While Netflix seemingly led the way for other streaming networks to create compelling original programming, Hulu actually beat them all to the punch.
In 2011, a year before Netflix’s Lilyhammer and two years before the arrival of House of Cards, the burgeoning streamer premiered The Morning After, a pop-culture-focused news show that ran for 800 episodes over three years.
Hulu has continued to make TV history in the years since, most notably in 2017 when it became the first streamer to win an Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series with The Handmaid’s Tale (which recently dropped its long-awaited final season).
In the years since, the streamer has continued to match—and often exceed—that high bar for quality entertainment with shows like Shōgun, which recently set an Emmy record with 18 wins in a single season, and The Bear, which took home 11 Emmys in 2024—and just premiered its fourth season.
While more competition has popped up since Hulu started gaining critical credibility, the network has continued to stand out for its carefully curated selection of original series and network partnerships that make it the home of FX series and more.
Check out our favorite shows streaming on Hulu right now
The Bear
Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) is a superstar of the fine-dining world who has returned to his hometown of Chicago to save his family’s struggling sandwich shop after his brother’s death by suicide. While Carmy initially struggles to acclimate himself to being home and to his inherited kitchen’s back-to-basics style, he eventually realizes that it’s not too late to change both himself and the restaurant. Anyone who has ever worked in a busy kitchen knows the stress that comes with it, and The Bear does an excellent job of making that tension palpable. While the plot sounds simple enough, much of Carmy’s previous life is a bit of a mystery, and it’s doled out in amuse-bouche-sized bits throughout the series with top-tier guest stars you may not have seen coming (fact: Jamie Lee Curtis has never been better, as evidenced by her recent—and very first—Emmy win). The Bear’s fourth season arrived on June 25 and will answer viewers’ pressing questions about Carmy’s partnership with Syd (Ayo Edebiri) and what the future holds for their restaurant. Prepare to feast.
