What to watch on Hulu: 40 great titles to start with

Hulu is one of the biggest streaming platforms in the game. The Disney-owned streamer hosts its own original shows and movies alongside licensed titles, including classics, international titles, and new releases. This Hulu guide takes the work out of it for you, highlighting the best shows and movies across a number of genres.

Read more: Everything you need to know about Hulu

So, read on for our complete guide of what to watch on Hulu, including Hulu originals and licensed titles. And if you’re not already a subscriber, hit the link below to sign up.

• Original release:1993 – 2004
• Episode runtime:23 minutes
• Genre:Sitcom
• Director/Creator:David Angell, Peter Casey, David Lee
• Main cast:Kelsey Grammer, Jane Leeves, David Hyde Pierce, Peri Gilpin, John Mahoney

One of the best sitcoms of the 90s, and part of NBC’s legendary “Must See TV” Thursday-night lineup, Frasier remains a delightful and hilarious show to revisit. A spin-off of Cheers, Frasier follows the titular Frasier Crane to Seattle. There, he hosts a call-in radio therapy show and supports his aging father. Now divorced, Frasier is looking for love but is not very good at finding it. Frasier and his brother Niles are two snobby bachelors constantly out-of-sync with their surroundings in this clever comedy.

• Original release: 2021 – present
• Episode runtime: 25-30 minutes
• Genre: Teen comedy
• Director/Creator:Sterlin Harjo, Taika Waititi
• Main cast:Devery Jacobs, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Lane Factor, Paulina Alexis

Co-created by Academy Award winner Taika Waititi, Reservation Dogs tells the story of four friends, Indigenous teens living in rural Oklahoma, committing crimes to fund an eventual move to California in honor of their beloved deceased friend. The series boasts all Indigenous writers and directors, as well as an almost entirely Indigenous North American cast and production team.

• Release year:2000
• Runtime:90minutes
• Genre:Mockumentary
• Director:Christopher Guest
• Main cast:Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Michael McKean, Parker Posey, Jennifer Coolidge, Christopher Guest, Fred Willard

Featuring improvised dialogue from its all-star cast, Best in Show continues the tradition of films like This Is Spinal Tap and Waiting for Guffman. A cast of colorful characters prepares for a dog show, where they’ll compete with their beloved pooches in this outrageously funny comedy, one of the best things you can watch on Hulu.

• Release year: 2020
• Runtime:90 minutes
• Genre: Comedy, science fiction
• Director: Max Barbakow
• Main cast: Andy Samberg, Cristin Milioti, J.K. Simmons

You’d think the Groundhog Day conceit — a character has to relive the same day again and again — would get tired, and yet movies and shows keep proving it still has legs. In this Hulu original movie, a woman keeps experiencing the same wedding day in Palm Springs, but she’s not alone. Another guest is stuck in the same time loop too, and together they try to figure out what’s going on.

Looking for more comedies?

Action

Alias (TV show)

• Original release: 2001-2006
• Episode runtime:43 minutes
• Genre:Spy, action, science-fiction
• Director/Creator:J.J. Abrams
• Main cast: Jennifer Garner, Victor Garber, Ron Rifkin, Michael Vartan, Carl Lumbly, Kevin Weisman

After his hit college drama Felicity, J.J. Abrams shifted gears with Alias, his ABC spy thriller. Taking some cues from Felicity, where the concept originated (what if college student Felicity was secretly a CIA operative all along?), Abrams crafted an epic family drama about a CIA double agent, her senior agent father, and her friends who live completely unaware of her double life. The series was an example of bingeable, long-form TV, with episodes contributing to ongoing plotlines, ahead of the streaming revolution. If you’re wondering what to watch on Hulu, this is a top pick.

• Original release: 2017-2019
• Episode runtime:44-68 minutes
• Genre: Science-fiction, superhero
• Director/Creator:Noah Hawley
• Main cast: Dan Stevens, Rachel Keller, Aubrey Plaza, Bill Irwin, Jeremie Harris, Amber Midthunder

Set in Marvel’s X-Men universe, Legion is a dark superhero saga. David has spent most of his life in psychiatric facilities, trying to rid himself of the voices in his head. When David realizes the voices may not be the product of mental illness, he goes on the run, pursued by government agents. He finds sanctuary with a group of mutants at a facility that offers security and community, where he begins to unpack his abilities and realizes he may be unimaginably powerful.

• Release year:2012
• Runtime:119 minutes
• Genre: Action, science-fiction
• Director:Rian Johnson
• Main cast:Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emily Blunt, Jeff Daniels, Paul Dano

Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Knives Out director Rian Johnson is in top form in this 2012 actioner. In the near future, a hitman specializes in killing marks from, well, further in the future. The set-up makes it easier for the mob to cover its tracks and avoid high-tech surveillance. But one day, the hitman’s mark is his future self. He teams up with himself to save his own life, but maybe also the world as he knows it.

• Release year:1987
• Runtime: 107 minutes
• Genre: Action, science-fiction, horror
• Director: John McTiernan
• Main cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Jesse Ventura, Bill Duke, Sonny Landham

Arnold Schwarzenegger stars in this genre-bending classic from Die Hard director John McTiernan. The global action star plays a member of an elite paramilitary unit sent to Central America to save hostages. Once there, they realize they’re not dealing with the guerrillas they expected, but rather an alien being who hunts humans for sport.

Looking for more action?

Drama

High Fidelity (TV series)

• Original release: 2020
• Episode runtime:26-34 minutes
• Genre: Drama, romantic comedy
• Director/Creator:Veronica West, Sarah Kucserka
• Main cast:Zoë Kravitz, Jake Lacy, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, David H. Holmes

Adapting Nick Hornby’s 1995 novel and updating the 2000 film of the same name, the short-lived High Fidelity is one of Hulu’s best original series. Zoë Kravitz takes on the role of Rob, originally played by John Cusack, a record store owner in Brooklyn. Rob is obsessed with music, pop culture, and top-five lists, and she’s working her way through her top five romances to better understand relationship number 5, her most recent breakup.

Freaks and Geeks (TV series)

• Original release:1999-2000
• Episode runtime:44 minutes
• Genre: Teen drama, comedy
• Director/Creator: Paul Feig
• Main cast:Linda Cardellini, John Francis Daley, James Franco, Samm Levine, Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, Martin Starr, Busy Philipps

A 1980s-set coming-of-age drama from Paul Feig and Judd Apatow, Freaks and Geeks was a millennial treasure and helped launch the careers of actors like Linda Cardellini, Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, Martin Starr, and Busy Philipps. The series follows the Weir kids and their friend groups. Older sister Lindsay Weir is trying to fit in with the freaks, a group of counter-cultural troublemakers, while little brother Sam is one of the geeks, who hang out in the A/V room and avoid bullies. The series was sadly cancelled after one season but is a terrific look at teen life.

• Release year: 2021
• Runtime: 92 minutes
• Genre: Drama
• Director:Michael Sarnoski
• Main cast: Nicolas Cage, Alex Wolff, Adam Arkin, Nina Belforte

A reclusive truffle hunter living outside Portland has to confront his old life when bandits steal his beloved truffle pig. Nicolas Cage stars in a beautiful and meditative look at a man trying to escape the obligations and pressures of society to live a simple life and realizing that he cannot live in denial forever.

• Release year:2019
• Runtime: 132 minutes
• Genre: Drama, thriller
• Director:Bong Joon-ho
• Main cast:Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Choi Woo-shik, Park So-dam, Lee Jung-eun, Jang Hye-jin, Cinematography

This Korean Oscar Best Picture winner is truly among the best of the Academy’s choices and a great title to check out if you’re wondering what to watch on Hulu. A poor family slowly cons its way into the lives of a rich family, finally eking out an adequate but precarious living in this scathing critique of capitalism and massive income inequality.

Looking for more dramas?

Fantasy and Science Fiction

Y: The Last Man (TV series)

• Original release: 2021
• Episode runtime:47-54 minutes
• Genre:Science-fiction, drama
• Director/Creator:Eliza Clark
• Main cast: Diane Lane, Ashley Romans, Ben Schnetzer, Olivia Thirlby

Based on the celebrated comic book by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra, Y: The Last Man tells the story of Yorick Brown, who survives a plague that kills anyone with a Y chromosome. Surviving the end of the world, Yorick and his allies must keep his identity secret and find out why he was spared while most of the world’s men died. While Y: The Last Man was cancelled after just one season, it’s a great show and a perfect title to watch on Hulu.

• Original release:1997-2003
• Episode runtime:42 minutes
• Genre:Science-fiction, horror, drama
• Director/Creator:Joss Whedon
• Main cast: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon, Alyson Hannigan, Anthony Stewart Head

A 90s cult phenomenon, Buffy the Vampire Slayer remains a great and influential TV series, rebooting the less iconic 1992 film of the same name. Buffy Summers is the Chosen One, the latest in a long line of Slayers who fight the forces of evil. With the help of her friends, she takes on vampires and other demons to keep the town of Sunnydale safe.

• Release year: 2011
• Runtime: 92 minutes
• Genre: Science-fiction, drama
• Director:Mike Cahill
• Main cast:Brit Marling, William Mapother

Co-written by The OA creator Brit Marling, Another Earth is a haunting indie sci-fi drama. A woman recently released from prison begins a relationship under false pretenses with the man whose family she accidentally killed in a drunk driving accident. All of this is taking place as a mysterious Earth-like planet approaches our own planet, posing questions about our existence and purpose in life.

• Release year: 1987
• Runtime:98 minutes
• Genre: Adventure, fantasy, romance
• Director: Rob Reiner
• Main cast:Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, Peter Falk

A fantasy cult classic, The Princess Bride is a nostalgic romp and a perfect choice if you don’t know what to watch on Hulu and need some swashbuckling fun. A man and woman in love go on various fairytale adventures to be reunited.

Looking for more fantasy and sci-fi?

Horror

Hannibal (TV series)

• Original release:2013-2015
• Episode runtime: 43 minutes
• Genre:Horror
• Director/Creator:Bryan Fuller
• Main cast: Hugh Dancy, Mads Mikkelsen, Caroline Dhavernas, Hettienne Park, Laurence Fishburne

A reimagining of Thomas Harris’s Hannibal Lecter novels, Hannibal is one of the best network shows of all time, and a great streaming choice for horror fans trying to figure out what to watch on Hulu. Focusing mainly on the bizarre, sometimes tender relationship between FBI profiler Will Graham and serial killer and cannibal Hannibal Lecter, the series is a fresh, gruesome, and irresistible piece of horror storytelling.

• Original release:2015-2016
• Episode runtime:43 minutes
• Genre:Horror, mystery, science-fiction
• Director/Creator:Chad Hodge
• Main cast: Matt Dillon, Carla Gugino, Toby Jones, Juliette Lewis, Melissa Leo, Terrence Howard

With echoes of Lost and Twin Peaks, Wayward Pines tells the story of a secret service agent on the hunt for two missing agents. While on his search, a car accident lands him in the seemingly idyllic town of Wayward Pines. Soon, he realizes something sinister is afoot in town, and he may not be able to leave.

• Release year:2008
• Runtime:114 minutes
• Genre: Horror
• Director: Tomas Alfredson
• Main cast:Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar, Ika Nord, Peter Carlberg

Swedish vampire film Let the Right One In tells the story of a meek, bullied 12-year-old who forms a close bond with Eli, the girl who has just moved in next door. As Eli helps him stand up to the bullies in his class, he begins to suspect that she may harbor a dark secret about herself. The film mixes dark and gritty horror with a tender coming-of-age story and is among the best movies on Hulu.

• Release year:2021
• Runtime:108 minutes
• Genre:Horror, drama
• Director:Julia Ducournau
• Main cast: Vincent Lindon, Agathe Rousselle, Garance Marillier, Laïs Salameh

A body horror film reminiscent of David Cronenberg’s Crash, the French film Titane was among the best of 2021. Alexia — a young woman with a metal plate in her head from a childhood car accident and a resultant car fetish — goes on the run following a string of brutal murders. Pregnant after. surreal encounter with a car, she masks her identity and gender, posing as a missing young man and developing an odd bond with his father, who convinces himself that Alexia is in fact his son.

Looking for more horror?

Mystery

Only Murders in the Building (TV series)

• Original release: 2021 – present
• Episode runtime: 26-35 minutes
• Genre:Comedy, murder mystery
• Director/Creator: Steve Martin, John Hoffman
• Main cast:Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez

A hilarious and smart murder mystery, Only Murders in the building is one of the best things you can watch on Hulu. Three strangers, all true-crime podcast fans, decide to investigate a murder that occurred in their own building. They’re also producing a podcast about it as they go. Can they work together to solve the crime, or do they have too many secrets of their own?

• Original release: 1993-2018
• Episode runtime:43-48 minutes
• Genre:Mystery, science-fiction
• Director/Creator:Chris Carter
• Main cast:

A huge hit when it aired in the 90s, The X-Files is a police procedural with a supernatural twist. FBI special agents Scully and Mulder, the skeptic and the believer, respectively, investigate cases concerned with unexplained phenomena. Are there aliens among us? Is magic real? What are the things that go bump in the night? The original show is streaming on Hulu, along with the revival series.

• Release year: 2016
• Runtime: 106 minutes
• Genre: Supernatural thriller, mystery
• Director: Olivier Assayas
• Main cast: Kristen Stewart, Lars Eidinger, Sigrid Bouaziz, Anders Danielsen Lie

An American woman living in Paris and working as a personal shopper for a celebrity tries to communicate with her dead brother. As she struggles to make contact, she begins receiving mysterious text messages that could be clues from the afterlife. All the while, her client appears to be under a threat of her own. This Hitchcockian mystery is a marvellous showcase of Kristen Stewart’s acting abilities and a slow-burning thrill.

• Release year: 1997
• Runtime:138 minutes
• Genre:Neo-noir, thriller
• Director:Curtis Hanson
• Main cast:Guy Pearce, Russell Crowe, Kevin Spacey, Kim Basinger, Danny DeVito

Three Los Angeles cops with very different styles work together to solve a high-profile massacre in the 1950s. In a city where seemingly everyone is for sale, these three cops have to dig through layers of corruption to get at the truth. L.A. Confidential is based on a novel by James Ellroy and is among the best movies on Hulu.

Looking for more mysteries?

Romance

Normal People (TV series)

• Original release: 2020
• Episode runtime:23-34 minutes
• Genre:Drama, romance
• Director/Creator:Sally Rooney, Alice Birch, Mark O’Rowe
• Main cast:Daisy Edgar-Jones, Paul Mescal

Based on the best-selling novel by Sally Rooney, this Irish miniseries co-produced with BBC spans several years in the lives of a young man and woman drawn to each other as the dynamics of their relationship shift dramatically from high school into university and young adulthood. Normal People is a frank look at love and social status, and it’s a good choice for anyone looking for smart drama and considering what to watch on Hulu.

• Original release:1998-2002
• Episode runtime: 42 minutes
• Genre:Coming of age
• Director/Creator:J.J. Abrams, Matt Reeves
• Main cast:

From J.J. Abrams and Matt Reeves, who would go onto massive blockbuster projects like Lost, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and The Batman, Felicity follows the titular Felicity, who changes her life plans and moves to New York to follow a boy to NYU after high school graduation. Once there, she realizes she may have made a huge mistake, but she leans into it, making new friends and embracing the adventure as she continues to look for love.

• Release year:2022
• Runtime: 92 minutes
• Genre: Coming of age, romantic comedy
• Director: Sammi Cohen
• Main cast: Rowan Blanchard, Auliʻi Cravalho, Isabella Ferreira

Paige has a huge crush on Gabriella, but the young artist isn’t sure how to win her crush’s heart. When she joins the track team to get closer to Gabriella, she’s paired off with Gabriella’s sister A.J. for some after-school training. As she gets closer to A.J., she starts to question who she’s actually into in this charming, funny, and sweet queer coming-of-age romantic comedy, a Hulu original.

• Release year:2019
• Runtime:121 minutes
• Genre:Historical romantic drama
• Director: Céline Sciamma
• Main cast:Noémie Merlant, Adèle Haenel

Marianne, a painter commissioned to paint a wedding portrait of a reluctant bride, soon finds herself drawn to the young woman as the two grow fond of one another, developing a forbidden relationship in their brief time together.

Looking for more romance?

Thriller

The Handmaid’s Tale (TV series)

• Original release: 2017 – present
• Episode runtime:41-65 minutes
• Genre:Dystopian drama, thriller
• Director/Creator:Bruce Miller
• Main cast:Elisabeth Moss, Joseph Fiennes, Yvonne Strahovski, Alexis Bledel, Madeline Brewer, Ann Dowd

Based on Canadian author Margaret Atwood’s famous novel, The Handmaid’s Tale explores a dystopian future in which fertile women are enslaved and made to bear the children of those in power. Amid the fascist, totalitarian nightmare, a resistance movement forms.

• Original release:2020
• Episode runtime: 43-57 minutes
• Genre: Science-fiction, thriller
• Director/Creator: Alex Garland
• Main cast:Sonoya Mizuno, Nick Offerman, Jin Ha, Zach Grenier, Alison Pill

Ex Machina, Annihilation, and Men director Alex Garland wrote and directed this haunting FX miniseries. When a young programmer dies after being promoted to a top-secret project by his employer, his girlfriend begins to suspect foul play and embarks on a dangerous and enlightening investigation into the enigmatic tech billionaire she thinks is behind it.

• Release year:2018
• Runtime: 98 minutes
• Genre: Psychological thriller
• Director: Steven Soderbergh
• Main cast:Claire Foy, Joshua Leonard, Jay Pharoah, Juno Temple

Steven Soderbergh famously shot Unsane using an iPhone, which helps give the film its fittingly cold aesthetic, as its protagonist questions her own sanity. A young woman is held in a psychiatric facility against her will. One of the attendants is a man who has been stalking her, and she can’t get anyone to believe her. Or has she created an elaborate fiction to justify her desire for freedom? Soderbergh forces us to question our own perceptions in this tense and clever thriller.

• Release year: 2022
• Runtime:115 minutes
• Genre: Erotic thriller
• Director: Adrian Lyne
• Main cast:Ben Affleck, Ana de Armas

An erotic thriller from one of the genre’s icons, Deep Water sees a man suspected of involvement in the disappearances of his wife’s lovers. Is he the patient and understanding partner he claims, or has he been taking out his anger on the men she cheats with this whole time?

Looking for more thrillers?

Western

Justified (TV series)

• Original release:2010-2015
• Episode runtime:53 minutes
• Genre:Crime, western
• Director/Creator:Graham Yost
• Main cast:Timothy Olyphant, Nick Searcy, Erica Tazel, Joelle Carter, Walton Goggins

Based on a short story by Elmore Leonard, Justified is one of the best shows on FX and a great choice for any western fans wondering what to watch on Hulu. Timothy Olyphant stars as Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, whose Old West way of handling law enforcement gets him reassigned to his hometown in Kentucky, where he has to face his past and reckon with the consequences of his actions while fighting crime. Justified will return for a limited series, Justified: City Primeval, based on another Elmore Leonard novel, with Olyphant back as Givens.

• Original release: 2002-2003
• Episode runtime:43-45 minutes
• Genre: Science-fiction, western
• Director/Creator:Joss Whedon
• Main cast:Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Morena Baccarin, Adam Baldwin, Jewel Staite, Sean Maher, Summer Glau, Ron Glass

A cult classic series cancelled before it even finished its first season, Firefly has become an early example of shows brought back to life due to massive fandoms. It was first revived as the feature film Serenity in 2005 and has since existed in various comic book series. The show follows the crew of a spaceship, taking odd jobs of the less than legal variety. Their attempts to stay off the government’s radar hit obstacles when they agree to harbor two mysterious fugitives. A standout feature of Firefly is that it took the concept of the space western to its extremes. Characters ride horses, speak in an old west vernacular, and carry six-shooters in this retro portrait of the future.

• Release year:2010
• Runtime:104 minutes
• Genre: Western
• Director:Kelly Reichardt
• Main cast:Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Bruce Greenwood, Shirley Henderson

A contemporary western from one of the best directors working today, Meek’s Cutoff follows a group travelling the Oregon trail on what would become known as the Meek Cutoff. As their two-week trip stretches to five, the travellers suspect that their guide may not be as knowledgeable as he claimed. Tensions rise in this meditative look at the harsh frontier and the difficulties of early settler life.

• Release year:1990
• Runtime:181 minutes
• Genre:Western
• Director:Kevin Costner
• Main cast:Kevin Costner, Mary McDonnell, Graham Greene, Tantoo Cardinal

This Academy Award best picture winner has a bit of a mixed legacy. Its romanticized vision of Native American life has been rightly criticized, while its place in the western cinema canon remains undeniable. When a Civil War soldier encounters a Lakota tribe, he becomes enamored of their way of life and finds himself accepted among their ranks. Soon, he falls in love with a white woman raised among his new community. When Union soldiers threaten the Lakota, he takes up arms against his former compatriots.

Looking for more westerns?

Family and kids

Adventure Time with Finn & Jake (TV series)

• Original release: 2010-2018
• Episode runtime:11 minutes
• Genre: Animation, fantasy, surreal comedy
• Director/Creator:Pendleton Ward
• Main cast: Jeremy Shada, John DiMaggio, Hynden Walch, Niki Yang

This Cartoon Network series blends fantasy and adventure with bizarre, surreal comedy for a product that is likely to appeal to viewers of all ages. The series follows the human Finn and his adoptive brother Jake (a magical dog) as they interact with their friends and go on adventures in the post-apocalyptic land of Ooo. It’s hard to describe Adventure Time’s peculiar charms, but it’s certainly worth checking out if you’re not sure what to watch on Hulu.

• Original release:2016-2018
• Episode runtime:11 minutes
• Genre:Kids, animated
• Director/Creator:M.R. Horhager
• Main cast:Lilly Bartlam, Isaiah Slater, Denise Oliver, Terry McGurrin

Dot. follows the adventures (and misadventures) of an eight-year-old girl and her friends who use science and technology to solve problems and learn about the world around them. This Canadian series has been hailed as a great introduction to STEM for kids, and especially young girls. Based on the picture book by Randi Zuckerberg, Dot. is a great choice if you need something to show your kids.

• Release year:2001
• Runtime: 90 minutes
• Genre: Fantasy, comedy, animation
• Director:Andrew Adamson, Vicky Jenson
• Main cast:Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, John Lithgow

A family favorite for over 20 years, Shrek is a pretty easy choice if you’re not sure what to watch on Hulu. The story of an Ogre trying to regain control of his swamp when it’s overrun by fairytale creatures exiled by an evil lord has spawned sequels, spinoffs, and series, not to mention a huge market of merchandise. It’s funny, smart, and moving, and it’s as wonderful to revisit as ever.

• Release year:2019
• Runtime: 95 minutes
• Genre: Adventure, animation
• Director:Chris Butler
• Main cast: Hugh Jackman, Zach Galifianakis, Zoe Saldana

A beautiful story using stunning stop-motion animation from the creators of ParaNorman, The Missing Link is a must-see family film. While trying to join the Society of Great Men, adventurer Sir Lionel Frost heads out searching for a Sasquatch. Once he finds him, though, he realizes the Sasquatch was the one who tipped him off in the first place in an attempt to be reunited with his own kind. Now, Frost is on a mission to find more of his kind to help his new friend rather than seek fame.

Looking for more family content?

Hopefully you’ll find something among these 40 titles to keep you occupied and getting the most out of your streaming subscription. There’s plenty to watch on Hulu, after all, but it can be helpful to get a bit of direction sometimes.