With strong leading roles by Aimee Garcia, Mellissa Fumero, Ana Ortiz, Michael Cimino, James Martinez Isabella Ferreira and more!
By Ana Perez
Hulu announced the company’s lineup of upcoming original programming including the fourth season of the multi-award-winning series The Handmaid’s Tale, the third and final season of comedy series Shrill and new adult animation series Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K.
The company also announced a series order for new original limited series Iron Mike from 20th Television and the team behind I, Tonya, as well as an early third season renewal for Animaniacs from Steven Spielberg (Ready Player One, Schindler’s List).
“With returning seasons of award-winning comedies and dramas, Hulu’s 2021 slate of Original series truly has something for everyone,” said Craig Erwich, president of Hulu Originals and ABC Entertainment. “We’re incredibly excited to welcome back the stories and characters fans have connected with in The Handmaid’s Tale, Shrill, Animaniacs and Love, Victor, while taking viewers deeper into the character of Mike Tyson in Iron Mike and bringing animated but deeply human characters to life in Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K.”
With 39.4 million subscriptions as of Jan. 2, 2021, Hulu has gained remarkable momentum over the past year with the streamer recently earning a record 10 Golden Globe nominations across five titles, five SAG Award nominations, five WGA Award nominations and seven NAACP Image Award nominations.
Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K.
Hulu’s new adult animated comedy series Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K. premieres all 10 episodes Friday, May 21. In “Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K.,” the megalomaniacal supervillain M.O.D.O.K. (Patton Oswalt) has long pursued his dream of one day conquering the world. But after years of setbacks and failures fighting the Earth’s mightiest heroes, M.O.D.O.K. has run his evil organization A.I.M. into the ground. Ousted as A.I.M.’s leader, while also dealing with his crumbling marriage and family life, the Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing is set to confront his greatest challenge yet!
The series stars Oswalt, Melissa Fumero (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), Aimee Garcia (Lucifer, Dexter), Wendi McLendon-Covey, Ben Schwartz, Beck Bennett, Jon Daly and Sam Richardson. Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K. is created and written by executive producers Jordan Blum and Oswalt. Brett Crawley, Robert Maitia, Grant Gish, Joe Quesada, Karim Zreik and Jeph Loeb also serve as executive producers.
Love, Victor
The popular teen dramedy Love, Victor produced by Disney returns with all 10 episodes on Friday, June 11. Season two picks up with a newly out-of-the-closet Victor (Michael Cimino) entering his junior year at Creekwood High. However, being out brings new challenges as Victor faces a family struggling with his revelation, a heartbroken ex-girlfriend in Mia (Rachel Naomi Hilson), and the difficulties of being an openly gay star athlete — all while navigating the excitement of his new relationship with Benji (George Sear).
The series stars Cimino (Annabelle Comes Home), Ana Ortiz (Ugly Betty), James Martinez (One Day at a Time), Isabella Ferreira (Orange is the New Black), Mateo Fernandez, Rachel Naomi Hilson, Bebe Wood, Sear, Anthony Turpel and Mason Gooding. The film’s original writers Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger serve as executive producers alongside Brian Tanen, Jason Ensler, Isaac Klausner, Marty Bowen, Adam Fishbach, Wyck Godfrey, Pouya Shahbazian and Adam Londy.
Iron Mike
Hulu has picked up 8-episode limited series Iron Mike. From the team behind I, Tonya, the series explores the wild, tragic and controversial life and career behind one of the most polarizing figures in sports culture – heavyweight champion Mike Tyson.
From 20th Television and created by I, Tonya screenwriter Steven Rogers, showrunner Karin Gist will executive produce with Claire Brown of The Gist Of It, along with the I, Tonya team of Rogers, director Craig Gillespie, Clubhouse Pictures’ Bryan Unkeless and Scott Morgan, LuckyChap’s Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley and Brett Hedblom and Entertainment 360’s Darin Friedman.
Animaniacs
Following a successful first season and practically blowing up the internet, Animaniacs has been renewed for a third, zany season on Hulu consisting of 10 episodes. The series garnered the most social mentions of any Hulu Original to date over its season one opening weekend proving that fans can’t get enough of watching Yakko, Wakko and Dot as they wreak havoc and mayhem in the lives of everyone they meet. The second season of Animaniacs will debut later this year.
After returning to their beloved home, the Warner Bros. Water Tower, the Animaniacs waste no time in causing chaos and comic confusion as they run loose through the studio and beyond, turning the world into their personal playground. Joining Yakko, Wakko and Dot are fan-favorite characters Pinky and the Brain who will also return to continue their quest for world domination.Hulu, Amblin Television and Warner Bros. Animation join forces again to extend the legacy of the iconic, family friendly animated series. Spielberg returns as executive producer of the series, with Sam Register, President, Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios, Amblin Television Co-Presidents Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey also serving as executive producers. Wellesley Wild serves as showrunner and executive producer. Gabe Swarr serves as co-executive producer. Animaniacs is produced by Amblin Television in association with Warner Bros. Animation.
The Handmaid’s Tale
The fourth season of The Handmaid’s Tale premieres with three episodes on Wednesday, April 28. In the 10-episode upcoming season, June (Elisabeth Moss) strikes back against Gilead as a fierce rebel leader, but the risks she takes bring unexpected and dangerous new challenges. Her quest for justice and revenge threatens to consume her and destroy her most cherished relationships.
The series stars Moss, Joseph Fiennes, Yvonne Strahovski, Samira Wiley, Alexis Bledel, Ann Dowd, Max Minghella, Madeline Brewer, O-T Fagbenle, Amanda Brugel, Bradley Whitford and Sam Jaeger. The Handmaid’s Tale season four will be executive produced by Bruce Miller, Warren Littlefield, Moss, Daniel Wilson, Fran Sears, Eric Tuchman, John Weber, Frank Siracusa, Sheila Hockin, Kira Snyder and Yahlin Chang. The series is produced by MGM Television and internationally distributed by MGM.
Shrill
The third and final season of Shrill premieres all eight episodes on Friday, May 7. The new season finds Annie (Aidy Bryant) energized by her breakup with dud boyfriend Ryan (Luka Jones) and her newfound momentum at work. Annie feels like everything is finally falling into place for her, but does she actually know how to get what she wants?
Shrill stars Bryant, Lolly Adefope, Ian Owens and John Cameron Mitchell. The series is executive produced by Ali Rushfield, who also serves as showrunner, Bryant, Lindy West, Rob Klein, Elizabeth Banks, Max Handelman, Lorne Michaels and Andrew Singer. The series is produced by Warner Bros. Television, Broadway Video and Brownstone Productions. Warner Bros. Television serves as the international distributor.