The mobile platform Quibi was poised to be a promising and inventive streaming service, so much so that its launch brought with it the debut of a number of exciting and exclusive programming, including Veena Sud’s The Stranger. When the platform was dissolved, this left not only The Stranger, but a number of other originals, in a bit of limbo, though Sud’s deal to own the project means that she has reimagined the project and revived it as a feature film that is now coming to Hulu. The Stranger was previously available as an episodic project on The Roku Channel but this feature-film version of the story will premiere on Hulu on April 15th.
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The project is described, “From Veena Sud, acclaimed creator of The Killing comes an edge-of-your-seat ride through one life-changing night.New to Los Angeles, rideshare driver Clare (Maika Monroe, star of It Follows and Neon’s upcoming Longlegs) picks up Carl (Dane DeHaan, recently seen in Oppenheimer and star of HBO’s The Staircase) from a home deep in the Hollywood Hills. What begins as a routine ride turns into Clare’s worst nightmare: a twelve-hour fight for survival through the city’s seedy underbelly. Carl is not the passenger Clare thought he was, and Clare is not easy prey…Avan Jogia (Victorious, Now Apocalypse) also stars in this thriller, coming soon to Hulu as a new feature-length film.”
“When Jeffrey Katzenberg offered copyright ownership as one of the perks of doing a Quibi TV series with The Stranger, I couldn’t resist,” Sud shared in a statement. “At the time, Quibi allowed artists to co-own the copyright to our work, and this right — which I wasn’t able to secure for any of my other projects — has allowed me the freedom to ‘self-distribute’ in the vein of indie filmmakers and advocate to find alternate ways to showcase my TV series. Filmmakers and creators who are able to tell stories that may not survive a fickle marketplace must have alternate ways to get our work out in a world that’s hungry for it. And, the world is hungry for good material.”
She continued, “I did not let The Killing die, even when they tried to kill it twice. I bring that same determination and perseverance to The Stranger. Although the courageous and cool Quibi experiment didn’t work, I know my film is important to get out there. It’s a story about justified female rage and vengeance in this current moment where we as women have so much to be angry about. A fitting story for today’s world.”
The main goal of Quibi was to deliver quick, bite-sized episodes of programs that could be watched exclusively on mobile devices, with each episode being shorter than 10 minutes. The platform delivered drama, comedy, horror, and reality programming, some of which were standalone experiences while others, like The Stranger, were long-form programs broken up into smaller installments.
As seen in the rise of TikTok, there was a market for short-form content, but one of the stumbling blocks was that many audiences wanted to be able to watch the compelling content on their TVs to fully immerse themselves in the story, an avenue Quibi initially denied them. Another major setback was that the platform launched in the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, so with the projects meant to be enjoyed while on commutes or otherwise out in public, it was a time in which everyone was staying home to watch things on streaming platforms.
Given that several other Quibi programs faded into obscurity, horror fans will be delighted to see the compelling storyline brought back from the dead. The Stranger hits Hulu on April 15th.
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