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 FX selections, the shows on Hulu at your disposal include comedies, award-worthy work, and bingeable, genre-defying goodies.
Here are the 25 best Hulu original series on Hulu and FX:
Last updated on June 24, 2024.
TIE: 25 Little Fires Everywhere
Year: 2020
Cast: Reese Witherspoon, Kerry Washington, Joshua Jackson
Genre: Drama
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: 8 episodes
Created By: Liz Tigelaar
Trailer: Watch here
Based on the bestselling book of the same name, Little Fires Everywhere focuses on the seemingly perfect Richardsons as wife Mary (Reese Witherspoon) and husband Bill (Joshua Jackson) raise their outwardly ideal family in Ohio during the ’90s. However, when their lives intersect with struggling artist Mia Warren (Kerry Washington) that facade slowly falls apart in this gripping tale of lies and the intense ferocity of motherhood.
TIE: 25. American Horror Story
Year: 2011-present
Cast: Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson, Kathy Bates, Lily Rabe, Frances Conroy, Denis O’Hare, Billie Lourd, Jessica Lange, Angela Bassett, and Emma Roberts
Genre: Horror anthology
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Seasons 1-11: 123 episodes
Created By: Ryan Murphy Brad Falchuk
Trailer: Watch here
While most of the shows on this list might offer a weekend getaway into another world, you could feast on American Horror Story for a couple months. Every season offers something different, always horror-tinged, from haunted houses to witches to cults to the end of the world. Yet, even though the story changes every year, the core cast sticks around for fierce new roles. Beyond terror and unhinged characters, the episodes are stylish and boast exquisite set dressing and costumes (that, then, get drenched in really attractive blood).
24. This Fool
Year: 2022
Cast: Chris Estrada, Frankie Quiñones, Laura Patalano, Michael Imperioli
Genre: Comedy
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: 10 episodes
Created By: Chris Estrada, Pat Bishop, Matt Ingebretson, and Jake Weisman
Trailer: Watch here
In the critically acclaimed comedy, This Fool, 30-year-old Julio (Chris Estrada) has yet to move on with his life. He’s still dating his on-and-off girlfriend from high school, living at home, and refusing to deal with his problems. To his credit, he’s managed to hold down a job working at a gang rehabilitation center for recently released inmates. However, when his cousin Luis winds up at the rehab, Julio’s life is about to get a whole lot more complicated in this unflinching sitcom about South Central L.A. life. And, yes, that is The Sopranos Michael Imperioli as a shotgun wielding minister.
23. 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
At some point, we all had “PEN15” written on our hands in gel pen. We were in the club! Creators Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle have gloriously mined that terrible, awful feeling of existing in middle school for a series that may make you want to curl up under the carpet and hide forever. If The Office made you cringe, PEN15 will kill you. Horrifically naturalistic, the middle school-set comedy features the then-31-year-old comedians portraying newly minted teens among actual teenage actors. It’s an added layer of alienation that helps send this gleefully awkward series into the highest heights of cringe.
22. 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 loosely 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.
21. Damages
Year: 2007
Cast: Glenn Close, Rose Byrne
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: 5 seasons
Created By: Glenn Kessler, Todd A. Kessler, Daniel Zelman
Trailer: Watch here
In this taut legal thriller, law school grad Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne) seemingly lands her dream job by getting a chance to work under the brilliantly powerful attorney Patty Hewes (Glenn Close). However, Ellen soon learns there’s a madness behind Patty’s methods as she gets suck into a ruthless world of back room deals, power struggles, and outright murder. Look for an Emmy-nominated performance from Close as well as some knockout guest stars in this riveting legal drama.
20. Better Things
Year: 2016-2020
Cast: Pamela Adlon, Mikey Madison, Hannah Allgood, Olivia Edward, and Celia Imrie
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Seasons 1-5: 52 episodes
Created By: Pamela Adlon, Louis C.K.
Trailer: Watch here
Sam Fox is a working actress and has three daughters, which means that she’s juggling a thousand things, and all the things are on fire, and if she drops one of the things on fire the world will end. Naturally, the show is hilarious. Adlon’s scratchy deadpan works perfectly as the hectic mom struggling to do her best against the perpetually oncoming wave of feces heading her way — from dating to pot to school drama to religion. An audacious comedy series, it’s nearly universally beloved for both its bittersweetness (life is hard!) and its raunchy laughs.
19. Sons Of Anarchy
Year: 2008 – 2014
Cast: Charlie Hunnam, Katey Sagal, Mark Boone Junior, Kim Coates
Genre: Drama/Action
Rating: TV-MA
Seasons: 7 (93 episodes)
Created By: Kurt Sutter
Trailer: Watch here
Yes, this is obviously a biker soap opera, but this show is also Kurt Sutter’s version of Hamlet, so all the Reaper-filled mayhem and mythology-within-the-mythology can be viewed through various lenses. Katey Sagal has never been better than as Gemma Teller, and Charlie Hunnam will always be riveting while Jax Teller struts down his own path of destruction. Various federal law enforcement parties show their ass in massive ways on this show, but in the end, it all comes down to a Mack truck, which was both infuriating and fitting. Mayans M.C. continued to carry the torch that it will soon put to rest on FX.
18. Archer
Year: 2009
Cast: H. Jon Benjamin, Jessica Walter, Aisha Tyler, Judy Greer
Genre: Action, Animation, Comedy
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: 14 seasons
Created By: Adam Reed
Trailer: Watch here
In this razor sharp animated series, H. Jon Benjamin voices Sterling Archer, a wildly arrogant spoiled brat of a secret agent as he and his cohorts bumble their way through missions whenever they’re not tripping over their own libidos. The late, great Jessica Walters is also on hand as Archer’s mother, Mallory, and she brings all the timing and sass that you’d expect from a comedy great in this raunchy and hilarious riff on the spy genre.
17. 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.
16. 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 Pamela 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.
15. 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 impossible to overstate the devastation that the opioid epidemic has wrought throughout the country, and this stunning drama gets at the corrupt heart of the greed it took to get as many people hooked as possible. Based on the true story of Beth Macy’s book Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America, Strong has carved out a powerful story by focusing on the people being affected as well as slightly fictionalized executives chasing the money rabbit way too far down its hole. That it evolves into a legal drama should come as no surprise, whether you’ve kept up with the news or not. From the writing to the stirring performances, it’s a masterful work all the way around.
14. 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.
13. 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.
12. 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.
11. Mayans M.C.
Year: 2018-present
Cast: J.D. Pardo, Clayton Cardenas, Sarah Bolger, Michael Irby, Carla Baratta, Richard Cabral, and Edward James Olmos
Genre:Crime Drama
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Season 1-4: 40 episodes
Created By: Kurt Sutter, Elgin James
Trailer: Watch here
Is it sacrilege to call Mayans M.C. better than Sons of Anarchy? While it took a moment to emerge from the powerful biker show’s shadow, Mayans has only gotten better as it’s gone along, deepening its story and getting further entangled in a world of cartel violence, revenge, and family betrayals. At the show’s heart is Ezekiel “EZ Reyes, a prospective member of the Mayans Motorcycle Club trying to gain acceptance under the tutelage of big brother Angel. But his membership may only be a vehicle for his personal vendettas, the kind that demand a man digs two graves. The subsequent seasons watch him rise through the ranks, and a fifth and final season will prove whether they can stick the landing and close out an outstanding series the way it deserves.
10. Shōgun
Year: 2024
Cast: Hiroyuki Sanada, Cosmo Jarvis, Anna Sawai
Genre:Historical war drama
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Season 1: 10 episodes
Created By: Rachel Kondo, Justin Marks
Trailer: Watch here
James Clavell’s beloved 1975 novel (within his Asian Saga) will be lushly rendered to bring his 1600s civil war-story to life. You might need a flowchart to keep track of the various alliances and betrayals in this show, which begins when Lord Yoshii Toranaga finds himself being dragged into oblivion by “vultures,” i.e. the opposing Council of Regents. Enter an apparent ally, John Blackthorne, whose ship has conveniently been marooned nearby, although he could be the key to helping Toranago tip the balance against his enemies. That’s only the beginning, and clearly, any attempt at a small blurb would fail to adequately describe what’s in store for viewers here.
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 in New York City (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 shop 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 Sydney, an up-and-comer shadowing Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) 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.
