Celebrities
15 shows you’ll miss out on if you don’t pony up for Hulu
Hulu announced Monday (Aug. 8) that it has done away with its free, ad-based content. Instead, the free Hulu programming will be available on a new Yahoo site, delayed eight days after its initial television broadcast.
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With that in mind, here are 15 gems worth ponying up the dough for — both Hulu originals and other shows available for streaming on the service. None of the non-originals are available on Netflix; they are available on Amazon but are not included with a Prime membership.
‘Broad City’
This comedy created by and starring Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson is a gem of wacky hijinks and biting commentary. If you are a cord-cutter and don’t tune in on Comedy Central, Hulu is where it’s at for 30 episodes.
‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’
There are 68 episodes of this excellent FOX comedy starring Andre Braugher, Andy Samberg and many more as the big-hearted (and kind of insane) employees of a Brooklyn police precinct.
‘Casual’
Michaela Watkins shines as newly-divorced single mom Valerie in this Hulu original. Two seasons are available now on Hulu and another season is coming in 2017.
‘Chance’
This Hulu original hasn’t premiered yet, but it stars Hugh Laurie as a forensic neuropsychiatrist in San Francisco. Hulu gave it a two-season, 20-episode order. It premieres Oct. 19 and it looks really good.
‘Deadbeat’
Tyler Labine stars as a medium for hire, surrounded by a hilarious band of misfits. This Hulu original was canceled in 2016 after three seasons, but it will hopefully live on forever on the streaming service.
‘Difficult People’
Who doesn’t love watching Billy Eichner and Julie Klausner be self-centered, people-hating, struggling comedians in New York? There are two seasons out now and hopefully more to come.
‘Eli Stone’
This was a little gem of a legal drama that added a twist in having the title character experience hallucinations because he may or may not be a prophet. It starred Jonny Lee Miller and was sadly cut short after only two seasons, but all 26 episodes are available on Hulu.
‘The Hotwives’
This send-up of the “Real Housewives” franchise is spot-on and gut-bustingly hilarious. The wonderful ladies involved include such comedic talents as Casey Wilson, Tymberlee Hill, Angela Kinsey and Kristen Schaal.
‘The Mindy Project’
After FOX let this comedy go, Hulu swooped in and kept Mindy Lahiri’s (Mindy Kaling) neurotic and charming world alive.
‘My So-Called Life’
Perhaps the pinnacle of a “canceled too soon” one-season show, all 19 episodes of this Claire Danes-starring high school drama are on Hulu. It lets a whole new generation of teens realize we all are Angela Chase.
‘Nashville’
CMT has picked up this Connie Britton-Hayden Panettiere musical drama for a fifth season after ABC gave it the axe, but Hulu is part of CMT’s venture, retaining exclusive streaming and stacking rights. So if you’ve cut the cord and can’t watch it on TV, Hulu is the only place to see it.
‘Night Gallery’
If you want to be spooked and freaked out, “Night Gallery” is the way to go. It aired in the 1970s, but the horror still holds up in a very “Twilight Zone” way.
‘Reaper’
This underrated comedy aired on The CW for two seasons, offering a darkly hilarious look at what happens when you’re a reaper retrieving souls that have escaped from Hell and bringing them back to the devil.
‘Sports Night’
Before “The West Wing,” Aaron Sorkin brought his patented brand of dramedy to Sports Night,” a show set in an ESPN-esque sports network. Before “Parenthood” and “The Good Wife,” Peter Krause and Josh Charles were a sportscasting duo surrounded by a terrific cast of co-workers.
‘The State’
This MTV sketch show of the mid-’90s boasted a murderers’ row of comics — Michael Ian Black, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Thomas Lennon, Joe Lo Truglio, Ken Marino and Michael Showalter — and is worth a look.