LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Proving that summer doesn’t have to mean the start of rerun season, Hulu today announced a full slate of new original and exclusive TV shows that begin premiering on June 4th on Hulu and the Hulu Plus subscription service. Hulu’s summer lineup offers new TV shows for all kinds of entertainment fans, from comedy, sci-fi, travel, reality and even a little magic. For a preview of the upcoming programming, visit www.hulu.com/hulu-summer-series.
The summer slate announcement kicks off with "Spoilers," a half-hour movie "revue" for movie lovers hosted by beloved filmmaker and podcasting maven Kevin Smith (“Clerks,” “Red State”). "Spoilers" launches on Hulu and Hulu Plus on June 4th.
“I have always wanted to do a show that provides an open forum for real fans to discuss real movies in real time and that’s what 'Spoilers' is about. As a filmmaker and lover of movies, I understand that ultimately it’s the fans who make the film. So in this show, we do not review movies, we revere them,” said Kevin Smith. “Hulu really lends itself well to a show like this because they have an audience that is passionate and active when it comes to shows they love. And frankly, those are the people I want to hang with.”
In August, Hulu will launch the highly anticipated travel series “Up To Speed” by acclaimed filmmaker Richard Linklater (“Bernie,” “School of Rock,” “Dazed and Confused”) and starring Speed Levitch ("The Cruise"). August also brings the premiere of “We Got Next,” an edgy male comedy co-created by Kenya Barris (co-creator of “America’s Next Top Model”) and Hale Rothstein (writer, producer of “The Game”).
Hulu exclusively offers fans seven popular TV shows never before available to U.S. audiences with the premieres of “Rev.,” “The Yard,” “Pramface,” “Derren Brown: Inside Your Mind,” “The Promise” and “Little Mosque,” along with the second season of the sci-fi thriller, “The Booth at the End.”
“In an on-demand world, viewers are going to actively choose to watch TV shows that they really love. At Hulu, we want to offer exclusive shows and make original TV programming that speaks to a passionate group of fans. Because today, you don’t have to settle for watching something mildly entertaining,” said Andy Forssell, senior vice president of content for Hulu. “We are proud of our summer line-up of Hulu Original Series and Exclusives, and we look forward to delighting our users.”
Assets for Hulu's summer slate, including photos and episode screeners, are available upon request. Talent interviews are available upon request.
HULU ORIGINAL SERIES
“Spoilers”
For
fans of: “Inside
the Actors’ Studio,” “Comic Book Men,” “Real Time with Bill
Maher,” “Conan,” “The
Late Show with Jimmy Fallon”
Premieres: June
4, 2012
New episodes premiere every Monday beginning on June 4;
Entire series available on August 6
Kevin Smith's
Movie “Revue” – This multi-act film extravaganza mixes
lively group chats, interviews with movie and pop culture icons and
animated shorts. Each week, Kevin, special guests and movie lovers
passionately sound off on the year's most anticipated summer
blockbusters, gushing over their favorite scenes and debating the
details frame by frame. The series, produced by SModCo, premieres on
June 4th on Hulu and Hulu Plus at www.hulu.com/spoilers.
Ten (10) episodes.
“Up To Speed”
For fans of: “Anthony Bourdain: No
Reservations,” “The Cruise,” “Waking Life,” “Dazed and Confused,” “Exit
Through the Gift Shop”
Premieres: August 2012
A
Travel Show About The Road Less Traveled – This new travel
series was created by filmmaker Richard Linklater (“Bernie,” “Dazed and
Confused”) and represents his first foray into episodic TV storytelling.
Each week “Up to Speed” follows tour guide, historian and flaneur
Timothy “Speed” Levitch (“The Cruise”) as he visits the
monumentally-ignored monuments of America’s cities, from the shoe
gardens of San Francisco to the luckiest subway grate in New York City.
The series, produced by Cinetic Media, premieres on Hulu and Hulu Plus
in August.
Said Richard Linklater, “Speed Levitch is one of the most effusive, articulate people I know, and one of America's funniest freethinkers. Hulu has a highly engaged and intellectually curious audience, and I'm excited to give them a glimpse of Speed's unique and idiosyncratic worldview as we take the concept of a travel show and turn it on its head.”
“We Got Next”
For fans of: “It’s
Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” “The
League,” “Men of a Certain Age”
Premieres: August
2012
A Bro-mantic Comedy – “We Got Next” is a
raunchy, sarcastic and out-of-bounds half-hour show about a pick-up
basketball team of four guys who should never have been friends in the
first place. Each week, the guys’ courtside banter consistently
escalates into a run of terrible advice and poor decision-making. Cast
includes Paul Bartholomew (“Paul The Male Matchmaker”), Lance
Barber (“Big Bang Theory”), Bumper Robinson (“The Game”) and Bill
Fagerbakke (“Coach”). Executive produced by Kenya Barris (co-creator of
“America's Next Top Model”), Hale Rothstein (writer, producer of “The
Game”) and E. Brian Dobbins, with co-executive producer Danny Leiner
(“Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle”) directing. The series premieres in
August on Hulu and Hulu Plus.
Said co-creator Kenya Barris, “This is a show built around what guys do when it’s just the guys. It’s as raw and honest as it is ridiculous and raunchy. That’s the comedy of real life. I’m excited to bring this show to Hulu.”
HULU EXCLUSIVES
“Rev.”
For fans of: “The
Office” (U.K.), “Peep
Show,” “Spaced,”
“Parks
& Recreation,” “House”
Premieres:
June 3, 2012
New episodes premiere every Sunday beginning on
June 3; Entire series available on August 26
Meet The Rev. Adam
Smallbone. From a sleepy, rural parish, the newly promoted vicar has
moved to the busy, inner-city world of St. Saviour's in East London.
It's a world in which he has little experience, and it shows. It really
shows. “Rev.” is a contemporary sitcom about the enormous daily
frustrations and moral conflicts of an inner-city vicar. Cast includes
Tom Hollander (“Pirates of the Caribbean”), Olivia Colman, Steve Evets,
Miles Jupp, Lucy Liemann, Simon McBurney and Ellen Thomas. Originally
broadcast on BBC Two in the U.K., the show has received widespread
critical acclaim, winning the 2011 BAFTA’s “Best Sitcom,” and nominated
for the 2012 BAFTA’s “Best Sitcom,” and Hollander receiving a nod for
“Best Male Performance in a Comedy Program.” The series premieres on
Hulu and Hulu Plus on June 3rd from BBC Worldwide Americas Digital
Distribution. Six (6) episodes in season one; seven (7) episodes
in season two.
“The Yard”
For fans of: “South
Park,” “Family
Guy,” “It’s
Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” “Summer Heights High,” “The
Wire,” “Archer,”
“Arrested
Development”
Premieres: June 7, 2012
New
episodes premiere every Thursday beginning on June 7; Entire series
available on July 12
A mockumentary miniseries that originally
aired on HBO Canada, “The Yard” offers a bizarre juxtaposition of two
rival cliques of elementary school children, where tension develops much
like the quintessential crime-family thriller. The show has comically
been referred to by Canadian television critics as “‘The Wire’ and ‘The
Sopranos’ with kids.” The cast and crew have respectively been nominated
for the 2012 Young Artist Award and the 2011 Directors Guild of Canada
Award. The series, brought to Hulu by Entertainment One (eOne) and
produced by Whizbang Films, premieres on Hulu and Hulu Plus on June 7th.
Six (6) episodes.
“Derren Brown: Inside Your Mind”
For fans of: “Criss
Angel,” “Penn & Teller: Tell a Lie,” “Fact
or Faked,” “Mythbusters,” “Lie
to Me,” “Psych,”
“The
Late Show with Jimmy Fallon,” “Conan”
Premieres: July
7, 2012
New episodes premiere every Saturday beginning on July
7; Entire series available on July 28
Derren Brown is a
performer like none other in the world. He uses psychology, magic,
showmanship and suggestion to achieve things that for anyone else would
be impossible. In the U.K., he is multi-award winning performer and has
done a variety of huge and baffling stunts including predicting the
national lottery and playing Russian roulette on live TV. Brown brings
his elaborate feats to U.S. audiences in this specially shot
compilation. His technique challenges traditional preconceptions of
magic in the grand tradition of Houdini and modern performers such as
Penn & Teller, David Blaine and Criss Angel. However, Brown’s
mind-reading of unsuspecting, everyday people gives magic a new angle
that never ceases to amaze. The series premieres on Hulu and Hulu Plus
on July 7th. Four (4) episodes.
“The
Booth at the End” (Season Two)
For fans of: “The
Booth at the End” (Season One), “Lie
To Me,” “Bones,”
“Castle,”
“Grimm,”
“Touch,”
“Lost,”
“Psych,”
“Fringe,”
“The
X-Files”
Premieres: July 2012
Xander
Berkeley, best known for his roles as “George Mason” in FOX’s “24” and
“Percy” in The CW’s "Nikita," stars as an enigmatic man occupying the
corner booth of a diner. He possesses the power to grant desires,
contingent upon recipients performing mysterious tasks. This half-hour
psychological thriller begs the question: “How far would you go to get
what you want?” Directed by Adam Arkin (“Justified,” “Grey’s Anatomy”),
season two premieres on Hulu and Hulu Plus in July. Five (5)
episodes.
“Pramface"
For
fans of: “My
So Called Life,” “New
Girl,” “Awkward,” “Secret
Life of the American Teenager,” “Up
All Night,” "Skins”
(U.S. and U.K.), “Hart
of Dixie,” “One
Tree Hill,” “Teen Mom”
Premieres: July 19,
2012
New episodes premiere every Thursday beginning on July 19;
Entire series available on August 23
Jamie and Laura are two
young, free and single teenagers who, after hooking up at a party, soon
find they have a very big complication on their hands. Laura is
pregnant. So even though they barely know each other, they now have one
thing in common – and it’s getting bigger. “Pramface”
brings humor and heart to a tricky subject, following these two
unexpected parents-to-be as they try, and frequently fail, to negotiate
family, sex and what happens once nine months is up... The series
premieres on Hulu and Hulu Plus on July 19th from BBC Worldwide Americas
Digital Distribution. Six (6) episodes.
“The
Promise”
For fans of: “Homeland,”
“Munich,” “Persepolis,” “Pillars of the Earth”
Premieres: August
11, 2012
New episodes premiere every Saturday beginning on
August 11; Entire series available on September 1
With nearly a
decade of extensive field research on the part of award-winning writer
and director Peter Kosminsky, “The
Promise” is a BAFTA-nominated, four-part political thriller and love
story. The serial drama examines the origins of the Middle East conflict
in events that took place under British rule sixty years ago. The bold
and honest series cuts between the life of Erin, an 18-year old Londoner
in present day Israel and Gaza, and that of her military grandfather who
was part of the British peace-keeping force in Palestine at the end of
the second World War. The miniseries garnered widespread critical
acclaim upon its airing in the U.K. and was subsequently nominated for
“Best Drama Serial” by both BAFTA and Royal Television Society.
The series premieres on Hulu and Hulu Plus on August 11th. Four (4)
episodes.
“Little
Mosque”
For fans of: “Modern
Family,” “Arrested
Development,” “Parenthood”
Premieres:
June 28, 2012
New episode premiere every Thursday beginning
on June 28; Entire series available on August 23
“Little
Mosque” is a light-hearted and comedic fish-out-of-water tale about
a small Muslim community that rents the parish hall of a small town
church to use as a mosque. The multi award-winning, half-hour series
features a cast of both Muslims and non-Muslims in storylines that the
New York Times says “explore the funny side of an often misunderstood
life.” “Little Mosque” has received awards from around the world
including the prestigious “Search for Common Ground Award” for promoting
cross-cultural understanding. It has been lauded for its frank and
authentic portrayal of real issues within the Muslim community as well
as its delicate balance of the irreverent with the reverent. “Little
Mosque” is available in 90 countries including Israel, the West Bank,
Gaza, United Arab Emirates and Turkey. Produced by WestWind Pictures,
“Little Mosque” will premiere on Hulu and Hulu Plus this summer. 91
episodes.
About Hulu
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is an online TV service whose mission is to help people find and enjoy
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pursue this mission, we aspire to create a service that users,
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