Looking for something fun, intriguing, or intensely engrossing to get lost in this weekend? I’ve been getting caught up in a few shows onHululately that I think you’ll like, too, each of which can be watched at your leisure over the course of a weekend.
Hulu’s library is full of this stuff—vintage sci-fi shows, political thrillers, true-crime dramas and more, all here for the taking. But finding what you want can be tough, so we’ve got you covered with these weekly lists of three-day shows.
2002
1
14
10 hours 5 minutes
Status
Canceled
Fireflygave us so much in its all-too-short single season, in which it was abruptly canceled after Fox aired just 11 of its 14 episodes. The gritty, sci-fi space western dreamed up by Joss Whedon (Bufy the Vampire Slayer, The Avengers) gave us the ragtag crew of the spaceship Serenity, made up of some of the most familiar faces (and voices) the sci-fi and superhero worlds would come to love.
Nathan Fillion (Deadpool & Wolverine, Superman) got his start on the show as Serenity Captain Malcolm “Mal” Reynolds, while his crew includes first mate Zoe Washburne (Westworld’s Gina Torres) and her pilot husband “Wash” (AndorandRogue One’s Alan Tudyk), the enigmatic and elegant Inara Serra (Deadpool’s Morena Baccarin), mercenary Jayne Cobb (Adam Baldwin), the mechanic Kaylee (Jewel Staite), and the rest, as they bounce around the galaxy smuggling things and dodging the authoritarian Alliance.
Fireflywas a cult hit for its rich world-building, deeply-developed characters, clever dialogue, and almost anti-Star Trek visual aesthetics that included dusty, clangy ships, and a more Western vibe. Luckily,Fireflywasresurrected from cancelationin the form of the 2005 feature filmSerenity, providing the much-needed conclusion to the series. All 14 episodes ofFireflyare on Hulu now, and can be delightfully binged over the course of a weekend.
2021
8
8 hours 40 minutes
Ended
Michael Keaton plays Dr. Samuel Finnix, a GP in a small Virginia coal mining town. He’s a good doctor, and a good man. He makes house calls to little old ladies to ensure they’re OK and taking their pills. He also takes care of the town’s coal miners, who are beat-up, bruised, and suffering from all manner of aches and pains.
Dopesickdoes a thorough job setting the scene—with its muted tones, slow pacing, and haunting soundtrack—that life is full of pain, before spiraling us all down the hole of how one little pill could take all that pain away while making it so much worse.
Dopesick, adapted from the nonfiction bookDopesick: Dealers, Doctors and the Drug Company that Addicted America,tells the true story of Purdue Pharma’s controversial drug OxyContin, and the origins of America’s opioid crisis in the 1990s and 2000s. At the center of the story is Finnix, who is among the first targeted by Purdue’s aggressive sales reps, and prescribes the so-called non-addictive miracle painkiller to his patients whose lives, of course, are devastated by its effects.
In just eight intense episodes of the miniseries, we follow Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Mountcastle (Peter Sarsgaard), his partner, Randy Ramseyer (John Hoogenakker), and DEA agent Bridget Meyer (Rosario Dawson), as they build their case to take down Purdue, led by its greedy executive, Richard Sackler (Michael Stuhlbarg) and his family.
2024
6
6 hours 40 minutes
Undetermined
FX Networks' miniseriesThe Veilmay not have wowed thefruit-slingers at Rotten Tomatoes, but as a fan of pretty much everything that Elisabeth Moss has been in (TheHandmaid’s Tale,The Invisible Man,Mad Men, hello!), my wife and I gave it a shot. And I’m glad we did. Okay, so the six-episode spy-thriller series isn’t perfect, and Moss’s British accent took some getting used to, butThe Veilgot me in the end with its character-building, twists and turns, and another great performance by Moss, and her costars.
Speaking of which, Moss plays tough and guarded MI6 agent Imogen Salter, who is sent to Turkey to apprehend and escort Adilah El Idrisi (Yumna Marwan), a suspected high-ranking ISIS operative, to safety in London. With a sort ofThelma & Louiseroad-trip vibe (with a lot more guns and Jason Bourne-style fighting), the duo travel across Europe—from Istanbul to Paris to London—and Imogen must earn Adilah’s trust enough to ascertain if the suspicions about her are true.
Behind the scenes, the various agencies involved (MI6, CIA, France’s DGSE) jockey and plot for control of the asset, with each of them trying to manipulate Imogen along the journey as a potential ISIS attack looms. There’s a cat-and-mouse intensity that’s fun to watch, as Imogen and Adilah probe and test each other. As the audience gets to know them, too, it gets harder to tell who to trust.
Hulu is a Walt Disney Company-owned streaming service that delivers great originals on its own as well as from its siblings, such as FX Networks, ABC, 20th Television, National Geographic, and others outside the family, too. It makes for a wide range of content to explore, so you canget your money’s worth.
Hulu
These great shows are all waiting for you on Hulu, along with many more series and movies.
