Network Scorecard: Scoring the networks based on their history of airing and supporting sci fi and fantasy television shows.
Network Overview
Hulu is one of the first of the streaming services, getting its start in 2007 as a free, ad-supported platform. Netflix also started its video on demand service that year, but Hulu had a much larger offering of acquired movies and TV shows early in its tenure. The streamer first began producing scripted originals in 2012 with the political mockumentary Battleground. Since then it has continued to release original programming each year, though it has not been as prolific on that front as Netflix. Disney is now the major owner of Hulu, though original partner NBUniversal still has a licensing deal with the streamer that will last through 2024. For scripted originals, Hulu tends to have more shows aimed at a mature audience while the Disney+ streaming service targets more family-friendly fare. Hulu also has a deal with the Disney-owned FX cable channel with some of that network’s shows like AHS spin-off American Horror Stories and the upcoming Y: The Last Man streaming exclusively on Hulu under the FX on Hulu banner.
What Type of Sci Fi Shows Does the Network Air?
While Hulu has released a notable number of genre entries over the past decade (23 so far), it rarely goes for all-out science fiction. Its flagship series The Handmaid’s Tale is more of a dystopian drama, with its other scripted genre fare often leaning towards supernatural and horror (Into the Dark, Castle Rock), superheroes/comics (The Runaways, M.O.D.O.K.), or animation (The Awesomes, Solar Opposites). The streamer has produced two notable sci fi mini-series in 11.22.63 and Devs (the latter under the FX on Hulu banner) and tried to kick off the space exploration show The First, though that one was cancelled after one season. It has also put out the anthologies Dimension 404 (sadly cut short after one season) and Monsterland as well as the sci fi comedy Future Man which ran for three seasons.
How Quick is the Network to Cancel Sci Fi Shows?
Sci fi and fantasy shows have faired pretty well on the streamer coming out of the gate. Only 30% have been cancelled after their first season, lower than Hulu’s 41% average for all scripted programming. After the first season, though, the relative cancellation rate does go up a bit. 17% were cancelled or ended after their second season, higher than the 15% average for all shows on the streamer. And the percentages are basically the same for shows that came to an end by their third season. Only one genre entry has made it to four seasons or more (not including Solar Opposites which has been renewed thru a fourth season but only completed its second).
Hulu New Scripted Programming 2011-12 Season thru 2020-21 Season
| All Scripted Shows | ||
| Series Count | 61 | |
| Cancelled after 1 Season | 25 | 41.0% |
| Cancelled after 2 Seasons | 9 | 14.8% |
| Cancelled after 3 Seasons | 9 | 14.8% |
| 4 Seasons or More | 3 | 4.9% |
| 5 Seasons or More | 1 | 1.6% |
| Sci Fi/Fantasy | ||
| Series Count | 23 | |
| Cancelled after 1 Season | 7 | 30.4% |
| Cancelled after 2 Seasons | 4 | 17.4% |
| Cancelled after 3 Seasons | 4 | 17.4% |
| 4 Seasons or More | 1 | 4.3% |
| 5 Seasons or More | 1 | 4.3% |
Does the Network Have a Three-to-Four Season Wall?
The success of a streaming original is based less on total viewership and more on the number of new subscriptions it drives to the service. The general trend for most scripted shows is for the audience to decline each year, and for streaming originals that means diminishing returns on new subscribers with each new season. Therefore the trend we have seen across Netflix, Prime Video, and Hulu as well is for shows to wrap up around their third or fourth season. To date, the only Hulu scripted original to go more than four seasons is The Handmaid’s Tale and that one could end with its upcoming fifth season. Other Hulu originals could potentially break through the four season wall (it looks like a possibility for Solar Opposites) if they have high enough viewership and continue to bring in new subscribers. But in general, expect Hulu shows to wrap up by their third or fourth year. The streamer does not follow the same churn approach as Netflix where it is constantly cranking out originals to drive new subscriptions, and Hulu has been less likely to cancel after one like Netflix has been doing of late. But the threshold for the maximum number of seasons a show will last appears to be about the same.
Network Score
I give Hulu a score of 2 ½ on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being the highest). The streamer has been willing to add sci fi and fantasy shows to its lineup, and it has tended to be patient with them in their first season. After that, though, the mortality rate does go up. Hulu has done less in the way of science fiction with more of a focus on supernatural and horror, and that is likely due to budgetary concerns. Unlike Netflix and Amazon, Hulu has not spent big on its originals with the exception of high profile shows like The Handmaid’s Tale. Its budgets appears closer to those of basic cable shows, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. Lower production costs can help keep a show going longer, though as with the other streaming services, Hulu originals rarely last longer than three to four seasons. With Disney now the main controlling partner for the service, it will be interesting to see the direction it will take in the coming years. Assumming Daredevil and Jessica Jones do come back, Hulu seems to be a likely landing place. And the adult animated MCU series Hit Monkey is still in the works with a distant hope that Howard the Duck might move forward at some point as well.
List of Sci Fi/Fantasy Originals
This is a list of the scripted sci fi and fantasy shows that have debuted on Hulu since it began producing original content. The streamer currently has six active shows carrying into the upcoming season (or waiting word on their fates) plus several more in the works. The list is sorted by number of seasons, and if the show has officially been renewed that is included in the season count.
| Series | Start | Seasons | Cancelled/Ended |
| The Handmaid’s Tale | 2016-17 | 5 | N |
| Deadbeat | 2013-14 | 3 | Y |
| Future Man | 2017-18 | 3 | Y |
| Runaways | 2017-18 | 3 | Y |
| Solar Opposites | 2019-20 | 3 | N |
| The Awesomes | 2013-14 | 3 | Y |
| Castle Rock | 2017-18 | 2 | Y |
| Crossing Swords | 2019-20 | 2 | N |
| Endlings | 2019-20 | 2 | Y |
| Freakish | 2016-17 | 2 | Y |
| Into the Dark | 2018-19 | 2 | Y |
| Light as a Feather | 2018-19 | 2 | Y |
| The Hardy Boys | 2020-21 | 2 | Y |
| 11.22.63 (Mini-Series) | 2015-16 | 1 | Y |
| American Horror Stories | 2020-21 | 1 | N |
| Devs (Mini-Series) | 2019-20 | 1 | Y |
| Dimension 404 | 2016-17 | 1 | Y |
| Hard Sun | 2017-18 | 1 | Y |
| Helstrom | 2020-21 | 1 | Y |
| M.O.D.O.K. | 2020-21 | 1 | N |
| Monsterland | 2020-21 | 1 | N |
| The First | 2018-19 | 1 | Y |
| Utopia Falls | 2019-20 | 1 | Y |
More from CancelledSciFi.com: Keep up with the status updates of all the currently airing sci fi and fantasy shows with our Sci Fi TV Update posts on Fridays. And be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for breaking news and updates.
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