Hulu, alongside Netflix, is basically one of the ancients of the streaming era, at this point. It launched in October 2007, and at first, it was a home for the various networks to put episodes of shows up the morning after they broadcast. It has, of course, evolved widely since then; most of the networks that used it as a home for their shows have their own streaming services now, and Hulu has largely become a home for Disney to house and promote content that don’t fit perfectly with the Disney+ model. Hulu Originals have become synonymous with high-quality, complicated storytelling, with limited series becoming their most critically popular output, at this point.
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Hulu isn’t as crowded as, say, Netflix is, when it comes to finding a new show to binge, but it can be a challenge. Hulu also has a mix of series lengths in its catalog too; you’re not going to be able to binge all of, say, 24, in a weekend. Hulu does have many shorter offerings, however: here’s a guide to ten fantastic shows you can definitely binge in a weekend.
1) The Great
Elle Fanning‘s triumphant turn as an ahistorical but still awesome Catherine the Great kicks off this list. There are 30 episodes total, which are, at most, an hour a piece, so you could theoretically binge it in a weekend, and once you start the dark comedy, you probably won’t want to start. Superman’s Nicholas Hoult does great supporting work as a version of Peter III, Catherine’s husband. The Great is filled with clever characters, political backstabbing, and a whole lot of swearing. Huzzah!
2) Harlots
Hulu has a surprising amount of historical dramas in its catalog; most of them are exports — i.e., Hulu bought the rights to distribute them in the United States — but that doesn’t change their high quality. Harlots tells the story of prostitution and brothels in 18th century London, led by Jessica Brown Findlay, supported by a host of great British character actors. Liv Tyler also becomes a regular in the second season. The show has 24 episodes, each about an hourlong.
3) Last Days of the Space Age
Hulu’s stock of originals also includes a lot of miniseries; a whole list could be made just of their bingeable miniseries. This list has a mix of full series and their smaller counterparts, though; Last Days of the Space Age is relatively recent export from Australia. It’s primetime soap material, crossed with the interesting historical moment when the space station Skylab fell from the sky and ended up scattering debris from the Indian Ocean to Western Australia in 1979. The Space Age itself has provoked plenty of TV shows in recent years, including The Right Stuff on Hulu’s sister streamer, Disney+, but most of the shows do tend to focus on astronauts, not ordinary people. Last Days of the Space Age decides to subvert that trend.
4) Faraway Downs
“Wait,” you might say. “That looks like a screengrab from Baz Luhrmann’s 2008 epic and sort-of flop, Australia.” You would be absolutely correct; Luhrmann, the constant editor and filmmaker he is, recut Australia into a six-part miniseries and renamed it Faraway Downs. He apparently had hours of footage left over from the original shoot, and with some post-production magic… it found its American streaming home on Hulu, and it is worth it to check it out if only for sheer curiosity’s sake. Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman circa 2008 are fun to revisit, too.
5) Say Nothing
Say Nothing is a rare example of an adaptational triumph. Based on the non-fiction book by Patrick Radden Keefe and dealing with the difficult history of the Northern Ireland Troubles, Say Nothing manages to tell a concise, tight story, over nine tense episodes. It certainly could’ve been easy to get lost in the weeds when telling this story for television, but that never happens. It’s incredibly well acted, too. Say Nothing got an Emmy nomination for Best Writing for a Limited Series, for its finale.
6) Firefly
Firefly certainly pre-dates the existence of Hulu, but now Hulu is its streaming home (you can also find it on Disney+). If you haven’t seen Firefly by this point, there’s not really a better time to try it. It feels a little outdated at this point, but its status as the gone-too-soon sci-fi show of its era, with just fourteen episodes, means you can definitely get through it in a weekend, and you’ll probably be able to watch Serenity, its follow-up film, too. There’s not a lot to be said about Firefly that hasn’t already been said, honestly; it’s a good show that never got to use its full potential because of the nature of how TV was made in the early 2000s.
7) Legion
Hulu was briefly the home for Marvel TV that didn’t fit on Disney+, and it’s where Legion would show up after airing on FX during its original run. Disney+ has mostly been reconfigured so most things on Hulu are also on Disney+, and Legion‘s multiple homes are a part of that. However, Legion is also probably one of FX’s first big genre shows during an exciting era for the cable channel; its based on the story of the Marvel character with the same name, David Haller/Legion. He’s a mutant (his dad is Professor X), so Legion is probably one of the last examples of an X-Men property that happens outside of their future inclusion in the MCU. It’s a very odd show, fitting its protagonist; showrun by Fargo‘s Noah Hawley, it’s a unique flavor of show from that brief era where Disney was still figuring out how to rein in all of the Marvel properties.
8) Cardinal
Hulu has quite a few Canadian shows in their catalog, but most of them have run for many seasons (much as Letterkenny is so unique, there are twelve seasons). Cardinal, with just 24 episodes over four seasons (six a season), can actually be binged in a weekend. It would be an intense experience, but if you’re a fan of Mindhunter or Hannibal, it might be worth it! The show tells the story of a detective and his partner investigating unusual, violent crimes in Canada, often in winter weather. It’s atmospheric and moody in the best sense.
9) Difficult People
Most of Hulu’s comedies either run too long to be to included on this list, but Difficult People, which has 28 episodes over three seasons, is easily doable in a weekend. The acerbic series features man on the street Billy Eichner and his frequent comedy collaborator Julie Klausner, who also created the series. Billy and Julie, the characters they play, are grouchy comedians who only like one another, seemingly. They’re surrounded by a colorful collection of legends and legends in the making, including Cole Escola, who just won a Tony for Oh, Mary!. If you like your friendship comedies with a lot of bitters, this might be the perfect binge.
10) Reservation Dogs
Hulu let this Indigenous-centered dramedy shine for three years, and that’s wonderful to see. It was a tough but funny show with Indigenous talent in front of and behind the camera, and it offered a slice of American youth not always given the spotlight. It was a thrill ride, and it also got to end on its own terms, seemingly; showrunner Sterlin Harjo made the decision the third season would be the final one when planning episodes with co-creator Taika Waititi. Because of that, it makes a compelling binge; you’re going to get the whole story, as intended, with this one.
All these shows are streaming on Hulu. Are there any great weekend binges on Hulu we missed? Let us know in the comments below!
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