The best shows on Hulu right now (January 2024)

A great show to watch with the kids, Science Fair: The Series is a mix of educational content and reality TV. The three-part docuseries, a follow-up to the 2018 documentary Science Fair, follows more than 2,000 teenage students from 80+ countries competing at the International Science and Engineering Fair. Known as the most competitive science fair, these kids aren’t just making paper mache volcanoes; they are creating technology that solves real-world issues, from hunger to climate change.

Science Fair: The Series is smart TV at its finest, and it will inspire kids and adults alike to learn, educate themselves on important social topics, and spark competitive spirit. It’s also a glimpse into how, while these teenagers have incredibly gifted minds, they are just like everyone else their age with the same hopes, dreams, and heartaches.

Thanks to the success of movies like Glass Onion and shows like Poker Face and Based On a True Story, the murder-mystery genre is experiencing a revival of sorts. A Murder at the End of the World is in the same vein as Knives Out and the movies that inspired it, like Clue and Death on the Nile, in that it centers around an ensemble cast of characters invited to a location, only for one of them to wind up dead.

The Crown’s Emma Corrin stars as Darby, one of the guests invited to a reclusive billionaire’s estate. She also happens to be an amateur detective. When someone is found dead not long after joining the party, Darby takes it upon herself to use her skills and investigate and stop another murder from happening. The FX series, which has just seven episodes, also stars Clive Owen, Alice Braga, and Jermaine Fowler.

It’s about as close to a real-life Ted Lasso story as we might get. When actors Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds decided to purchase a small-town Football Association of Wales club, the third-oldest in the world, they knew nothing about managing a sports team and arguably less about football. They also didn’t know one another very well at the time. But they saw an opportunity to revive a struggling club that was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and a growing number of less-than-enthusiastic fans.

Watch their process to turn the team around in this docuseries that highlights both the passion and camaraderie of these actors, who are determined to bring positive change and hope to a community. Welcome to Wrexham combines humor with heartwarming stories about a working-class town and two Hollywood comedic geniuses getting to know the game, the people, and the inner workings of a team in hopes of bringing home a victory.

What do you get when two you combine two comedic icons with a Disney Channel actor turned pop music star? Apparently, it’s a buddy-type comedy about three strangers. Steve Martin (who is also the co-creator of Only Murders in the Building), Martin Short, and Selena Gomez are all residents of an upscale New York building who come together because they share an obsessive passion for true crime. But when they find themselves actually involved in one, then two, and yet another, the situation gets increasingly hairy, and their sleuthing skills are put to the test.

Out of the gate, the series was praised for the charming central characters, along with the “hilarious and insightful” story that takes a silly look at society’s obsession with this tragic genre. The show has had a long list of guest and supporting stars, including Tina Fey, Sting, Nathan Lane, Shirley MacLaine, and, for season 3, Meryl Streep and Paul Rudd.

Kerry Washington is back on the small screen in Unprisoned, a comedy about Paige, a single mom and therapist who finds her already messy life thrown for a loop when her father is released from prison after serving a 17-year sentence. He moves in with her and her teenage son, and the new family of three must find a way to get along.

While the show is a comedy, it also unpacks a lot of more dramatic topics like childhood trauma, forgiveness, grudges, and boundaries. Receiving high praise in early reviews, Unprisoned is dubbed a “snappy comedy” with heavy themes, with both lead actors, including Delroy Lindo as Paige’s father, Edwin, shining in their respective roles.