Hulu provides a steadily expanding library of series to watch each month. The roster is always growing, encompassing every genre to fit every mood and taste, with Emmy-winning programs like The Bear, which returns with its third season later this month, and new shows like Shōgun and We Were the Lucky Ones.
For instance, as part of its collaboration with FX, Hulu is expanding its lineup this month with the thrilling series Clipped, which centers on the L.A. Clippers controversy. You may watch even more with a certain Hulu bundle subscription thanks to bundle options. However, we’ve compiled a list of the best Hulu shows of 2024, which you can watch now with a basic membership.
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5. Shardlake
Shardlake is a great show for fans of historical dramas. The historical mystery books by C.J. Sansom serve as the basis for the four-part series. Set in the 16th century, during the reign of Henry VIII, Thomas Cromwell (Sean Bean) hires Arthur Hughes’ character Matthew Shardlake to investigate the death of a commissioner.
Shardlake is a dark, brooding drama with all the elements you’d expect from a show like The Tudors, The Great, or Peaky Blinders: politics, deception, and murder. It’s perfect for fans of shows like these and secures its spot as one of the best Hulu shows of 2024. Shardlake, according to NPR’s John Powers, “beautifully acted,” and the show “surprisingly pulled him in.”
4. Shōgun
Shōgun is a stunning reworking of the 1980 TV miniseries and the James Clavell novel that inspired it, and it has received great reviews from the start. By coincidence, three individuals find themselves in the same location: the English sailor John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), the strong daimyo Lord Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada), and the disgraced woman Lady Toda Mariko (Anna Sawai).
Each character in Shōgun is based on an actual person, even though the plot is primarily made up and partially inspired by historical events. For example, Blackthorne is modeled after the English navigator Williams Adam, who trained to become a samurai.
Mariko is based on the Sengoku era aristocrat Hosokawa Garasha, while he was trained by Tokugawa Ieyasu, the model for Toranaga. Shōgun has a 100% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, making it one of the greatest new shows of the year and easily one of the best Hulu shows of 2024. It is described as an “intoxicating combination of action, romance, and political intrigue” by CNN’s Brian Lowry.
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3. We Were the Lucky Ones
We Were the Lucky Ones is an intense historical drama miniseries that watches the Holocaust unfold, with the Kurcs, a Polish Jewish family, serving as the main characters. The family disperses as Hitler’s reign of terror deepens, with some members ending up in the United States and others in concentration camps. The show chronicles the family’s post-war journey as the surviving members make ardent attempts to get back to their loved ones.
The show, which debuted in late March 2024, is a moving look at a dark period in history thanks to its heartbreaking and emotional story inspired by actual individuals, a strong young cast lead by Joey King and Logan Lerman, and more in one of the best Hulu shows of 2024. We Were the Lucky Ones is a series “whose whole is so much greater than the sum of its parts,” according to Lacy Buagher Milas of Paste Magazine. The way in which family, loyalty, love, trauma, and tragedy are handled is “almost painfully prescient when compared to our current global moment,” the speaker continues.
2. Under the Bridge
Searching for the next true-crime fixation and one of the best Hulu shows of 2024? The terrifying tale of Reena Virk, a 14-year-old Canadian girl who was killed by a gang of her peers in the late 1990s, is told in the book Under the Bridge. The story, which exposed the grave risks of bullying, bigotry, and violence against young girls, made national news in the Great White North. Due to Virk’s participation in rebellious activities, minority status, strict religious upbringing, and peer group that was heavily influenced by street gang culture, he had a difficult childhood filled with constant bullying that finally escalated into full-fledged murder.
With Vritika Gupta portraying Virk and a cast that includes Riley Keough (Daisy Jones & the Six), Archie Panjabi (The Good Wife), and Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon), Under the Bridge delves into the tragic story in the style of a true-crime drama. Under the Bridge, a dramatization based on a horrifyingly true tale, has received accolades for sensitively depicting the story while emphasizing the importance of raising awareness of bullying, adolescent violence, and intolerance. The show serves as a “sobering reminder this sort of thing still happens to this day, and far too often,” as noted by Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun Times in his review, which effectively summarizes everything.
1. Clipped- Best Hulu Shows of 2024
The narrative of Donald Sterling, the former owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, and his 2014 scandal is dramatized in this sports drama based on the ESPN 30 for 30 podcast titled The Sterling Affairs. When Sterling (Ed O’Neill) was caught on tape making racist statements, the team experienced a chain of events due to the audio leak. Cleopatra Coleman portrays Sterling’s aide, V. Stiviano, Laurence Fishburne plays Clippers coach Doc Rivers, and Jacki Weaver plays Shelly, Sterling’s wife and lifelong business partner.
The six-episode Hulu series Clipped, from FX, is a reconstruction of the incident. A dysfunctional basketball organization and an even less functional marriage collide, and the triggering tape’s effect on a group of individuals trying to succeed against the backdrop of the league’s most infamous team is what FX defines as the series’ plot as one of the best Hulu shows of 2024. You should pay attention if you were following this controversy very closely ten years ago and you’re a basketball enthusiast—Clippers fan or not.
Bonus: The Bear
Carmen (Jeremy Allen White) had no idea what he was getting himself into when he quit his career in fine dining to take over his family’s sandwich restaurant in a tiny hamlet. In addition to coping with the loss of a family member, he is attempting to make his way through a work environment that is extremely dissimilar from his own. This includes managing a team of unruly workers who are initially displeased with his controlling them, as well as the difficulties of operating a small firm. However, “Carmy” is committed to achieving success in his career. However, doing so requires sacrifice, frequently at the cost of his enjoyment and personal development.
The comedian from FX, Christopher Storer, is the creator of popular series including Ramy and Eighth Grade. With heart-wrenching episodes, The Bear has been a fabulously entertaining and intensely emotional watch as one of the best Hulu shows of 2024. The primary focus of the story is Carmy’s quest for success—that is, if he can overcome himself.
However, as the narrative goes on, it becomes more and more focused on each employee’s career and personal growth. Every character gets a chance to shine as they discover passion and drive they didn’t know they had once they stop underestimating themselves. The concert is a feast for the senses in every manner, as thrilling and exhilarating as it is at times hectic and emotionally taxing, a must-watch on Hulu this month with the release of its much-anticipated third season.