The 10 best shows on Hulu to watch right now

2024-11-05

EntertainmentStreaming ServicesHULUThe 10 best shows on Hulu to watch right nowWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

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(Image credit: FX)

Best Hulu shows: a close-up of Hiroyuki Sanada as Lord Yoshii Toranaga during the series Shogun.

Our selection of the best shows on Hulu right now is quite the list. Over the past few years, the streaming platform has built up a very impressive catalog full of dramas, original series, and comedies. So if you’re looking for your next watch, it’s one of thebest streaming servicesto go to.

Second only to Netflix, Hulu has some of thebest TV showsin its library with titles covering some classics from the ’90s right up to the latest releases. Not only that, but thanks to its partnership with cable network FX, you can find some truly incredible watches. There’s something for whatever you’re in the mood for as well, with anime, historical drama, and award-winners.

So to help you navigate the platform and find the perfect watch, we’ve done the hard work for you and found the 10 best shows you can stream on Hulu right now. Some are new, ongoing series. Others are finished classics. All of them will have you eager to hit “play next episode”.

10. Rivals

(Image credit: Hulu)

Aidan Turner as Declan O’Hara in Hulu’s Rivals (2024)

Year:2024Seasons:1

Rivals is the newest addition to the list, and it came as quite the surprise. The drama-comedy is an adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s romp-fest and tells about half of the story of her lengthy novel. Set in the Cotswolds, we catch up with a group of locals who spend more time sleeping with each other than investing in their own marriages.

The basic crux of the show follows David Tennant’s Lord Tony Baddingham’s rivalry with Alex Hassell’s former showjumper and MP Rupert Campbell-Black. Split on an old money and new money divide, the pair don’t see eye-to-eye, which only worsens when the bid for a local television license comes up, and they both have their sights set on it.

The star-studded cast also includes Aidan Turner, Bella Maclean, Nafessa Williams, Oliver Chris, Luke Pasqualino, and Emily Atack. However, the real duo that will get you right in the feelings are Katherine Parkinson’s Lizzie Vereker and Danny Dyer’s Freddie Jones. They even madeOlivia Colman cry…

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9. What We Do in the Shadows

(Image credit: FX)

Kayvan Novak as Nandor, Matt Berry as Laszlo, and Natasia Demetriou as Nadja chatting together in a dark room during the Hulu show, What We Do in The Shadows.

Year:2019Seasons:6

Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi exposed the lame mundanity of vampires in a hilarious fashion with their 2014 film What We Do in the Shadows. Clement expanded on the idea with this FX series of the same name.

What We Do in the Shadows is a comedy mockumentary following some vampires who are roommates living in Staten Island (the original movie is set in Clement’s native New Zealand). Nandor, Laszlo, and Nadja have been alive for centuries, but if anything, that long supernatural experience has made them especially ill-equipped to handle the modern world. They’re also not the best at dealing with the supernatural world, either. Draculas, this trio ain’t.

Curious about the movie that started it all? Read ourWhat We Do in the Shadows reviewfor more undead details.

8. Futurama

(Image credit: Hulu)

Fry, Leela, and Bender flying a spaceship during the Hulu show, Futurama.

Year:1999Seasons:12

Simpsons creator Matt Groening’s second TV show follows Phillip J. Fry, a hapless pizza delivery boy who accidentally falls into a cryogenic freezer on New Year’s Eve, right before the turn of the new millennium, and wakes up a thousand years later in the 31st century. He ends up fitting in pretty well, becoming friends with Bender, an alcoholic robot, and Leela, a one-eyed alien he quickly develops a crush on.

Futurama might not quite exceed The Simpsons' golden era when it comes to comedy, but it’s pretty dang close, and there are tons of smart jokes in the show that make sense when you realize how many of the writers have advanced PhDs. Futurama might have a better grasp of its characters, though, as they’re allowed to evolve and change, resulting in several episodes that are tear-jerking in addition to being side-splitting.

Read our list of thebest shows on Disney Plusif you love The Simpsons and other animated gems.

7. Cowboy Bebop

(Image credit: Toonami)

Spike holding up a gun during the hit anime, Cowboy Bebop.

Year:1998Seasons:2

After making its debut in Japan in the last years of the ’90s, Cowboy Bebop would become the first of what would be many anime to air on Adult Swim, and the acclaimed dub helped a new type of anime breakthrough in the West. Now it’s streaming on Hulu, so you can get lost in Cowboy Bebop’s immaculate vibes all over again or for the first time. Trust us, even if you aren’t an anime fan, this is a must-watch!

6. The X-Files

(Image credit: Fox)

David Duchovny as Fox Mulder during season one of The X-Files, one of the best shows on Hulu.

Year:1993Seasons:11

FBI agents Mulder and Scully — a believer and a skeptic, respectively — investigate the bureau’s strangest cases, often involving aliens, monsters, or other supernatural entities. A classic of ’90s TV that stretched into the early ’00s and beyond (thanks to feature films and a revival series), The X-Files is frequently spooky and always immensely entertaining, consisting of a mixture of one-off “monster of the week” episodes that can be enjoyed in a vacuum and “mythology” episodes that build towards an ongoing plot.

During its original run, these mythology episodes were especially riveting TV, as Mulder and Scully slowly uncover an alien conspiracy deep within the US government. Unfortunately, this larger plot gets kind of convoluted at the end, but the initial episodes are still thrilling, and the “monster of the week” episodes, featuring creatures like a fluke-man or a plague of killer bugs, are about as good as TV gets.

Want more classic recommendations? Check out our list of thebest shows on Netflixnext.

5. 30 Rock

(Image credit: NBC)

Tina Fey as Liz Lemon and Jane Krakowski as Jenna Maroney talking to a table full of people during one of the best shows on Hulu, 30 Rock.

Year:2006Seasons:7

Tina Fey’s comedy following the head writer of a Saturday Night Live-esque sketch show and the motley crew of creatives and executives she has to deal with might just be the funniest show on Hulu. Supremely joke-dense and oddly prescient (one episode had a fake reality show called MILF Island that more or less became a real show called MILF Manor on TLC 15 years later), 30 Rock is exceptionally clever.

It’s not just jokes, though (although there are a lot of them); the relationship between Fey’s Liz Lemon and her boss-turned-friend Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin, arguably at his best) gives the show an earnest ‘Odd Couple’ dynamic that supports the wackiness and gives it some heart.

Studio magic! Read our list of thebest movies on Hulu.

4. The Bear

(Image credit: FX)

Jeremy Allen White as Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto, scrubbing the floors during the Hulu show, The Bear.

Year:2022Seasons:3

Every year, there’s a debate at the Emmys about whether or not The Bear should be running in the comedy category. There are jokes in the series, which follows Jeremy Allen White as a chef who leaves Michelin-starred restaurants behind to inherit his brother’s ragtag, failing Chicago sandwich shop. But as the show progresses it becomes more and more of a drama with deeply realized characters and a smart approach to themes like family, trauma, and creativity.

It’s not all doom and gloom, though. Winning performances from the entire talented cast, including Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Ayo Edebiri, make The Bear an entertaining, filling meal of a TV show.

For more on this must-watch, read our in-deathThe Bear season 3 review.

3. Reservation Dogs

(Image credit: FX)

Two masked robbers wearing orange masks during the Hulu show, Reservation Dogs.

Year:2021Seasons:3

One of the most refreshing and profound shows to grace the screen in recent years, Reservation Dogs follows four Indigenous teenagers in rural Oklahoma as they come of age in the wake of their friend’s death. As Elora, Bear, Cheese, and Willie Jack get into and out of trouble, they must navigate their community, their own relationships, and challenges — some of which are universal, some of which are deeply specific to the Native American experience.

Featuring a cast and crew that’s almost entirely Indigenous, Reservation Dogs isn’t like any other comedy-drama on American TV. That’s a shame because it’s a rare show that’s as good as it is important.

Read our list of thebest shows on HBO Maxfor more modern gems that you can’t miss.

2. Shōgun

(Image credit: FX)

A close-up of a woman looking into the distance during the Hulu show, Shogun.

Year:2024Seasons:1

This isn’t the first time that Shōgun, James Clavell’s 1975 historical fiction novel, has been adapted for TV. There was a miniseries in 1980, but it wasn’t as big a deal nor as good as FX’s 2024 take on the story. Part of that is because of how TV has changed; audiences are now used to reading subtitles, which means the struggle between rival daimyos over the future of Japan can play out organically in Japanese — much to the initial confusion of John Blackthorne, an English sailor who has been shipwrecked. Hiroyuki Sanada and Anna Sawai, who won Emmys for their roles, star.

Shōgun was initially supposed to be a limited series, and the season covers the entirety of Clavell’s book. However, the massive critical and commercial success the show has enjoyed prompted FX to make a second season, which should come out sometime in the next couple of years.

If you need more details on this one, head over to ourShogun reviewbefore pressing play on this Hulu masterpiece.

1. The Americans

(Image credit: FX)

Keri Russell as Elizabeth Jennings reaching for some documents in a cupboard during the Hulu show, The Americans.

Year:2013Seasons:6

Real ones know that The Americans, which came towards the end of the golden age of “Peak TV”, is as good as Breaking Bad and Mad Men. It might even be better — and unlike those other two, it’s streaming on Hulu.

Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys star as an average, all-American married couple living in the DC suburbs with their two children. Except, they’re actually Soviet KGB spies operating in deep, deep cover (their kids have no idea). It’s a high-stakes, thrilling espionage series that is also a deeply cutting marital drama. With six seasons leading up to one of the all-time finales, The Americans is a sublime treat for anybody looking for a new binge.

Dive into streaming with our handy guide explaining theHulu free trial. Or, for more TV, check out our lists of all thenew showsheading our way and thebest Amazon Prime showsto watch right now.

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GAME REVIEWSMOVIE REVIEWSTV REVIEWS

1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”

Nemesis board game models and tokens laid out on a board

1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”

Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”

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Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”

3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”

Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”

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Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”

5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”

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1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”

Shadow brandishes a gun in Sonic The Hedgehog 3

1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”

2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”

Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”

3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”

Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”

4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”

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Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor and Nicola Coughlan as Joy in Doctor Who Christmas special Joy to the World

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2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”

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3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”

Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”

4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”

Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”

5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”

Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”

10. Rivals

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9. What We Do in the Shadows

8. Futurama

7. Cowboy Bebop

6. The X-Files

5. 30 Rock

4. The Bear

3. Reservation Dogs

2. Shōgun

1. The Americans

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