11 Best Shows on Hulu to Stream Right Now (April 2025)

When it premiered in 2017, The Handmaid’s Tale quickly became a show shaped by — and of — the moment. Adapted from Margaret Atwood’s celebrated novel of the same name, the show’s tale of women being oppressed in a fictional society called Gilead resonated with viewers just as President Donald Trump’s first term was starting. The Handmaid’s Tale was so successful that it continued long after Atwood’s story had ended, with the show following lead character Offred/June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss) as she joined a revolutionary movement to help bring down Gilead.

The long-running Hulu series is about to wrap up its run with its sixth and final season this spring. When we last saw June, she and enemy Serena (Yvonne Strahovski) were traveling on a train together with other Gilead refugees. Season 6 reveals what happened to them as well as Luke (O-T Fagbenle), Nick (Max Minghella) and Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd). The show’s marketing promises a “red revolution,” and if the previous seasons are any indication, it will deliver all that and more in a finale that is sure to get people talking about it one last time.

Truth is sometimes stranger than fiction, and it doesn’t get any stranger than the case of Natalia Grace. Natalia (Imogene Faith Reid) is a 7-year-old Ukrainian orphan with a rare form of dwarfism who is eventually adopted by a kind American couple, Kristine (Ellen Pompeo) and Michael Barnett (Mark Duplass). But Natalia’s new parents begin to suspect something is seriously wrong with her and eventually accuse her of not being a child at all.

It only gets stranger from there, but to spoil any more would ruin the experience of watching Good American Family, the new eight-episode limited series on Hulu that dramatizes a real-life case that has eerie similarities to the horror movie Orphan. Far away from the soapy romances of Grey Sloane Memorial Hospital, Grey’s Anatomy’s Pompeo shows a different side than what viewers are used to seeing, while Duplass expertly conveys all the contradictions of a parent who has to make an impossible choice. It’s a disturbing watch, but an entertainingly campy one, too.

One of the breakout shows of 2025, Paradise has a can’t-miss premise that makes bingeing the series a breeze. The President of the United States (James Marsden) has been killed, and no one knows why. Only Secret Service agent Xander Collins (Sterling K. Brown) can solve the mystery, but will his past trauma — and the sudden reappearance of a long-dead wife — prevent him from finding the killer?

Paradise is a political thriller mixed with a bit of science fiction. It’s set not in the present, but three years in the future, when an unknown doomsday event has forced most people underground. That gives the series a unique edge few shows have, and makes you want to find out not only who killed the president, but what forced everyone into hiding and how it is connected with the show’s central mystery. With a cast that includes Julianne Nicholson as a rich woman with some secrets to hide, Paradise is a show that feels like Hulu’s version of Lost mixed with 24. 

Detective Ember Manning (Jenna Coleman) has a lot on her plate. A recent widow, she has to investigate a mysterious fire in a scenic small town that seems to exist only in British crime shows. Yet this seemingly simple case of arson leads her to another case involving the abduction of a young girl years ago, and the two seemingly unrelated crimes have a personal connection that will change Ember forever.

The Jetty doesn’t offer anything new to the genre, but what it does, it does well. The central mystery is genuinely compelling and at four episodes, the show doesn’t waste any time at setting up its red herrings before giving viewers a satisfying resolution. As Ember, Coleman hits all the right notes, making her detective flawed enough to be believable and relatable. The main highlight, however, is the show’s stunning cinematography, which makes great use of its moody West Yorkshire and Manchester filming locations.

With a title like High Potential and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s Kaitlin Olson in the lead role, it’s understandable that some might think this show is a comedy about marijuana. Instead, Olson stars as an LAPD cleaning lady with a “high potential” IQ of over 160. When she helps her cop co-workers solve a case, she’s hired as a consultant and paired with Detective Adam Karadec (Daniel Sunjata), who can barely stand her.

The combination of a kooky main character and an unconventional crime-solving duo makes High Potential the spiritual successor to shows like Monk and Psych, which both had long runs on cable TV. High Potential could have a long life as well due to Olson’s sparkling presence and the sturdy, crime-of-the-week cadence the show utilizes to great effect. 

One of the most acclaimed miniseries ever made, Shōgun is as advertised – simply great. Based on James Clavell’s 1975 historical novel, the 10-episode series takes place in 17th-century Japan. When a Dutch trading ship carrying valuable weapons crash-lands on the Izu Peninsula, it instigates a war among the region’s five ruling clans. One of the ship’s survivors, John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), is captured by Lord Yoshii Torangaa (Hiroyuki Sanada), and the two men realize they have more in common than they initially thought. Faced with a common enemy, the two men forge an uneasy alliance.

An immediate sensation when it was released in February 2024, Shōgun won just about every award there is: Emmys, Golden Globes, you name it. All of it was deserved, as the show features superb acting, cinematography and direction. Shōgun feels as epic as silver screen classics like Lawrence of Arabia, and its historical sweep is always grounded in quiet character moments. A second season is on the way, which promises more breathtaking visuals and stunning battle sequences.

Rivals is a fun throwback to those kitschy 1980s primetime soap operas like Dallas and Dynasty, but with English accents instead of Southern drawls. Set in 1986 Great Britain, the two rivals of the title are Rupert Campbell-Black, an aristocratic Tory MP, and Tony, Lord Baddington (David Tennant), who is the managing director of a local TV station. The two men clash over who possesses more power over the fictional town of Rutshire, and they are willing to do anything to undermine each other to gain the upper hand.

Sex, money, drugs and scandal — The Rivals has it all, plus a nude game of tennis you have to see to believe. This is a show that asks you to leave your brain and taste at the door, and you’ll be glad to do it. Tennant is best known as Doctor Who, but he’s better at playing baddies — and his Tony is about as sleazy as they come. The show luxuriates in its decadent Thatcher-era setting, and you may just break out the Aqua Net in celebration. 

Elisabeth Moss is one of the best actresses around, able to elevate even OK material with her talent. The Veil isn’t as great as her previous shows The West Wing, Mad Men or The Handmaid’s Tale, but it’s still pretty good for what it is. 

Moss stars as Imogen, an MI6 agent who goes undercover to find out if Adilah El Idrissi (Yumna Marwan) is really the terrorist her bosses believe her to be. But as the two women bond while traveling across Europe, Imogen isn’t so sure she can trust anyone — not her employers, not Adilah, not even her own memories. With a terrorist attack imminent, Imogen will have to rely on her instincts, and overcome some pretty significant trauma, to prevent the deaths of innocent civilians.

The Veil starts strong but runs out of steam near the end, but it’s still an engrossing spy drama that will keep you guessing until the end. It’s Moss, though, who makes it all worthwhile — her Imogen is just as complex, empathetic and frustrating as her Peggy and Offred. 

Who knew murder could be so cozy? Set in a luxury apartment building in New York City, Only Murders in the Building follows retired actor Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin), failed Broadway producer Oliver Putnam (Martin Short) and twentysomething artist Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez) as they encounter one murder after another. To help solve these crimes, these amateur sleuths podcast their ongoing investigations, which brings them unexpected fame and unwelcome danger.

Only Murders in the Building serves up a different mystery each season with a revolving door of guest stars like Amy Ryan, Tina Fey, Paul Rudd and Meryl Streep. In its current season, the trio travels to Hollywood to oversee a film adaptation of their podcast and has to solve the murder of Charles’s stunt double, Sazz Pataki (Jane Lynch). The show is just as fresh as it was when it debuted in 2021, and Martin, Short and Gomez still have the best chemistry in streaming.

Broadcast comedies were on life support around 2020 until Abbott Elementary came to the rescue. The brainchild of creator and lead actress Quinta Brunson, the show follows the overworked and underpaid staff of R. Abbott Elementary School in Philadelphia. Janine (Brunson) and Greg (Tyler James Williams) are the most optimistic teachers around, while veteran educators Melissa (Lisa Ann Walter), Jacob (Chris Perfetti) and Barbara (Sheryl Lee Ralph) are just trying to make it through the day. And then there’s Ava (Janelle James), the school’s principal who’d rather be doing anything else.. 

Now in its fourth season, Abbott Elementary is still as charming and funny as ever. Ralph deservedly won an Emmy in 2022 for her performance as the buttoned-up Barbara, but just as good are Walter as the teacher most likely to know Tony Soprano and James as the mean but funny Ava. Like any classic sitcom, the show is warm and welcoming, and it will make you want to watch it again and again.

A streaming sequel to the 2018 film Love, Simon, Love, Victor is set in the same school, Creekwood High, and features cameo appearances from some of the actors of the original film. The central conceit is the same: Victor (Michael Cimino) is a closeted teen who gradually steps out of the closet with the help of his friends and, eventually, his family. Over 28 episodes, the show chronicles Victor’s first romance with Benji (George Sear) and his evolving relationship with his mother Isabel (Ana Ortiz), who isn’t as accepting of his sexuality as he’d like her to be.

Teen dramas can be overlooked or looked down on, but Love, Victor is noteworthy for how seriously it takes Victor’s coming out and the effect it has on his Mexican American family. The show has its lighthearted moments, too, with the usual love triangles and heartbreak that are essential to the genre. Cimino’s Victor is charismatic enough to spend a couple of dozen half-hours with, and Ortiz’s fierce mama is the rare parent in a teen show who has more complexity and screen time than her younger costars.