Hulu Orders New, Unscripted Series from Rachael Ray, Big Boi, More as Writers Strike Continues
Hulu is getting ready to step up its reality TV game. An exclusive report from Deadline indicates that Hulu has ordered several new unscripted series from A&E, and renewed its house-flipping show “50/50 Flip” for a second season.
One of the new series ordered by Hulu will feature home-cooking maven Rachael Ray, who will step out from behind her pots and pans and into a role she has never assumed before. Ray will host the series “Rachael Ray’s Rebuild,” which will see her partnering with contractor Anthony Carrino to help families whose homes were destroyed by fires, floods, or other natural disasters to rebuild and create their dream house.
Next among the new shows coming to the Disney-owned streamer will be “Big RV Remix,” which will star Outkast’s Antwan “Big Boi” Patton. Big Boi will partner with Celebrity Trailers owner Janice Faison to help customize and upgrade RVs for a series of lucky participants. These definitely won’t be your uncle’s pop-up campers; the RVs will offer luxury from top to bottom, and so many features they’ll be impossible to count.
More true crime is also headed to Hulu, as the service picked up a new show from investigative journalist Bill Kurtis titled “Cold Case Files: DNA Speaks.” It’s a spinoff of Kurtis’ original “Cold Case Files” series on A&E, and will feature years-old and decades-old cases that can finally be solved thanks to the introduction of DNA evidence.
“50/50 Flip” already has one season of episodes streaming on Hulu + Live TV, and the second is now officially on the way. That show sees husband-and-wife duo Krystal and Dedric Polite attempt to renovate homes in their community for less than $50,000, then attempt to flip those homes in fewer than 50 days.
“Our Hulu subscribers have an insatiable appetite for both true crime and lifestyle content, and we are thrilled to be working with A+E to deliver these four series to them,” Hulu SVP Lauren Tempest told Deadline. “We are constantly working to expand the breadth and depth of our offering, and with these additions, we further our commitment to providing a unique array of stories to our viewers.”
The rush to add more unscripted content by Hulu could be seen as a response to the Writers Guild of America strike that currently has the production of new scripted shows at a standstill. But it’s only three new shows plus a renewal, and though unscripted TV is faster to produce than scripted, it seems highly unlikely that all three of the new titles will premiere on Hulu before the strike is concluded.
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