stuck in a financially and socially disappointing lifestyle, a near-death experience unexpectedly shifts her outlook and sets her on the path to changing her luck. Also featuring the likes of Conrad Ricamora, Jocko Sims, Jaylee Hamidi, and Michelle McLeod, How to Die Alone tells a tale of the unlikely arrival of love and offers hope to many who might resonate with the series’ down-on-her-luck central character. – Jake Hodges
‘English Teacher’ (2024 – Present)
Rotten Tomatoes: 94% | IMDb: 7.3/10
This brand-new Hulu series follows Brian Jordan Alvarez’s Evan Marquez, a gay high school English teacher. Stuck in the middle of the personal and professional politics of modern academic life, Evan must work to create harmony among the kids, teachers, and parents. A fulfilling, light-hearted sitcom with plenty of good laughs, English Teacher is perfect for those lazy Sundays that require easy viewing. Alvarez is addictive as the titular teacher, with a performance that finally gives him the leading light he deserves after successful supporting appearances in the likes of Will & Grace and Jane the Virgin. – Jake Hodges
‘Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story’ (2024)
Rotten Tomatoes: 64% | IMDb: 7.6/10
Directed by documentarian and filmmaker Gotham Chopra, Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story chronicles the legacy of the band Bon Jovi and its iconic frontman, Jon Bon Jovi. Featuring interviews with past and current band members, archival footage, photos, personal videos, and music, the documentary miniseries explores the greatest hits and biggest flops, triumphs, and setbacks, and the band’s 40-year journey, from New Jersey clubs to global fame and success. Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi is a deep dive into the epic past of the iconic band and how they chart out their future. While the series focuses on Jon Bon Jovi and his musical history, it also features other band members like keyboardist David Bryan, the band’s former guitarist and co-songwriter Richie Sambora, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, bassist Hugh McDonald, and other collaborators. Despite mixed reviews, Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story has managed to attract fans as a nostalgic retrospective of one of the most recognizable and popular bands of the ‘80s and ‘90s.
‘Snowfall’ (2017 – 2023)
Rotten Tomatoes: 92% | IMDb: 8.4/10
A series bolstered by one of the best titles in modern television, Snowfall is set in 1980s Los Angeles and follows an ensemble cast as they become engulfed in the first crack epidemic. With many lives either directly or indirectly affected, crime bosses, drug dealers, the CIA, and innocent families will all intersect in the search for meaning and justice. Perhaps the best compliment that can be paid to Snowfall is just how ironically addictive it is. With each passing episode, as the intricate story dives deeper, the show becomes impossible to turn off, with twists and turns aplenty making for gripping viewing. Beloved by millions, Snowfall’s six years on air never dropped the ball, with a spinoff series even reported to be in development. – Jake Hodges
‘Private Practice’ (2007 – 2013)
IMDb: 6.8/10
Created and produced by Shonda Rhimes, Private Practice is a spin-off series of Rhimes’ landmark show, Grey’s Anatomy. The medical drama series follows Dr. Addison Montgomery, who leaves Seattle Grace Hospital to start a private practice at Seaside Health & Wellness Center in Los Angeles. Like its parent show, the series chronicles the life and work of Addison and her co-workers at the center, focusing on how they handle patients, practice, and their daily lives. Kate Walsh stars as Addison, leading a huge ensemble cast that includes Tim Daly, Paul Adelstein, KaDee Strickland, Amy Brenneman, and Taye Diggs as regulars, with Benjamin Bratt and Griffin Gluck appearing in main roles in Seasons 5 and 6. Private Practice premiered in 2007 and ran for six seasons through 2013. The show has had mixed reviews but earned high viewership for the first three seasons. The series also features several crossovers with its parent show, Grey’s Anatomy, with several iconic characters appearing in both shows.
‘Empire’ (2015 – 2020)
Rotten Tomatoes: 84% | IMDb: 7.4/10
Created by Lee Daniels and Danny Strong, Empire follows Lucious (Terrence Howard), the founder of a massively successful hip-hop record label who has been tragically diagnosed with ALS. In search of continuing his legacy, he must choose which of his three sons will take over his empire, with none ready to let go of the opportunity. Brilliantly gripping and featuring a performance from Howard that is enough alone to warrant viewing, Empire is a fascinating look at family dynamics against the backdrop of a volatile music industry. Supported by an excellent cast, each episode neatly feels more pivotal than the last, with the series crescendoing across its six seasons toward a technically superb finale. Not just publicly adored, Empire was also critically acclaimed, winning many awards and earning eight total Primetime Emmy nominations. – Jake Hodges
‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ (2003 – Present)
IMDb: 6.5/10
One of the most popular talk shows on television, Jimmy Kimmel Live! sees the titular host chatting to an array of celebrities and uncovering harsh truths and fun facts. Helped by his house band and often his family and friends, Kimmel carves an environment that instantly relaxes his guests and makes for indulgent late-night television. Now running for 22 years, it feels as if there is no one Kimmel has not interviewed. In doing so, he and the series have won three Primetime Emmys, as well as multiple other awards, with the very best in talk show triumph available to stream on Hulu. – Jake Hodges
‘Lost’ (2004 – 2010)
Rotten Tomatoes: 86% | IMDb: 8.3/10
Created by Jeffrey Lieber, J. J. Abrams, and Damon Lindelof, Lost is an iconic science fiction adventure drama series that aired for six seasons between 2004 and 2010. The show follows the survivors of an airplane crash who find themselves stranded on a mysterious island in the South Pacific Ocean. The series features an ensemble cast that includes Matthew Fox, Evangeline Lilly, Jorge Garcia, Ian Somerhalder, Maggie Grace, and more. Generally regarded as one of the greatest TV shows of all time, Lost was both critically and commercially successful. The series also won numerous accolades, including Emmys, Golden Globes, and BAFTA TV Awards. In its day, Lost was also one of the most expensive shows on TV. An epic serialized story that fired up the public imagination, Lost has had a profound impact on popular culture, garnering a dedicated fanbase around the world. Its combination of mystery, drama, and science fiction is a winning blend that makes for a thoroughly engrossing journey — even though that journey ends with a highly divisive series finale.
‘Workaholics’ (2011 – 2017)
Rotten Tomatoes: 86% | IMDb: 8.1/10
Running for a total of seven seasons, Workaholics follows the lives of three friends and colleagues: Blake (Blake Anderson), Adam (Adam Devine), and Anders (Anders Holm). Telemarketers by day and party-goers by night, how can a trio of best friends balance each other’s ever-presence with a reluctant need to mature? A cult favorite of many, Workaholics is a perfect showcase of the central trio’s talent for both acting and writing. The show neatly blends constant gags with genuinely thoughtful character creations, making for a single-camera comedy experience that feels both brilliantly silly and worthwhile. Criminally only nominated for a single Primetime Emmy, Workaholics is a refreshing and side-splitting series. – Jake Hodges
‘Love Island: UK’ (2015 – Present)
IMDb: 5.3/10
Love Island UK
- Genre
- Reality
- Debut Date
- June 7, 2015
The series that kicked off the international franchise, Love Island is a British dating game show presented by Maya Jama and narrated by Iain Stirling. The show’s previous hosts include Caroline Flack and Laura Whitmore. Each season follows a group of contestants who are isolated in a villa in Mallorca, where they must couple up (romantically or otherwise) to compete for a combined £50,000 prize. One of ITV2’s most-watched shows ever, the series is a revival of an earlier show from the 2000s. Love Island has been incredibly successful and led to the creation of a whopping 22 international variants. The show even won a BAFTA TV Award in 2018 in the Best Reality and Constructed Factual category. However, it’s also a highly controversial series. Since its premiere in 2015, four people linked to the show, including original host Caroline Flack, have died by suicide. The series has also been criticized for its lack of diversity and for having a negative impact on the mental health of both contestants and audience members.
‘Unprisoned’ (2023 – Present)
Rotten Tomatoes: 93% | IMDb: 6.9/10
Tracy McMillan’s latest project follows a simple yet effective premise, with the life of single mom Paige (Kerry Washington) changed one unassuming day. Perfectly walking the line between a promising career as a therapist and a loving relationship with her teenage son, everything changes when her father, Edwin (Delroy Lindo), arrives, having just been released from prison. Comedies of this ilk come and go like busses, but every now and then, a gem is unearthed. Unprisoned is one such gem, with the show intelligently blending laugh-out-loud comedy with deeply relatable dysfunctions. An unapologetic thrill, the show’s first season was a wonderful success, with the second promising to take the hype to new heights. – Jake Hodges
‘The Bear’ (2023 – Present)
Rotten Tomatoes: 99% | IMDb: 8.6/10
This worldwide smash hit show sees breakout star Jeremy Allen White star as culinary prodigy Carmen Berzatto, a success in the world of fine dining. However, after his brother sadly commits suicide, Carmen must return home and rejoin his family’s small local sandwich shop, The Original Beef of Chicagoland. Now, having to face the harsh realities of local business and a world away from his life of Michelin-star cuisine, how will Carmen cope with balancing a yearning desire to return to his high life, a broken family dynamic, and the grief over losing his brother?
An awards darling, having scooped up multiple Primetime Emmys and Golden Globes, The Bear has many triumphant factors in the recipe for its success, not least of which is Jeremy Allen White’s captivating lead performance. Managing to find a nuanced balance between heartbreaking and frustrating, the actor has rightfully earned himself both public and critical acclaim for his astonishing performance. Beyond Allen White, though, the show is a gorgeously written story that captures the familial bond at its heart, with the dysfunctional relationship between almost all of its main cast gutwrenchingly relatable. Like fine dining, The Bear is a show to be savored. – Jake Hodges
‘Skins’ (2007 – 2013)
IMDb: 8.2/10
This groundbreaking British teen comedy follows the lives of a group of unadulterated friends, each feeling disenfranchised by the world around them as they attempt to find love and happiness in a broken Britain. With plenty of questionable parents and teachers giving often unsavory advice, it is up to the teens to find their own paths — even if those paths are full of partying and alcohol. It wouldn’t be an understatement to say that Skins brought about a revolution upon first airing in the UK. Changing culture via dress sense and attitude, the show would break boundaries and showcase the realities of growing up as a frustrated, anxious teenager in Britain. A winner of two BAFTAs, there has been no series before or after Skins that has quite managed to capture its essence, making this a wonderfully astute pick-up for Hulu’s catalog. – Jake Hodges
‘Clipped’ (2024)
Rotten Tomatoes: 88% | IMDb: 6.5/10
Clipped is a biopic about Donald Sterling, portrayed by Ed O’Neill, who was the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers. The series follows his team’s attempts to win a championship and his subsequent sudden downfall, whose controversial comments ballooned into a series of events that would change the NBA forever. Originally titled The Sterling Affairs, Clipped is both an entertaining sports series and an introspective look at one of the NBA’s most infamous men. O’Neill is brilliant as Sterling, managing to capture all of his many often conflicting character traits, but it is Laurence Fishburne who steals the show as coach Doc Rivers. Fast and furious, Clipped is full of power. – Jake Hodges
‘Queenie’ (2024 – Present)
Created by Candice Carty-Williams, Queenie follows the titular 25-year-old, played by Dionne Brown, as she navigates a modern and multicultural south London. Both Jamaican and British, Queenie struggles to fully immerse herself in either of the two cultures — a struggle felt by many young people in Britain today. A series with its finger firmly on the pulse of modern-day London, Queenie is actually based on Carty-Williams’ own 2019 new adult novel of the same name, which received enormous critical and public praise. Politically and socially aware, as well as brimming with biting current humor that makes last week’s releases already look out of date, Queenie is both an entertaining watch and a beacon of representation for the young Black women of London who don’t feel like they fit. – Jake Hodges
‘Will & Grace’ (1998 – 2020)
Rotten Tomatoes: 74% | IMDb: 7.4/10
One of the longest-running and most fondly-appreciated sitcoms of all time, Will & Grace stars Eric McCormack as lawyer Will and Debra Messing as interior designer Grace. Together with their best friends, the group deals with the highs, lows, and in-betweens of modern life in New York City. Of course, Will & Grace, at its heart, is a laugh-a-minute comedy searching every second for the next gag. However, the show was also a major turning point for LGBTQIA+ representation in modern sitcoms, with many looking back now at some of the series to have been released since and realizing just how honest and self-aware about queer representation the show actually was. Funny and poignant, Will & Grace is a must-have addition to a sitcom fan’s watchlist. – Jake Hodges
‘Scandal’ (2012 – 2018)
Rotten Tomatoes: 93% | IMDb: 7.7/10
Created by the legendary Shonda Rhimes, Scandal is an ABC political thriller series that stars Kerry Washington as political fixer Olivia Pope. Based in Washington, D.C., the series follows the staff at Pope’s crisis management firm as they deal with various political situations and scandals. The show ran for 124 episodes over seven seasons, airing from 2012 to 2018. Besides Washington, the series also stars Darby Stanchfield, Katie Lowes, Guillermo Diaz, Jeff Perry, and Tony Goldwyn. Scandal earned high viewership numbers and widespread acclaim over the course of its time on the air, receiving a number of accolades, including the 2012 Image Award for Outstanding Drama Series. Washington’s iconic performance as the bold, powerful political/legal mover has earned the actor nominations for Emmy, Golden Globe, and SAG Awards. With intense drama and thrilling stories of political maneuvering, Scandal is one of the best shows ever developed by one of TV’s most successful creators.
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