The best shows on Hulu right now (August 2023)

This neo-Western crime drama miniseries is a continuation of the story told in the series Justified, which originally aired on FX from 2010-2015. Timothy Olyphant reprises his role as the tough Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, who has now relocated to Miami from Kentucky. In the first season, however, he travels to Detroit to hunt down a criminal known as The Oklahoma Wildman.

Justified: City Primeval has received rave reviews, with Olyphant in particular praised for his performance. Both this series and Justified are based on the Elmore Leonard novels, City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit and Fire in the Hole.

When he left his job in the world of fine dining to take over his family’s small-town sandwich shop, Carmen (Jeremy Allen White) had no idea what he was in for. Not only is he dealing with the grief of family loss, but he is also trying to navigate a professional world very different from the one he knows, including a team of rough-around-the-edges employees and the challenges of running a small business. Nonetheless, Carmen is not only determined to succeed professionally but to grow personally as well. From FX, the comedy hails from Christopher Storer, the man behind successful shows like Ramy and Eighth Grade, and The Bear has been a delightfully entertaining, deeply emotional watch through the two seasons.

Although it didn’t attain immortality like its unending older brother The Simpsons (which now has the most scripted episodes of any prime-time series), Matt Groening’s other cartoon, Futurama, established an identity of its own as a funny, often poignant vision of the future. The show follows Philip J. Fry (Billy West), a delivery boy who stumbles into a cryogenic pod and wakes up a thousand years in the future. He ends up working for an interplanetary delivery company, working with a variety of colorful characters, including steely cyclops Leela (Katey Sagal) and hard-drinking, sociopathic robot Bender (John DiMaggio). Futurama is an inventive comedy, with every episode going in some wild directions, and it has an incredible cast of oddballs to bounce off each other.

Teenage brothers Frank and Joe Hardy aren’t too happy about having their big city lives upended to move to a small town. But once there, they find themselves caught up in a mysterious secret investigation. Believing that their father, a detective, may have uncovered something about a case, they take it upon themselves to help. Who can they trust? It seems that suspicions run just as deep in a small town as they do in the city.

The enduring history of the Hardy Boys characters, which originated in 1927 by several ghostwriters known under the pseudonym Franklin W. Dixon, then re-created as Hardy Boys Casefiles in 1987, makes this a winner. The show comes to an end following its third and final season.

Julio (Chris Estrada) is 30 and still living at home. Working at a non-profit and unable to commit to his long-term girlfriend, Julio always manages to run away from responsibility. But things get hairy when his ex-gang member cousin Luis (Frankie Quinones), recently released from prison, moves in with the family.

Inspired by Estrada’s own life story (he also serves as co-creator) and counting Jonathan Groff and Fred Armisen among the executive producers, the irreverent comedy runs a half hour per episode. Maintaining a solid 100% Rotten Tomatoes critics score, This Fool’s first season is praised for its balance of heart and laughter, with some calling it the funniest new show on television.

Inspired by the K. Scot Macdonald and Patrick MontesDeOca book Deadly Dance: The Chippendales Murders, learn the backstory of Somen “Steve” Banerjee, the Indian businessman and entrepreneur who founded Chippendales. He was running a successful L.A. club, but once he added a male stripping dance troupe, it turned heads: This was something that hadn’t been seen before in America. Banerjee’s story from there, however, takes some dark and ominous turns, leading to murder. Kumail Nanjiani (Eternals, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Silicon Valley) tackles the lead role with vigor and commitment, bringing the mogul to life on screen.

Lauded for its relatability and honest look at the trials and tribulations of the public school system, Abbott Elementary is delivered in mockumentary style. The story begins with a documentary crew recording teachers working in underfunded schools. The sitcom’s creator, Quinta Brunson, also stars as Janine, a second-grade teacher navigating life with her colleagues, students, and the school’s tone-deaf principal. While every day is a challenge, the teachers simply want to do the best for their kids. But that’s easier said than done. Having picked up multiple Emmy wins for its sophomore season, Abbott Elementary is a must-watch for anyone with kids and especially for teachers who will be nodding their heads the whole way through.

Donald Glover is a modern Renaissance man: Since launching a comedy career via skits circulated on YouTube, he has branched into rapping, acting, and even showrunning, with the remarkable, surreal comedy-drama Atlanta. The show follows a dogged college dropout named Earn (Glover), who sleeps at his on/off-again girlfriend’s place and struggles to provide for their child. When he learns that his cousin Alfred is starting to achieve success as a rapper — stage name: Paper Boi — Earn becomes his manager. There is not much of an overarching plot to Atlanta. Most episodes play out like short films, and the show experiments with a variety of stories and formats — one standout episode is presented entirely as an episode of a local interview show, complete with fake commercials. Daring and frequently poignant, Atlanta is one of the most exciting shows on TV today.

Hailing from FX, The Americans originally aired for six seasons from 2013 to 2018. Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys star as Soviet KGB intelligence officers posing as American suburbanites, living with their two kids just outside of Washington. The spy drama was universally praised for its writing, characters, and acting. Set in the ‘80s, it covers stories surrounding the Ronald Reagan administration, examining issues from the perspectives of both the KGB and the FBI. Contributing to its sense of realism is the fact that the show was created by Joe Weisberg, a former CIA officer. Named by many critics as being among their favorite TV dramas of all time, it’s worth a watch, even years after the show concluded its run.

If you’re a fan of the Canadian comedy Letterkenny, you’ll love Shoresy. In Letterkenny, the character of Shoresy is never seen by face, and that’s for good reason: He is actually played by the show’s creator Jared Keeso, who also stars as the lead character, Wayne. In this spinoff, Shoresy is seen in all his glory. He has decided to move to Sudbury to help a flailing local hockey team, bringing his unique sense of small-town Canadian flare. Apparently, Shoresy is one of the most popular characters from Letterkenny when it comes to merchandising, so fans are excited to learn more about his story in this six-episode comedy that is rife with Canadian slang and other familiar humor.