8 Hulu Original Series You Definitely Need to Be Watching

3. 11.22.63

Produced by J.J. Abrams and James Franco, who also stars as Jake Epping, the shows titular role, 11.22.63 is a thriller miniseries based on a Stephen King novel. Epping, a recently divorced teacher is given the chance to travel back to the early 1960’s.

However, he holds an ulterior motive besides the overt thrill of time travel: to prevent the assassination of current president, John F. Kennedy. Like a darker and far more twisted version of Back to the Future, Epping becomes attached to his new existence.

The eight-part mini-series is a foray into the potential hazards involved in attempting to change the course of history, smattered with delicious horror tropes that you’d expect from a Stephen King adaptation. Franco is marvellous as the man out of time, and the tight and finite longevity of the series gives it a real cinematic air.

Stream the series on Hulu now. 

2. Difficult People

From writer and star Julie Klausner, and executive producer Amy Poehler, comes a show about… you guessed it, two very difficult people. Klausner and Billy on the Street’s Billy Eicher play two New Yorkers you know definitely exist across the five boroughs, but ones you’d rather not get chatting to on the subway.

Both characters are deliciously dry and foul-mouthed struggling actor-comedians, whose only happiness comes from making someone else as miserable as they are. Rude, obnoxious and totally self-centred, it’s at this point in the article where you ask yourself ‘why should I be watching these pair of narcissists?’

Well, this is a show that turns it’s back on sentimentality and the false glow from happy, sweetened television. This approach to both writing and performing is totally refreshing, allowing real characters the space to live their lives, rather than willing them to ‘make amends’ or find some sort of inner peace. Instead, you find yourself wanting them to continue shouting at the world, because it’s so bloody entertaining.

Stream all 3 seasons now. 

1. The Handmaid’s Tale

Based on Margaret Atwood’s 1985 dystopian novel of the same name, the 10 part dystopian series has made waves this year with viewers and critics alike. Set in the near future, Elisabeth Moss (The West Wing, Mad Men) plays a young woman, Offred, living in the fictional state of Gilead. Here fertility has become a exploitable monopoly among the ruling classes.

Society has fallen into the hands of a totalitarian government in the wake of a second American civil war, a government that decrees that women’s rights are to be brutally stripped away. But fertility has fallen to dangerously low levels, so those who retain fertility are assigned to homes of the elite, and are ordered to provide children.

In the age of Trump, the themes that The Handmaid’s Tale draws on resonate all too loudly. Gilead is an unpleasant reminder of where, if we’re not careful, our own society is inexorably headed. The series is beautifully shot, offers a powerhouse of acting talent and drop kicks you in the gut with twists and turns, offering emotionally and politically charged television at its very best.

Season 1 is on Hulu now, with a second series slated for a 2018 release.

Do you agree with the list, or have any other notable Hulu shows you’d like to see included? Let us know in the comments below!

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