In May, Disney announced that they had reached a deal with Comcast to take full operational control of Hulu. Now with full control of the streaming service, and after reaching 28 million subscribers — it appears that they will be investing heavily in original content like The Handmaid’s Tale.
In an interview with CNBC from Cannes, Hulu CEO Randy Freer said, “When you look at the capacity inside of the Walt Disney Company to create content, the IP that’s there, the access we’ll have with that is, you know, terrific. We are going to be able to invest more and invest more upstream and find the best stories and the best creators to make shows for the company.”
Last month, Hulu unveiled that even with the upcoming launch of Disney+, they will be partnering with Disney-owned Marvel to create new comics content. The two new live-action series, Marvel’s Ghost Rider and Marvel’s Helstrom, are both slated to debut on Hulu in 2020. They streaming service also ordered a new series from Nicole Kidman and David E. Kelley called Nine Perfect Strangers, as well as a Limited Series, The Dropout, starring Kate McKinnon as Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes.
Hulu also partnered with Vox Media Studios, David Chang’s Majordomo Media, and Chrissy Teigen’s Suit & Thai Productions to develop and produce premium food-centric programming for the streaming service. All the new content will join their existing slate of returning shows like The Handmaid’s Tale, The Act, Ramy, and Pen15.