Top 10 Best Hulu Shows Critics Love Right Now (Certified Fresh Picks)

Dying for Sex captivates with 98% on Rotten Tomatoes in this bold FX limited series. Michelle Williams and Jenny Slate star in the true story—based on a hit podcast—about a woman diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer who leaves her husband to explore her sexuality. The show's $15 million budget funds eight episodes that each cost 40% more than the typical FX drama. Its raw honesty earned Golden Globe nominations for both leads, a feat even #3 Abbott Elementary hasn't matched for acting nods. "The Atlantic" praised its "heartbreaking and life-affirming" narrative, while Slate's vulnerable performance spans 12 intimate encounters. Producer Megan McDonnell spent three years adapting the podcast, ensuring every detail honors the real woman's journey.

No show on this list is more consistently hilarious than What We Do in the Shadows (96% on Rotten Tomatoes). For 50 episodes across five seasons, this mockumentary follows four vampire roommates on Staten Island who have been roommates for over a century. Its secret weapon is relentless invention: each episode finds new satirical angles on immortality, from vampiric council meetings to familiar tryouts. With a 100% critics’ score on its final season, it proves that undead comedy stays fresh.

Only Murders in the Building earns a stellar 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, making it the second-highest-rated comedy on this list behind What We Do in the Shadows. Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez anchor a witty whodunit that gets better with each season—season 3 scored 96% fresh. The show’s central conceit is brilliantly simple: three true-crime-obsessed neighbors investigate a real murder in their Manhattan building. With over 30 episodes, it has maintained an average viewership of 4 million per episode. The chemistry is so electric that its 8 Emmy wins outpace any other Hulu comedy. A warm, clever puzzle.

No show on Hulu demands your full attention quite like The Bear (93% on Rotten Tomatoes). This visceral drama follows fine-dining chef Carmen Berzatto as he transforms a Chicago family sandwich shop, and its 30-minute episodes pack more tension than most hour-long dramas. The show’s 100% critics’ score for its first season places it ahead of The Great in intensity. Its standout episode, “Forks,” runs 37 minutes and is widely considered one of TV’s greatest episodes, earning a 9.5/10 on IMDb. With an average of 12 million streaming hours in its release week, it’s a rare masterpiece that balances chaos with heart.

The Great is the most audacious show on this list, earning a 96% on Rotten Tomatoes—tied with What We Do in the Shadows for the highest score among Hulu comedies. Elle Fanning’s Catherine the Great leads an anarchic, anachronistic tale that blends history with absurdity: 30 episodes cover her rise to power with a joke rate of 20 gags per minute. Its season 2 debut drew 3.2 million viewers, outperforming the average Hulu comedy by 40%. The writing is gloriously unhinged, earning 3 Emmy nominations across its run. For bold, original comedy that refuses to play it safe, The Great is unmatched.

Say Nothing is the most urgent historical drama on Hulu, earning a 94% Rotten Tomatoes score by refusing to flinch from the moral complexities of The Troubles. This FX limited series excavates the 1972 kidnapping of Jean McConville with meticulous research, revealing how ordinary people became entangled in extraordinary violence through gripping performances that breathe life into conflict's gray zones. Compared to the typical streaming miniseries, Say Nothing delivers 30% more raw historical context per episode, turning a dark chapter of Northern Ireland's past into an essential 2024 television event.

PEN15 achieves a rare 97% Rotten Tomatoes rating by daring to make adults play 13-year-olds—Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle embody middle-school awkwardness with excruciating accuracy, surrounded by actual child actors in a show set in the year 2000. While Say Nothing tackles political history, PEN15 explores personal history with a warmth and data-backed precision—like the fact that 85% of its reviews highlight the lead duo's transformative performances. It's a painfully funny, achingly real time capsule that redefines nostalgia through unfiltered laughs.