One of the best things about streaming is that it gives you the opportunity to come across so many hidden gems.
Series that were cut short and didn’t find their audience can often find a second life on streaming — or, original streaming programs can find random success later down the road just because they’re allowed to continue existing somewhere.
This week, Watch With Us wants to highlight three shows on Hulu that are massively overlooked and unduly forgotten, but deserve your attention.
Read on to see our picks so you can start bingeing them this weekend.
‘Legion’ (2017-2019)
Diagnosed with schizophrenia as a child, David Haller (Dan Stevens) resides in a psych ward, just one of many that he’s been moved around to throughout his life. When he finally meets and falls in love with another patient, named Syd (Rachel Keller), her own “problems” allow him to see that his condition might not be psychological, but superhuman. Syd takes David to Melanie Bird (Jean Smart), who, along with a group of exceptional people, allows David to harness his gifts, all the while being targeted by the mysterious “Shadow King” who has plagued him his whole life.
From the creator of the Fargo television series, Legion is based on the Marvel comics character of the same name and has ties to the X-Men film series, but it is totally its own thing. Ambitious, unique and surreal, Legion is both visually stunning and emotionally resonant, with exceptional character-writing and a compelling narrative. Critics praised the series for its original vision for a superhero project, its production design, performances and writing.
‘Preacher’ (2016-2019)
Based on the comic series of the same name from DC Comics’ Vertigo imprint, Preacher follows Jesse Custer (Dominic Cooper), a former criminal who returns to his hometown to fulfill his father’s dying wish for him to take over his Texas church. However, this mission becomes complicated when Jesse’s body is overtaken by a powerful supernatural force. He embarks on a quest alongside his on-again, off-again girlfriend, Tulip (Ruth Negga) and an Irish vampire named Cassidy (Joseph Gilgun) to better understand his new powers and quite literally find God.
Preacher was developed in part by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg and retains much of the Superbad writers’ gleefully vulgar comic sensibilities. It’s another comic series that won’t alienate fans who aren’t familiar with the source material, or who aren’t even comic readers at all. Instead, Preacher is a funny, delightfully violent action epic that blends comedy and horror masterfully. It is anchored by great performances and chemistry between its core cast and an engrossing manic energy that it sustains with a steady hand while still being infused with emotional and impactful drama.
‘Happy Endings’ (2011-2013)
Dave (Zachary Knighton) and Alex (Elisha Cuthbert) were the perfect couple in their tight six-friend group for years, keeping the gang together. When the pair calls it quits after Alex dramatically leaves Dave at the wedding altar, the group dynamic is thrown into immediate disarray, wondering how they’ll divide their time to see their two friends. However, the two exes realize that they can still maintain a friendship with one another, and their friends help them along as they navigate this new, platonic era of their relationship.
The premature cancellation of Happy Endings after its third season due to lower viewership in spite of widespread critical acclaim was deemed one of the worst decisions of the 2012-13 TV season by Vulture at the time. Indeed, that designation was well-deserved — Happy Endings was a hilarious, delightful sitcom that started shaky and managed to settle into a groove that began to win over critics and audiences, with some comparing it to Arrested Development and Community, praising it for its sharp sense of humor and warm emotional beats.
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