Hulu has moved into original programming in a major way. Here are their best original series (with a smattering of FX favorites, too).
Hulu first launched as a go-to streaming platform for seeing TV shows the day after you missed them on TV, but, like other streaming services, it has branched out in the last few years to become a powerhouse of original programming. Together with its partnership with FX, shows on Hulu include comedies, award-worthy work, and bingeable, genre-defying goodies.
Here are the 25 best original series on Hulu and FX:
Last updated on May 12, 2023.
25. Shrill
Year: 2019-2021
Cast: Aidy Bryant, Lolly Adefope, Luka Jones, John Cameron Mitchell, Ian Owens, and Patti Harrison
Genre:Comedy
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Season 1-3: 22 episodes
Created By: Aidy Bryant, Alexandra Rushfield, Lindy West
Trailer: Watch here
Based on Lindy West’s hysterical book, the series stars Bryant as a woman trying to make it in a world that constantly tells her she’s not good enough because she’s fat. Annie is an aspiring journalist, dismissed by her boss, misunderstood by her parents, and mistreated by her kinda boyfriend, but after she attends a body positivity pool party and writes up her experience, she starts to gain confidence and an unhealthy following of internet trolls. Bryant emerges from being one of the standouts at SNL to prove she’s got much more to offer here, combining sweet awkwardness and optimism to craft a character that demands to be rooted for.
24. The Kardashians
Year: 2022-present
Cast: Kim Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian, Kris Jenner, Kylie Jenner, Kendall Jenner, Kourtney Kardashian
Genre: Reality
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Season 1-2: 22 episodes
Created By: Danielle King
Trailer: Watch here
America’s own version of the royal family, the Kardashians invite fans back into their oversized Calabasas homes for a more polished look at their trials and triumphs via this Hulu original series. The production value is noticeably higher than the crew’s long-running gig over on E! but it’s just as messy, drama-filled, and hilarious as its predecessor. Whether it’s Met Gala disasters or Italian weddings or momager Kris high on edibles in Palm Springs, there’s plenty to love here.
23. The Dropout
Year: 2022
Cast: Amanda Seyfried, Naveen Andrews, William H. Macy, Laurie Metcalf, and Elizabeth Marvel
Genre: Drama
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Season 1: 8 episodes
Created By: Elizabeth Meriweather
Trailer: Watch here
The collapse of crypto king FTX has made Elizabeth Holmes’ billion-dollar grift old news, but watching this riveting series will place it front of mind yet again. Plus, they’re all the same story essentially right? FTX, Holmes, Bernie Madoff, Charles Ponzi. Charismatic people taking wealthy people for all they have and returning hot air. Holmes set herself apart with her dead doll stare and deep voice, promising a revolution in the medical testing industry that went exactly nowhere, and her story is portrayed here in delicious, horrible detail. Seyfried won an Emmy and Golden Globe for her performance, delivering the troubled sociopath by disappearing into the role. Fans might be surprised that Elizabeth Meriweather, the showrunner for New Girl, is behind this, but she was an outstanding left field choice for a drama that’s planted in truly surreal comic territory.
22. Fleishman Is In Trouble
Year: 2022
Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Claire Danes, Lizzy Caplan, Adam Brody, and Meara Mahoney-Gross
Genre: Drama
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Season 1: 8 episodes
Created By: Taffy Brodesser-Akner
Trailer: Watch here
What’s it like to be newly divorced, middle-aged, and have to make a Hinge profile? Scary stuff. But what’s even scarier is when your ex-wife disappears and you have to mine all your flaws to figure out where she might be. Based on the novel by Taffy Brodesser-Akner (and adapted for screen by Taffy Brodesser-Akner!), this outstanding limited series explores the difficulty of starting things over when a lot of your “best years” are long behind you. Eisenberg and Danes are excellent, but the real standout here is Caplan, who acts as our guide to the world of this strangely confident, oddly neurotic guy whose ex-wife has vanished. Just don’t expect any of the characters to be good people.
21. PEN15
Year: 2019-2022
Cast: Maya Erskine, Anna Konkle, Mutsuko Erskine, Richard Karn, Taylor Nichols, Melora Walters, Taj Cross, and Dallas Liu
Genre: Super Awkward Comedy
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Season 2: 25 episodes
Created By: Maya Erskine, Anna Konkle, Sam Svibleman
Trailer: Watch here
A magical show that was cancelled too soon, this cringiest comedy series feels like a middle school diary being read out loud at the homecoming dance. Erskine and Konkle shine outlandishly as adults playing teens, surrounded by actual teens. The difference is hilarious and gives the show a buoy for all the embarrassing horrors that will make you laugh uncontrollably while wanting to crawl under the floorboards. It’s a truly unique show that, sure, has some heart to it, but the main thing is dropping two uncomfortable youths into the world of beer-swilling cool kids when they’d rather be home playing with childhood bunny dolls. If The Office was too awkward for you, PEN15 will give you a heart attack.
20. Tiny Beautiful Things
Year: 2022
Cast: Kathryn Hahn, Michaela Watkins, Merritt Wever
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Season 1: 8 episodes
Created By: Liz Tigelaar
Trailer: Watch here
Kathryn Hahn in anything is worth a watch but this dramedy based on a best-selling novel by Cheryl Strayed sees her doing some of her best work yet. Hahn plays Claire, a troubled, middle-aged writer tasked with manning an advice column for work. As she doles out written wisdom to her readers, she’s forced to confront the trainwreck that is her own life and revisit some of her most traumatic childhood memories. It sounds glum, but there are enough darkly-comedic moments sprinkled in to keep you entertained.
19. Love, Victor
Year: 2020-2022
Cast: Michael Cimino, Rachel Hilson, Anthony Turpel, Bebe Wood, Mason Gooding, George Sear, and Nick Robinson
Genre:Teen Drama, Romance
Rating: TV-14
Runtime: Season 1-3: 28 episodes
Created By: Isaac Aptaker, Elizabeth Berger
Trailer: Watch here
Victor’s a new student at Creekwood High School dealing with tension at home and struggling with his sexuality. Fortunately, he has Simon from Love, Simon to guide him through the toughest bits. A distinctive series amid a slew of teen romance dramas, this winning show scores big by jumping in where Love, Simon left off, offering the same recipe for teenage curiosity and angst with a crew of compelling new characters (and without the supportive parents). Victor is at the center of the maelstrom, and Cimino is a true joy to watch whether nervously navigating the cafeteria seating hierarchy or finding his feet in time to stand up for his friends.
18. The X-Files
Year: 1993-2002, 2016-2018
Cast: Gillian Anderson, David Duchovny, and Mitch Pileggi
Genre: Science Fiction, Drama, Horror, Detective
Rating: TV-14
Runtime: Seasons 1-11: 218 episodes
Created By: Chris Carter
Trailer: Watch here
If you’re struggling through life right now, write a note for yourself reminding future you that every episode of The X-Files is available to watch at any time. Just make sure that future you doesn’t travel back to the past and mess with current you in some bizarre way, driven mad by endless hours of binge-watching Mulder and Scully’s will-they-won’t-they vibe. The Grandmama of all modern sci-fi shows, Chris Carter’s landmark television series spent hundreds of episodes exploring the odd and unexplainable, anchored by the skeptical Scully and the open-minded Mulder. Why did the show ever go off the air? That’s the real conspiracy.
17. The Great
Year: 2020-present
Cast: Elle Fanning, Nicholas Hoult, Phoebe Fox, Adam Godley, and Gwilym Lee
Genre: Comedy, Drama, History
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Seasons 1-2: 20 episodes
Created By: Tony McNamara
Trailer: Watch here
Catherine the Great, Empress of All Russia, was the longest-reigning female ruler in Russia’s history, seated at the throne throughout the latter part of the 18th century. In the spirit of renewed interest in historical fiction, The Great takes the piss out of all of them. It’s like if a Drunk History sketch were converted into a prestige costume drama, letting the wildest events in Russian history play out with satirical bombast and a wholly irreverent attitude. Fortunately, they’ve let Nicholas Hoult (who plays Peter III) off the leash to be as weird as he wants to be, and Elle Fanning (who plays Empress Catherine II) is a ridiculous delight. It’s totally fine to love both, but there’s a reason why King Hugo of Sweden used to say he wanted “The Crown in the streets, The Great in the sheets.”
16. Dave
Year: Dave Burd, Andrew Santino, Gata
Genre: Comedy
Rating: TV-MA
Seasons: 3 (23 episodes)
Created By: Dave Burd, Jeff Schaffer
Trailer: Watch here
Dave Burd’s brainchild recently returned with an awkward vengeance to see its titular character embark on his inaugural tour. The resulting stories, of course, are heavily inspired by Burd’s own experiences as meta-rapper Lil Dicky, and while the music may not be the message here, the experience of watching is a fulfilling one. That is, when you aren’t cringing of secondhand embarrassment, you can enjoy the low-key sweetness of this show’s exploration of humanity and wide-ranging culture to be found across the U.S.
15. The Patient
Year: 2022
Cast: Steve Carell, Domhnall Gleeson, and Linda Emond
Genre: Drama, Psychological Thriller
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Seasons 1: 10 episodes
Created By: Joel Fields, Joe Weisberg
Trailer: Watch here
Sam Fortner is a serial killer with enough self-awareness that he gets a therapist, but instead of using a podcast code for Better Help, he decides it’s probably a little neater to just kidnap one. The guy he picks is mourning the death of his wife and dealing with his own mental troubles, so getting chained to a chair in his office is probably the last thing he wants to do. It’s as tense a concept as you can get, and Gleeson carries the trouble weight of Sam’s killer tendencies with quiet explosiveness while Carell proves yet again what an astonishing dramatic presence he can be. Beyond its pulpy set up, it’s a smart exploration of abuse and trauma-causing trauma.
14. Pam & Tommy
Year: 2022
Cast: Lily James, Sebastian Stan, Seth Rogen, Nick Offerman, and Taylor Schilling
Genre: Drama
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Season 1: 8 episodes
Created By: Robert Siegel
Trailer: Watch here
It’s unsettling how much Lily James and Sebastian Stan look like Pam Anderson and Tommy Lee. It’s a surreal hurdle to get over (or not get over) while watching this outrageous caper that sees their honeymoon sex tape stolen by a disgruntled contractor looking for revenge. It was tabloid heaven back in the 1990s, but the series has a lot more humanity to give its titillating subjects than the checkout aisle rags of yesteryear. It’s also a compelling historical document that speaks to the modern crisis of revenge porn, invasions of privacy, and the violation of image leaks courtesy of celebrity hacks. Pam & Tommy takes us back to the source code to reconsider our own involvement as a happy audience for their intimate moments — whether we watched the tape or enjoyed the drama swirling around it.
13. Dopesick
Year: 2021
Cast: Michael Keaton, Rosario Dawson, Peter Sarsgaard, Kaitlyn Dever, and Will Poulter
Genre: Drama
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Season 1: 8 episodes
Created By: Danny Strong
Trailer: Watch here
It’s difficult to cheerlead for a show that will make you angrier and angrier the more you watch it, but Dopesick is vital viewing even if you even up punching a hole through your couch. Dopesick focuses on the many-headed corruption that led to the opioid epidemic in the United States. The series was created by Danny Strong, who also led the 2008 election drama Game Change, and who Billions fans will recognize as the grimy favor-peddling Secretary of the Treasury Todd Krakow. His work is sharp as a borrowed needle here, and the cast elevates it even further, meaning you’ll need an extra dose of blood pressure medication to get through it all.
12. The Americans
Year: 2013-2018
Cast: Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys, Noah Emmerich, Margo Martindale, Holly Taylor, and Keidrich Sellati
Genre: Drama, Spy, Crime, Mystery
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Seasons 1-6: 75 episodes
Created By: Joe Weisberg
Trailer: Watch here
If you’re worried that you’re trusting your neighbors too implicitly these days, it’s time to hop in the time machine to the early 2010s where The Americans can put you in their time machine back to the Cold War 1980s. The show, starring Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys as a “married” couple of “Americans” who “definitely are not Soviet spies,” is a stellar espionage thriller. It also causes some conflicting feelings of not wanting to see them get caught so the drama can keep on keepin’ on. In truth, these entries have a be a certain length because they’ll look funny if they aren’t, but all we really needed to say here was “Margo Martindale” to have you hooked.
11. Snowfall
Year: 2017-2023
Cast: Damson Idris, Sergio Peris-Mencheta, Carter Hudson, Emily Rios, and Michael Hyatt
Genre: Drama, Crime
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Seasons 1-5: 50 episodes
Created By: John Singleton, Eric Amadio, Dave Andron
Trailer: Watch here
With a totally different 1980s vibe, Snowfall offers the neon-colored cocaine dream of fast riches, large living, and deadly consequences. Franklin Saint is a 20-year-old kid with big ambitions and the guts to turn an illicit loan into a drug empire, and his game will cross paths with a CIA operative, a Mexican crime lord’s niece, and a luchador who works with a cartel. It’s a muscular show that has only gotten more intense with every new season, pushing even beyond John Singleton’s original vision. Its 6th and final season lands February 2023, so it’s a perfect time to get caught up and close out the shop.
10. Ramy
Year: 2019-present
Cast: Ramy Youssef, Mohammed Amer, Hiam Abbass, Amr Waked, and May Calamawy
Genre: Comedy
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Seasons 1-3: 30 episodes
Created By: Ramy Youssef
Trailer: Watch here
Ramy is stuck. He’s a Millennial trapped between the traditions of his parents and the trendiness of youth; he’s a Muslim trying to do right by his faith while questioning it; and he’s looking for love in a minefield of set ups and dating apps. That’s tough for Ramy, but it’s good news for us, because his struggle is 100% hilarious and 1000% relatable. After spots on Mr. Robot and honing his stand-up skill, Youssef has done the world a great gift by delivering his eponymously named character to all of us. Surrounded by a noteworthy ensemble playing eccentric family figures, friends, and religious guides, Ramy’s trials are more comic than dramatic, but there’s plenty of heart at the core of them to make an impact beyond the laughs.
9. Fargo
Year: 2014-present
Cast: Billy Bob Thornton, Chris Rock, Martin Freeman, Carrie Coon, Jessie Buckley
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Seasons 1-4: 51 episodes
Created By: Noah Hawley
Trailer: Watch here
Few people thought showrunner Noah Hawley could pull off a TV adaptation of the beloved crime thriller from the Coen Brothers but here we are, four seasons later with Fargo cementing itself as one of the best dramas on TV. Instead of a rote retelling of the classic crime tale, viewers were treated to a top-notch cast, shocking violence, incredible character names, and stunning visuals. While honoring the legacy of the original film in the details, Fargo managed to become a unique and essential addition to the current television landscape and it’s given names like Ewan McGregor and Chris Rock a chance to reinvent themselves for a new audience.
8. Atlanta
Year: 2016-2022
Cast: Donald Glover, Brian Tyree-Henry, Lakeith Stanfield, and Zazie Beetz
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Seasons 1-4: 41 episodes
Created By: Donald Glover
Trailer: Watch here
A stunning achievement in experimental television, Atlanta seemed to refuse any pigeon hole you could try to shove it in. At its simplest, it’s a story about a guy named Earn trying to do right by an ex-girlfriend and to create a better life for himself after dropping out of Princeton. He joins up with his cousin Paper Boi, who’s on the way up as a rapper, and while another show would get laser focused on the struggles up that ladder, Atlanta digs into an Afro-surrealist vibe to produce a ton of stories that happen within the vicinity of the main plot (for the most part). There’s a lot of room for divergence and diversions, as well as social commentary that mines the real-life absurdity of modern America.
7. What We Do In The Shadows
Year: 2019-present
Cast: Matt Berry, Kayvan Novak, Natasia Demetriou, Harvey Guillen, and Mark Proksch
Genre: Comedy, Supernatural
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Seasons 1-4: 40 episodes
Created By: Jemaine Clement
Trailer: Watch here
It’s a blessing that we got a movie where Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi play vampires in a very Real World setting. It’s even more miraculous that they converted the idea into a TV series with its own flavor (just as akward!) that explores the strange, humdrum eternal lives of four undead bloodsuckers living in New Jersey. This show wouldn’t work nearly the same without its current cast, who play off each other with improvisational brilliance and a preternatural ability to avoid ruining takes by laughing at the funniest lines. They beef with the city council, feud with werewolves, and reveal disturbing personal histories that come back to haunt them. All of it is uproariously funny — twisting the self-seriousness of the vampire genre into something goofy and human.
6. Justified
Year: 2010-2015
Cast: Timothy Olyphant, Walton Goggins, Nick Searcy, Jacob Pitts, and Erica Tazel
Genre: Drama, Action, Adventure, Crime
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Seasons 1-6: 78 episodes
Created By: Graham Yost
Trailer: Watch here
Before the current western craze kicked off, Justified offered fans a bit of the Wild West in 21st century Kentucky. Deputy US Marshall Raylan Givens is as iconic a character as there’s ever been, launching from the golden era of television alongside Tony Soprano and Walter White. Olyphant is a gem, and the toe-to-toe rivalry with Goggins’s crime lord character is one for the ages. The series miraculously managed to stay A+ through every single season, consistently delivering serious drama and life-threatening clashes between the tin stars and the outlaws. The only thing missing is the horses. And sometimes there were horses.
5. Reservation Dogs
Year: 2021-present
Cast: D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Devery Jacobs, Paulina Jewel Alexis, Lane Factor, and Elva Guerra
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Crime
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Seasons 1-2: 18 episodes
Created By: Sterlin Harjo, Taika Waititi
Trailer: Watch here
One of the freshest shows in years features bored teens. Elora, Bear, Cheese, and Willie Jack are all mourning the death of their best friend and wasting away in rural Oklahoma. They conspire to get to California to honor their dead friends’ own big dream, but to get the cash for it, they’ll have to beg, borrow, and steal the occasional delivery truck. In addition to the hang out comedy, Bear also has his very own spirit guide who doles out some dubious life advice, and Marc Maron shows up as the cranky head of a foster home. It’s a fantastic comedy where all the humor covers up (and sometimes exposes) a big batch of generational trauma.
4. Only Murders in the Building
Year: 2021-present
Cast: Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez, Amy Ryan, and Cara Delevingne
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Mystery
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Seasons 1-2: 20 episodes
Created By: Steve Martin, John Hoffman
Trailer: Watch here
Marrying the old school whodunnit with the newfangled true crime podcast genre, Only Murders in the Building is a dynamite comedy that also works as a satisfying mystery. Each season has a big case to solve (while getting the microphone angles right for the podcast recording) as well as smaller mysteries swirling around it like some kind of mystery remoras feeding off a great white mystery shark. Short and Martin are as game as they’ve ever been, hilariously bickering with each other and playing pumped up egos due for deflation, while Gomez is sarcastic and grounded. It’s a winning combination that’s been such a hit that Meryl Streep and Paul Rudd are in for the third season.
3. Under The Banner Of Heaven
Year: 2022
Cast: Andrew Garfield, Gil Birmingham, Sam Worthington, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Denise Gough, and Wyatt Russell
Genre: Drama, Crime
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Seasons 1: 7 episodes
Created By: Dustin Lance Black
Trailer: Watch here
There came a time in TV history when it felt like the troubled detective story was played out. We’d mined all the emotion we could have possibly mined. And yet, here came Under the Banner of Heaven to prove the doubters wrong. Garfield plays Detective Jeb Pyre, an LDS member investigating the murder of a woman and her young child that seems to implicate the LDS church itself. The truth shakes his faith as he uncovers who the real killer is. Based on the Jon Krakauer book detailing the 1984 murder of Brenda Lafferty, Oscar Award-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black adapted the humanity-testing case for series, pushing the boundaries of how intimate the problems can get for a cop just trying to solve a case.
2. The Handmaid’s Tale
Year: 2017-present
Cast: Elisabeth Moss, Joseph Fiennes, Yvonne Strahovski, Samira Wiley, Ann Dowd, and Alexis Bledel
Genre: Drama, Science Fiction
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Seasons 1-5: 56 episodes
Created By: Bruce Miller
Trailer: Watch here
There’s nothing quite like reading the news all day and then settling in with some piping hot Handmaid’s Tale to soothe the soul. The dystopian series where fertile women are kept as breeding sex slaves for high ranking officials in a fascist near-future United States has built out far beyond Margaret Atwood‘s original novel while maintaining its core horrors. Beyond its gripping storytelling and frighteningly necessary message, the show boasts dozens and dozens of noteworthy actors giving career-best performances. The core cast is stellar, and names like Clea Duvall, Christopher Meloni, Bradley Whitford, Marisa Tomei, Sydney Sweeney, and more show up to either make life hell or suffer through it alongside Moss’s Offred.
1. The Bear
Year: 2022
Cast: Jeremy Allen White, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ayo Edebiri, Abby Elliott, and Lionel Boyce
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Season 1: 8 episodes
Created By: Christopher Storer
Trailer: Watch here
It’s Uncut Gems that makes you hungry. This pressure cooker series focuses on a wunderkind chef called Carmy at the top of the fine-dining world who returns to Chicago after his brother commits suicide, leaving behind a hot sandwich counter. Painful family drama plays out against the grinding churn of making great food that will keep people coming back (and keep the business open), and Ayo Edebiri plays an up-and-comer shadowing Carmy and challenging him to be a better chef and person. Is it a hilarious drama? A heart-breaking comedy? It’s delicious however you slice it, and it defies easy categorization for good reason. It’s also just getting started, and long may it reign.
