Quality, Not Quantity: How Hulu Became The Top Streaming Service In 2020

Hulu Netflix shows

What’s the best streaming service in 2020? I’m guessing that 80% of the answers would be Netflix. Frankly, I’m not surprised. In terms of the amount of content provided, Netflix is king. No one can match up with their giant library of movies and shows to go along with their original programming. However, if we’re judging quality instead of quantity, Hulu wears the crown.

Hulu is having a moment in 2020. Thanks to high-quality original and produced shows, Hulu’s original programming has been tremendous. Every week, a new critically acclaimed show debuts on the service. If some of these shows were seen by a wider audience on Netflix, Amazon, or Disney+, they’d be gigantic hits.

Speaking of Disney, Hulu received a giant boost to their programming with the addition of the FX. “FX on Hulu” includes FX produced shows that were originally scheduled to air on the network, but after the Disney acquisition, those shows premiered streamed on Hulu. In sports, it’s like when a smaller market team gets a star player. Pretend that the Toronto Raptors are Hulu and Kawhi Leonard is FX. That partnership ended with a championship in 2019.

Hulu has produced some of my favorite programs of the year. Devs, the sci-fi murder mystery from Alex Garland, was as beautiful as it was addicting. Normal People, which was co-produced with BBC Three, moved me to tears and depicted one of the most accurate portrayals of millennial first love. Dave*, the surprise show of 2020 from the rapper, Lil Dicky, was fun, charming, and surprisingly full of depth as it balanced penis jokes with mental health depictions. Other noteworthy shows from Hulu that debuted in 2020 are Mrs. America, High Fidelity, Little Fires Everywhere, and The Great. All of the aforementioned shows have a score of 70 or greater on Metacritic besides Dave, which has a score of 64.

*Dave airs weekly on FX. However, Dave has benefited from streaming on Hulu, becoming FX’s highest-ranked comedy series ever.

Before the past year or so, when I personally thought of Hulu, two things came to mind: The Handmaid’s Tale and ads. “The show with the red capes and white caps?” Yes, that show. What The Handmaid’s Tale has on its side is history since it’s the only drama series from a streaming service to win Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series. Plus, the show stars Elisabeth Moss, who could very well be the pound-for-pound best television actress of the 21st century thanks to roles on The West Wing, Mad Men, Top of the Lake, and The Handmaid’s Tale.

Despite the success and popularity of The Handmaid’s Tale, Hulu is known as the streaming service with ads, which unfortunately scares people from subscribing. Hulu has a live tv service, but setting that aside, there are two options: Hulu with ads at $5.99 per month and Hulu with no ads for $11.99. I’m not here to tell you to choose one over the other. I personally subscribe to Hulu with ads and it really doesn’t distract from my viewing experience. For someone with a small bladder, the ads serve as built-in bathroom breaks during my binge sessions. However, I could see the ads being a minor disruption for those used to other services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, or Disney+. Don’t let the minor disruption hinder you from accessing some of television’s best shows.

If you can look past a dystopian show about procreation and a streaming service with ads, then you’ll see that Hulu’s quality, not quantity, shine, making it the top streaming service in 2020.

What’s your top streaming service in 2020? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Devs: Prepare For Your Mind To Be Blown

Devs FX on Hulu

Have you ever struggled to explain something you like that’s considered weird? No matter how you try, there’s no way to put together a coherent series of thoughts to strengthen your position. For example, I enjoy watching pimple popping videos. I’m fully aware it’s super weird and I can’t describe why I continue to watch, but I like seeing blackheads removed from someone’s face. It’s satisfying and entertaining. Apply the same logic of “weird and enjoyable” to a television show and the result is Devs.

Welcome to the weird and compelling world of Alex Garland, the creator, writer, and director of Devs, which streams on Hulu. Garland, the genius mind behind Ex Machina and Annihilation, has once again created another sci-fi thriller that will blow your mind for all the right reasons. In typical Garland fashion, there are more questions than answers. It’s a show that not only challenges the viewer to think critically but to suspend disbelief in the process.

The initial premise of Devs revolves around Lily, played by Sonoya Mizuno, a computer programmer at the giant tech company, Amaya. When Lily’s coworker and boyfriend, Sergei (Karl Glusman), dies at the facility, she believes that Amaya and its CEO, Forrest (Nick Offerman), are responsible for his death. Lily begins to investigate Amaya and quickly learns that both Sergei and the Devs team are full of secrets. After the first episode, the show’s murder mystery premise acts as a launchpad for debates over free will, predestination, and determinism.

Much like the characters in the show, I, too, struggle to explain what Amaya does with the Devs team and how they do it. Quantum computing isn’t exactly my cup of tea. Don’t freak out. Devs isn’t a Harvard bar with equations and shit on the walls. It’s more interested in questioning powerful technology and what people will do to acquire and protect it. Can a group of computer programmers play God? Set in San Francisco, Devs is fucking beautiful to watch. With its funky style and emphasis on light, episodes are like watching the video to “Space Oddity” by David Bowie. The spectacular drone shots of San Francisco, the warm, illuminating lights at the Devs lab, and the giant statue of a little girl in a redwood forest at Amaya are just some of the fantastic images that make Devs so visually appealing.

Though Garland is the concertmaster, he’s nothing without his performers. Mizuno’s inquisitive performance perfectly represents the ideas of the audience, who look for answers after every turn. Offerman’s deadpan comedy on Parks and Recreation skyrocketed his popularity, but his dramatic turn as a powerful, godlike entrepreneur grieving the loss of his daughter is a revelation. However, Zach Grenier’s performance as Kenton, the head of security at Amaya, is one of the many reasons why I keep coming back to the show. Kenton is a cold-blooded and ruthless fixer that would make Mike Ehrmantraut from Breaking Bad nervous if the two ended up in the same room. Kenton’s monologue to open the show’s fourth episode was so damn evil and scary that it made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

Devs may be on the of the wilder shows out right now, but it’s by far one of the best on television. The confusion only adds to the suspense and amplifies the action. It’s fully ok to admit that Devs can be weird and still acknowledge it’s greatness. Embrace the unknown in Devs.

What are your thoughts on Devs? Leave your thoughts in the comments below or tweet us, @unafraidshow.

Devs streams on Hulu as part of FX on Hulu. As of 4/8/2020, six of eight episodes have been released. New episodes arrive every Thursday at midnight.