Today, Hulu held their annual upfronts presentation at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden. There, the streaming company announced some of their upcoming slate along with some other news.
- Hulu announced that they’ve surpassed 20 million U.S. subscribers.
- Interestingly, 78% of Hulu viewing takes place in the living room on connected TVs.
- The platforms also announced some new Hulu Originals, renewals for other hit shows, and acquired SVOD rights to shows from other networks.
- Speaking of SVOD deals, ABC’s The Good Doctor is now available on the platform, with new episodes to stream the day after they air.
Here’s what else was announced at the Hulu presentation:
The Handmaid’s Tale
- Hulu has renewed their popular and award-winning drama The Handmaid’s Tale for a third season.
- Since its premiere in April 2017, The Handmaid’s Tale has gone on to become the first series ever on a streaming video on-demand service to take both the Golden Globe and Emmy Award for Best Drama Series
- Based on the award-winning, best-selling novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale became the most-viewed series debut on Hulu ever in its first week and has drawn acclaim from both fans and critics since its series premiere.
- The show stars Elisabeth Moss, Joseph Fiennes, Yvonne Strahovski, Alexis Bledel, Madeline Brewer, Ann Dowd, O-T Fagbenle, Max Minghella, Samira Wiley, and Amanda Brugel.
- The series is created for television by Bruce Miller, who serves as the series’ showrunner.
Four Wedding and a Funeral
- Four Weddings and a Funeral is a limited series inspired by the 1994 British romantic comedy.
- The show will be written and executive produced by Mindy Kaling and Matt Warburton.
- The series will follow a group of friends as their lives intersect through five events
Into The Dark
- Into The Dark is a brand new horror event series from prolific, award-winning producer, Jason Blum’s independent TV studio.
- The series will include 12 standalone super-sized episodes, with a new installment released on the first Friday of every month throughout the year.
- Each episode is inspired by a holiday from the month of its release, but all will feature Blumhouse’s signature genre/thriller spin on the story.
- The first story, “The Body,” premieres on Friday, October 5th.
- Into the Dark’s second installment, Flesh & Blood, will arrive Friday, November 2nd.
Ramy
- Ramy is a groundbreaking comedy series based on the real-life experiences and comedy of Ramy Youssef.
- The series takes viewers into the world of Ramy, a first-generation American Muslim who is on a spiritual journey in his politically-divided New Jersey neighborhood.
- Ramy will bring a new perspective to the screen as it explores the challenges of what it’s like being caught in between an Egyptian community that thinks life is moral a test, and a millennial generation that thinks life has no consequences.
- The show is written, executive produced, created by and starring Ramy Youssef, and executive produced by Jerrod Carmichael, co-creators Ari Katcher and Ryan Welch as well as A24’s Ravi Nandan
Dreamworks Animation
- Hulu has announced its first-ever multi-year deal with DreamWorks Animation.
- This deal will make Hulu the exclusive streaming home to future slates of DreamWorks Animation feature films.
- The platform will also stream the existing DreamWorks film library.
- In addition, Hulu will work with DreamWorks Animation Television to develop original kids & family series for exclusive streaming based on the company’s popular franchises and upcoming feature films.
- This marks the first time Hulu has partnered with a major studio in a multi-series commitment to debut original kids & family content.
New Ad Integrations and Experiences
- Beginning later this quarter, Hulu will begin offering dynamically inserted advertising within its Hulu With Live TV product.
- This will allow brands to reach Hulu’s young and engaged audience in its live sports, news and entertainment programming.
- Today, Hulu announced its plans to become the first company to offer a downloadable content experience with opportunities for advertisers.
- The new feature will make it possible for subscribers to access their favorite shows and movies on the go, with no internet connection required, and will give advertisers the opportunity to reach their target audiences in a viewing experience never before available to advertisers.