50 Fun Facts About Hulu

The name of the streaming service Hulu was borrowed from a word for a gourd in which language?

Mandarin supplied two readings of the name: one means a bottle gourd and the other interactive recording, a neat fit for a site built to stream television on demand.

Which drama, adapted from a 1985 novel, made Hulu the first streamer to win the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series?

The Handmaid's Tale took eight Emmys from 13 nominations for its first season in 2017, including the top drama prize that no streaming series had won before.

Which pop star plays Mabel Mora alongside Steve Martin and Martin Short in Only Murders in the Building?

Selena Gomez plays Mabel, the youngest of three true-crime fans who start investigating suspicious deaths in the Arconia, their upscale apartment block on Manhattan's Upper West Side.

In FX on Hulu's The Bear, chef Carmy Berzatto returns to which city to run an Italian beef sandwich shop?

Chicago is home for Carmy, an award-winning fine-dining chef who takes over the chaotic kitchen at The Original Beef of Chicagoland after the death of his brother Michael.

Which FX on Hulu historical epic won 18 Emmys in 2024, the most ever for one season of television?

Shōgun swept 18 categories and became the first Japanese-language series to win the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series, adapting James Clavell's 1975 novel.

Which former Batman actor won an Emmy playing Dr. Samuel Finnix in Hulu's opioid-crisis drama Dopesick?

Michael Keaton took the Emmy for lead actor in a limited series, in a drama that follows how Purdue Pharma developed and marketed OxyContin under the Sackler family.

Which 30 Rock star fronted the Hulu commercial that aired during NBC's broadcast of Super Bowl XLIII?

Alec Baldwin starred in the spot, titled Alec in Huluwood, and later ads in the campaign featured Seth MacFarlane, Denis Leary and Will Arnett.

Hulu's film Prey, about a young Comanche hunter in 1719, is a prequel in which sci-fi franchise?

Predator gained its fifth film with Prey, in which Naru, a Comanche woman out to prove herself as a hunter, faces a far better armed visitor on the Northern Great Plains.

Which rock drummer, a partner of Kourtney Kardashian, had his wedding filmed for Hulu's reality series The Kardashians?

Travis Barker and Kourtney had their wedding filmed for the show, a retooled continuation of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, which ended in 2021 after a 20-season run.

Which Saturday Night Live alum plays a wedding guest stuck in a time loop in Hulu's comedy Palm Springs?

Andy Samberg also produced the film, which Neon and Hulu bought at Sundance for a reported $17,500,000.69, beating the festival's previous sale record by 69 cents.

Hulu launched in 2007 as a joint venture between NBCUniversal and which media giant that then owned Myspace?

News Corporation, Rupert Murdoch's media empire, co-founded the service with NBCUniversal, and Providence Equity, Disney and Time Warner later made investments.

Which Mad Men actress won an Emmy as June Osborne in Hulu's drama about the republic of Gilead?

Elisabeth Moss won both the lead actress Emmy and a Golden Globe as June, who is captured while trying to flee the country with her husband Luke and daughter Hannah.

Amanda Seyfried won an Emmy in Hulu's The Dropout as Elizabeth Holmes, founder of which Silicon Valley startup?

Theranos was the healthcare startup Holmes founded after dropping out of Stanford, and the series, based on an ABC Audio podcast, charts the company's rise and fall.

Which Oscar winner plays Masha, the Russian founder of a wellness resort, in Hulu's Nine Perfect Strangers?

Nicole Kidman leads the series as the head of Tranquillum House, with Melissa McCarthy among the guests, in an adaptation of Liane Moriarty's 2018 novel.

In Hulu's miniseries 11.22.63, James Franco plays a time traveller trying to stop the assassination of which president?

John F. Kennedy was shot on November 22, 1963, the date in the title, and across eight episodes Jake Epping grows so attached to his life in the past that it threatens the mission.

Which animated sitcom did Hulu revive with new episodes after earlier runs on Fox and Comedy Central?

Futurama won a twenty-episode order from Hulu in 2022, a third home for the science fiction comedy that Groening developed with David X. Cohen.

Which actress returned as the title private detective when Hulu revived Veronica Mars for a fourth season?

Kristen Bell reprised the role she first played as a high school junior in the fictional town of Neptune, California, for eight new episodes released in 2019.

Which actress and singer plays Sophie, a photographer searching for her soulmate, in Hulu's How I Met Your Father?

Hilary Duff leads the spin-off as Sophie Tompkins, with Kim Cattrall also in the cast, in a story that follows Sophie and her group of friends in Manhattan.

When Disney+ launched in 2019, its discount bundle paired the new service with Hulu and which sports streamer?

ESPN+ completed a three-service package sold from the launch of Disney+ in November 2019, priced at $12.99 a month with the ad-supported tier of Hulu.

Which Marvel actor played Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee opposite Lily James in Hulu's miniseries Pam & Tommy?

Sebastian Stan played the rock star in a series about home videos that were stolen from the couple and sold, with Seth Rogen and Nick Offerman also in the cast.

Which actor stars as fine-dining chef Carmy Berzatto in The Bear, the FX kitchen drama that streams on Hulu?

Jeremy Allen White plays Carmy, also known as Bear, a New York City chef de cuisine who gives up Michelin-starred kitchens to rescue the failing family restaurant.

Which actress plays single mother Mia Warren opposite Reese Witherspoon in Hulu's Little Fires Everywhere?

Kerry Washington, also an executive producer, plays a transient working artist whose arrival unsettles Shaker Heights, a Cleveland suburb, in the late 1990s.

Hulu's Normal People, starring Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones, is adapted from a novel by which Irish author?

Sally Rooney co-wrote the scripts for the adaptation of her 2018 novel, which follows Marianne and Connell from the same secondary school to the same university.

Hulu's horror series Castle Rock is named after a fictional Maine town in the stories of which bestselling author?

Stephen King collaborated on the series with J. J. Abrams, and it draws on his wider body of work instead of adapting a single book.

The first season of FX on Hulu's Reservation Dogs, about Indigenous teenagers, was filmed entirely in which US state?

Oklahoma is home to the show's teenagers, who weigh their heritage against a longing to escape reservation life; Sterlin Harjo created the series with Taika Waititi.

Hulu's cartoon Solar Opposites was created by Mike McMahan and Justin Roiland, a co-creator of which other series?

Rick and Morty made Roiland's name, but he was removed from Solar Opposites in early 2023 and Dan Stevens took over as the voice of Korvo.

Which romantic comedy series did Hulu pick up for a fourth season days after Fox cancelled it in 2015?

The Mindy Project was dropped by Fox after three seasons and rescued by Hulu nine days later with a 26-episode order; Mindy Kaling's comedy ran for six seasons in all.

Which actress led Hulu's High Fidelity as record store owner Rob, two decades after her mother appeared in the film?

Zoë Kravitz plays Robyn Brooks, owner of Championship Vinyl in Brooklyn, while her mother Lisa Bonet appeared in the 2000 film of Nick Hornby's novel.

Which Oscar winner won an Emmy as Dee Dee Blanchard, the controlling mother in Hulu's true-crime series The Act?

Patricia Arquette won the supporting actress Emmy, while the actress playing her daughter Gypsy was nominated for the lead prize in the same limited series.

Which cable giant held the last one-third stake in Hulu after AT&T sold its share back in 2019?

Comcast kept 33% but ceded control to Disney, under a 2019 agreement that let Disney buy the stake later and take full ownership of the service.

Eva Longoria directed Hulu's Flamin' Hot, about a janitor who claims he invented a spicy version of which snack?

Cheetos maker Frito-Lay told the producers that Richard Montañez's account was disputed after an internal investigation, but they chose to keep the original premise.

Which film reached Hulu the same day as its wide US cinema release and later won Best Picture?

Nomadland arrived on Hulu on February 19, 2021, alongside its wide theatrical release, then won Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress at the 93rd Academy Awards.

Which actress plays Awkwafina's older sister Jenny in Quiz Lady, Hulu's comedy about a game-show obsessive?

Sandra Oh plays Jenny Yum opposite Awkwafina's Anne, a devoted viewer of the game show Can't Stop the Quiz, whose host is played by Will Ferrell.

Hulu's romantic comedy Fire Island, about gay friends on vacation, is a modern retelling of which Jane Austen novel?

Pride and Prejudice supplied the plot for the film, in which a group of gay friends holiday on the New York island and romance is complicated by classism.

Hulu's comedy Rosaline retells which Shakespeare play through the eyes of the heroine's cousin?

Romeo and Juliet inspired When You Were Mine, the 2012 young adult novel by Rebecca Serle on which the film is based.

Which musician directed Summer of Soul, the Hulu documentary about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival?

Questlove made his directorial debut with the film, which won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature and revived footage of Stevie Wonder and Nina Simone on stage in Harlem.

Which actor plays Xavier Collins, a Secret Service agent probing the president's killing, in Hulu's Paradise?

Sterling K. Brown stars as the lead agent on the president's security detail in a post-apocalyptic political thriller created by Dan Fogelman, with James Marsden co-starring.

The cult comedy Letterkenny, distributed by Hulu in the United States, is set in a rural community in which country?

Canada is the setting: the fictional Ontario town took its name from Letterkenny in Ireland and is populated mostly by descendants of Irish immigrants.

Which actress plays the young Catherine opposite Nicholas Hoult in Hulu's satirical Russian court comedy The Great?

Elle Fanning, also an executive producer, plays the future empress, while Hoult doubles as Emperor Peter III and his lookalike Yemelyan Pugachev.

Which mockumentary about political campaign staffers in Wisconsin was Hulu's first original scripted series?

Battleground, created by J. D. Walsh, premiered online on Valentine's Day 2012 and follows staffers trying to elect a dark horse candidate to the US Senate.

When Hulu dropped its free on-demand tier in 2016, the free library was syndicated to which web company?

Yahoo took the free episodes onto a website of its own, which let Hulu concentrate entirely on its paid subscription service.

Which former Amazon executive, later chief of WarnerMedia, became Hulu's chief executive in 2007?

Jason Kilar spent nine years as an Amazon executive before helping to found Hulu, and went on to run WarnerMedia from May 2020 to April 2022.

In Hulu's PEN15, creators Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle, both adults, play students in which school year?

Seventh grade in the year 2000 is the setting, and the two creators, both 31 when the show began, act opposite classmates played by real 13-year-olds.

FX's Welcome to Wrexham, streaming on Hulu, follows Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney's football club in which country?

Wales is home to Wrexham A.F.C., based at the Racecourse Ground, which the two actors announced their intention to buy in September 2020.

Which star of The Office plays a therapist held captive by a serial killer in FX on Hulu's The Patient?

Steve Carell plays Alan Strauss, a therapist mourning his wife, who is imprisoned by a patient, played by Domhnall Gleeson, seeking help to curb his homicidal urges.

Which actor plays club founder Somen Banerjee in Welcome to Chippendales, Hulu's drama about the male revue?

Kumail Nanjiani plays the founder, known as Steve, with Murray Bartlett as Nick De Noia and Juliette Lewis as a composite character named Denise.

Which actress plays Candy Montgomery, a Texan accused of killing her neighbor with an axe, in Hulu's miniseries Candy?

Jessica Biel plays the accused, with Melanie Lynskey as her neighbor Betty Gore and Justin Timberlake appearing as Deputy Steve Deffibaugh.

Which singer won a Golden Globe for the title role in Hulu's film The United States vs. Billie Holiday?

Andra Day also earned a Best Actress Oscar nomination for the Lee Daniels film, and shared a Grammy for its compilation soundtrack.

Hulu's Emmy-winning drama about the republic of Gilead is based on a 1985 novel by which author?

Margaret Atwood followed the novel in 2019 with a sequel, The Testaments, which Hulu has also adapted as a television series.

Which wrestler-turned-actor stars alongside Lil Rel Howery in the Hulu buddy comedy Vacation Friends?

John Cena signed on in 2019, five years after the film was first announced with Chris Pratt and Anna Faris as its stars; it finally reached Hulu in August 2021.