Narrowing down a list of the best Hulu shows to just 10 entries is a pretty tough ask. Over the last few years the streamer has quietly become the home of some of the very best original shows, with more on the horizon (we're all waiting on that Buffy revival...) Hulu also hosts several all time classic series that are well worth a revisit. We get into the details of these below, but our eclectic ranking features everything from award-winning new shows like Shōgun to long-running series like The Handmaid's Tale. And yes, before you ask, The Bear is in there.
As you might have gathered from those picks too, the selection also spans genre, meaning there should be something for everyone. Hulu is fast becoming one of the best streaming services out there, so whether you're looking for brand new shows or wanting to stream some of the best TV shows from cable network FX, you're in the right place. Read on, then, for our complete guide to the 10 best Hulu shows streaming in 2025 – and when you're done with that, check out our guide to the 10 best Hulu movies.
10. Rivals
Year: 2024
Seasons: 1
Rivals is the newest addition to the list, and it came as quite the surprise. The drama-comedy is an adaptation of Jilly Cooper's romp-fest and tells about half of the story of her lengthy novel. Set in the Cotswolds, we catch up with a group of locals who spend more time sleeping with each other than investing in their own marriages.
The basic crux of the show follows David Tennant's Lord Tony Baddingham's rivalry with Alex Hassell's former showjumper and MP Rupert Campbell-Black. Split on an old money and new money divide, the pair don't see eye-to-eye, which only worsens when the bid for a local television license comes up, and they both have their sights set on it.
The star-studded cast also includes Aidan Turner, Bella Maclean, Nafessa Williams, Oliver Chris, Luke Pasqualino, and Emily Atack. However, the real duo that will get you right in the feelings are Katherine Parkinson's Lizzie Vereker and Danny Dyer's Freddie Jones. They even made Olivia Colman cry...
9. Big Boys
Year: 2022
Seasons: 3
If you're not in the UK then there's a fair chance you may not have heard of this British comedy drama, but believe us, it's well worth checking out. The show, which recently aired its third and final season in the UK, is a filthy, hilarious and utterly heartbreaking examination of the lives of three young students. In particular the series is a semi-fictionalized version of showrunner Jack Rooke's own life and his experiences coming out as a gay man.
Big Boys is funny – riotously so, in fact. It's also extremely emotional. At its core is the tender friendship between shy Jack, still dealing with the loss of his father, and his more outwardly confident best mate Danny. As the series progresses, however, you start to realise just how deeply Danny is struggling with his own demons. With beautiful performances (including appearances from the real life Rooke who narrates the show and appears on screen occasionally) and laughs and tears aplenty, this is a wonderful series with an unforgettable and daring final episode.
8. What We Do in the Shadows
Year: 2019
Seasons: 6
Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi exposed the lame mundanity of vampires in a hilarious fashion with their 2014 film What We Do in the Shadows. Clement expanded on the idea with this FX series of the same name.
What We Do in the Shadows is a comedy mockumentary following some vampires who are roommates living in Staten Island (the original movie is set in Clement's native New Zealand). Nandor, Laszlo, and Nadja have been alive for centuries, but if anything, that long supernatural experience has made them especially ill-equipped to handle the modern world. They're also not the best at dealing with the supernatural world, either. Draculas, this trio ain't.
Curious about the movie that started it all? Read our What We Do in the Shadows review for more undead details.
7. Cowboy Bebop
Year: 1998
Seasons: 2
OK, three, two, one, let's jam. By far the coolest show on this list and one of the best anime series of all time, Cowboy Bebop is an ultra-stylish neo-noir space Western that follows a group of bounty hunters as they have exciting, jazzy adventures.
After making its debut in Japan in the last years of the '90s, Cowboy Bebop would become the first of what would be many anime to air on Adult Swim, and the acclaimed dub helped a new type of anime breakthrough in the West. Now it's streaming on Hulu, so you can get lost in Cowboy Bebop's immaculate vibes all over again or for the first time. Trust us, even if you aren't an anime fan, this is a must-watch!
6. The Handmaid's Tale
Year: 2017
Seasons: 6
This blisteringly bleak sci-fi drama (inspired by Margaret Atwood's classic novel) is about to launch its sixth and final season, so now is the best time to get caught up with the story so far. The series is set in a dystopian near-future where fertility rates have crashed and a radical religious group has seized control of the United States, transforming into a brutal totalitarian state named Gilead. The women of Gilead are forced into subservient roles, notably the Handmaidens like Offred, commandingly played by Elisabeth Moss (Peggy in Mad Men). Over the course of the following five seasons we've seen Offred (whose real name is June Osborne) fight back against the oppressive regime, though her rebellion costs her dearly.
The Handmaid's Tale is frequently a very tough watch, so be prepared to enter some dark territory here, but it's also never less than compelling and provocative, while its feminist themes feel more necessary than ever.
5. 30 Rock
Year: 2006
Seasons: 7
Tina Fey's comedy following the head writer of a Saturday Night Live-esque sketch show and the motley crew of creatives and executives she has to deal with might just be the funniest show on Hulu. Supremely joke-dense and oddly prescient (one episode had a fake reality show called MILF Island that more or less became a real show called MILF Manor on TLC 15 years later), 30 Rock is exceptionally clever.
It's not just jokes, though (although there are a lot of them); the relationship between Fey's Liz Lemon and her boss-turned-friend Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin, arguably at his best) gives the show an earnest 'Odd Couple' dynamic that supports the wackiness and gives it some heart.
Studio magic! Read our list of the best movies on Hulu.
4. The Bear
Year: 2022
Seasons: 3
Every year, there's a debate at the Emmys about whether or not The Bear should be running in the comedy category. There are jokes in the series, which follows Jeremy Allen White as a chef who leaves Michelin-starred restaurants behind to inherit his brother's ragtag, failing Chicago sandwich shop. But as the show progresses it becomes more and more of a drama with deeply realized characters and a smart approach to themes like family, trauma, and creativity.
It's not all doom and gloom, though. Winning performances from the entire talented cast, including Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Ayo Edebiri, make The Bear an entertaining, filling meal of a TV show.
For more on this must-watch, read our in-death The Bear season 3 review.
3. Reservation Dogs
Year: 2021
Seasons: 3
One of the most refreshing and profound shows to grace the screen in recent years, Reservation Dogs follows four Indigenous teenagers in rural Oklahoma as they come of age in the wake of their friend's death. As Elora, Bear, Cheese, and Willie Jack get into and out of trouble, they must navigate their community, their own relationships, and challenges — some of which are universal, some of which are deeply specific to the Native American experience.
Featuring a cast and crew that's almost entirely Indigenous, Reservation Dogs isn't like any other comedy-drama on American TV. That's a shame because it's a rare show that's as good as it is important.
Read our list of the best shows on HBO Max for more modern gems that you can't miss.
2. Shōgun
Year: 2024
Seasons: 1
This isn’t the first time that Shōgun, James Clavell's 1975 historical fiction novel, has been adapted for TV. There was a miniseries in 1980, but it wasn't as big a deal nor as good as FX's 2024 take on the story. Part of that is because of how TV has changed; audiences are now used to reading subtitles, which means the struggle between rival daimyos over the future of Japan can play out organically in Japanese — much to the initial confusion of John Blackthorne, an English sailor who has been shipwrecked. Hiroyuki Sanada and Anna Sawai, who won Emmys for their roles, star.
Shōgun was initially supposed to be a limited series, and the season covers the entirety of Clavell's book. However, the massive critical and commercial success the show has enjoyed prompted FX to make a second season, which should come out sometime in the next couple of years.
If you need more details on this one, head over to our Shogun review before pressing play on this Hulu masterpiece.
1. The Americans
Year: 2013
Seasons: 6
Real ones know that The Americans, which came towards the end of the golden age of "Peak TV", is as good as Breaking Bad and Mad Men. It might even be better — and unlike those other two, it's streaming on Hulu.
Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys star as an average, all-American married couple living in the DC suburbs with their two children. Except, they’re actually Soviet KGB spies operating in deep, deep cover (their kids have no idea). It's a high-stakes, thrilling espionage series that is also a deeply cutting marital drama. With six seasons leading up to one of the all-time finales, The Americans is a sublime treat for anybody looking for a new binge.
Dive into streaming with our handy guide explaining the Hulu free trial. Or, for more TV, check out our lists of all the best Amazon Prime shows to watch right now.
