If you’re looking for hulu shows that are easy to binge in 2026, you know the struggle: starting a series that promises a “slow build” only to realize you’re four hours in and nothing has actually happened. When you want to lose a weekend to a show, you need an engine—a story that moves with intention, cliffhangers that feel earned, and a visual style that keeps you locked in. You want bingeable series that respect your time and keep the momentum high.
This list of hulu shows that are easy to binge focuses on the “high-velocity” picks—shows where the editing is sharp and the stakes are established in the first ten minutes. We’ve scoured the IMDb trending titles and the deeper FX-on-Hulu library to find 10 fresh series we haven’t repeated in our previous guides. Whether it’s a tactical heist, a cult mystery, or a cringe-inducing drama, these are the Hulu essentials that make “one more episode” feel like a necessity, not a choice.
Best for: Viewers looking for fast-paced TV with strong hooks, addictive pacing, and pro-level directing that eliminates the “mid-season slump.”
Common cinephile pain points this list solves: Decision paralysis / Shows with too much filler / Flat, uninspired cinematography / Great concepts that move too slow / Forgetting what happened in the last episode.
Related Lists: TV Shows You’ll Finish Faster Than You Expect / Shows That Hook You From Episode One / Perfect Shows for a Weekend Binge / Hidden TV Gems Worth Your Time
What to watch for
The best binge-worthy series on Hulu win because of their narrative economy. Watch how these shows use “the turn”—a moment at the end of a scene or episode that recontextualizes everything you just saw. Pay attention to the sound design and rhythmic editing; when a show is easy to binge, it’s usually because the filmmaking is keeping your heart rate up without you even noticing it. That’s the pro-level secret to top-rated Hulu shows.
10 hulu shows that are easy to binge
1. Death and Other Details (2024) 🇺🇸
Director/Creator: Heidi Cole McAdams / Mike Weiss
Plot: A brilliant but troubled young woman finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time on a luxury ocean liner, forced to team up with the world’s greatest detective to solve a locked-room murder.
IMDb Rating: 6.8/10
Where to Watch: Hulu / Disney+
Why it’s bingeable: It’s the best hulu show to binge if you love a stylish whodunnit. The production design is lush and colorful, and the surgical pacing of the clues ensures that you’re always one step behind the reveal. It uses ensemble blocking perfectly to keep every guest on the ship looking like a suspect.
2. Culprits (2023) 🇬🇧
Director/Creator: J Blakeson
Plot: Years after a high-stakes heist, the members of a criminal crew are being picked off one by one by a mysterious assassin, forcing them to reunite to survive.
IMDb Rating: 6.8/10
Where to Watch: Hulu / Disney+
Why it’s bingeable: This is heist-craft with an engine. The show uses a dual-timeline structure and rhythmic editing to keep the tension high in both the past and the present. The action geography is incredibly clean, making the survival sequences feel tactical and physical.
3. Nine Perfect Strangers (2021) 🇺🇸
Director/Creator: David E. Kelley / John-Henry Butterworth
Plot: Nine stressed city dwellers visit a boutique health-and-wellness resort that promises healing and transformation, but the resort’s director has a much more radical methods in mind.
IMDb Rating: 7.0/10
Where to Watch: Hulu / Prime Video (Availability varies)
Why it’s bingeable: It is tonal control as a weapon. The show builds a hypnotic atmosphere through slow camera zooms and a saturated, “expensive” color palette. The character-driven mystery makes you want to see exactly how far the psychological experiments will go.
4. The Clearing (2023) 🇦🇺
Director/Creator: Matt Cameron / Elise McCredie
Plot: A woman is forced to confront the nightmares of her past to stop a secret cult from kidnapping children to fulfill a master plan.
IMDb Rating: 7.1/10
Where to Watch: Hulu / Disney+
Why it’s bingeable: It features atmospheric dread at a pro level. The use of the Australian landscape and surgical sound design builds a persistent sense of unease. The pacing of the two timelines is handled with such discipline that the reveals hit with maximum emotional impact.
5. Shardlake (2024– ) 🇬🇧
Director/Creator: Stephen Butchard (Directed by Justin Chadwick)
Plot: In 16th-century England, a lawyer with a keen mind for mystery is sent by Thomas Cromwell to investigate a murder at a remote monastery during the dissolution of the monasteries.
IMDb Rating: 7.0/10
Where to Watch: Hulu / Disney+
Why it’s bingeable: It is visually authored period mystery. The grimy, tactile production design and low-key lighting make the monastery feel like a character itself. The surgical script economy ensures that the historical politics never slow down the momentum of the murder investigation.
6. Scrublands (2023– ) 🇦🇺
Director/Creator: Felicity Packard / Greg McLean
Plot: A journalist arrives in a remote town a year after a tragic mass shooting by a local priest, uncovering a web of secrets that suggest the official story is a lie.
IMDb Rating: 7.2/10
Where to Watch: Hulu / Sundance Now
Why it’s bingeable: This is surgical noir pacing. The show uses the oppressive heat and isolation of the setting to build tension, using wide-lens cinematography to show how trapped the characters are in their own history. It’s a hidden gem that rewards a weekend watch.
7. A Teacher (2020) 🇺🇸
Director/Creator: Hannah Fidell
Plot: Explores the complexities and consequences of a predatory relationship between a high school teacher and her student, following the fallout over several years.
IMDb Rating: 6.9/10
Where to Watch: Hulu / Disney+
Why it’s bingeable: It features uncomfortable, intimate blocking. The direction uses tight framing and naturalistic lighting to make the audience feel the claustrophobia of the secret. The episodes are short and move with a surgical intensity that makes the emotional devastation feel inevitable.
8. Welcome to Chippendales (2022) 🇺🇸
Director/Creator: Robert Siegel
Plot: The sprawling, true-crime saga of Somen “Steve” Banerjee, the Indian-American entrepreneur who started the world’s greatest male-stripping empire and the dark path he took to stay on top.
IMDb Rating: 7.2/10
Where to Watch: Hulu / Disney+
Why it’s bingeable: It is production design as time travel. The grimy, neon-soaked 70s and 80s aesthetic is flawless, but it’s the pacing of the rise-and-fall story that keeps you hooked. The surgical sound design and rhythmic editing make the corporate backstabbing feel as high-stakes as a thriller.
9. Unprisoned (2023– ) 🇺🇸
Director/Creator: Tracy McMillan
Plot: A messy but perfectionist relationship therapist’s life is turned upside down when her father gets out of prison and moves in with her and her teenage son.
IMDb Rating: 7.5/10
Where to Watch: Hulu / Disney+
Why it’s bingeable: It features elite comedic chemistry and blocking. The show uses a 4th-wall-breaking style with surgical comedic timing to keep the energy high. It’s a smart, fast-moving handpicked gem that balances genuine emotional weight with a very “easy-watch” engine.
10. The Girl from Plainville (2022) 🇺🇸
Director/Creator: Liz Hannah / Patrick Macmanus
Plot: Based on the true story of the “texting-suicide” case, exploring the relationship between Michelle Carter and Conrad Roy III and the events that led to his death and her conviction.
IMDb Rating: 6.3/10 (High binge-factor in 2026)
Where to Watch: Hulu / Disney+
Why it’s bingeable: This is tension built through subtext. The show uses subjective cinematography—where the visual style shifts to represent the characters’ digital fantasies—to tell a complex story of isolation. The surgical edit keeps the mystery of their connection alive until the final episode.
What to watch next
Next category: TV Shows That Hook You From Episode One (because once you’ve finished these easy-to-binge shows, you’ll want more high-momentum series to fill your next weekend).