At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S., stores (except for essential businesses) closed, public gatherings were banned and most states enacted lockdowns –– keeping us home…and bored. In the early months of the pandemic, social media featured people baking banana bread, whipped coffee, excessive cleaning, and lack of toilet paper. Like me, you spent time at home catching up with your favorite shows. Here are my favorites from Hulu:
- Catfish the TV show
Yep…this is the number one show on my list. Why? The highly addictive drama of online couples meeting for the first time since talking on social media. Almost every episode featured a predictable, but surprising twist in which the person the hopeful single was chatting with, did not match the profile. Max and Nev’s bromance, comforting their guests who were heartbroken. Max acts like the tough older brother scolding the catfishes for lying and deceiving the guests. It’s aired for 8 seasons and doesn’t seem like it’ll stop any time soon. I hope it doesn’t!
2. Helstrom
Hulu recommended this show on Halloween this year as part of their “Huluween” special. It looked interesting enough, based on the shadowy strokes coming from the heads of the two main characters. The show, which only ran for one season (thanks to Hulu and Marvel), features a brother and sister who have special powers from their serial killer/satan father. Halfway through the show, I found out this was based on the Marvel comic series “Hell Storm,” and that excited me more. The acting was believable, the mood was dark, and the special effects were masterfully sinister. I hope it gets picked up again.
3. The Mindy Project
Two words: toxic masculinity. This show stars Mindy Kaling playing “Mindy” who is an OBGYN at a New York clinic and has dating problems. I saw clips of this show on Fox but once it got to Hulu, I decided why not. Mindy in the first two seasons was likable and smart, but in the remaining four seasons I saw her character get ruder, dumber, more isolated, and racist (not kidding, the “race jokes” were very cringing). Her relationship with Danny, a fellow OBGYN, starts off cute but quickly turns toxic. He went from being the rough-around-the-edges guy to a misogynistic, controlling man-child. Also, the guys she dates rarely last for two episodes before they’re written out, so I never got to see the conclusion of her relationships. Once it ended though, I did feel like I knew the characters more on a personal level. Mindy’s fashion is cute too.
4. High Fidelity
Zoe Kravitz FTW! I’ve been following Zoe Kravitz’s work and style since she starred in X-Men: First Class, so when I heard she would be in this remake, I was excited. The show stars Rob and her two friends Simon and Cherise as they navigate their dating lives through vinyl records. This show introduced me to classic hits from genres ranging from hard rock to house music. Hulu canceled this….*sigh*….after only one season. I went from rooting for Rob in the beginning to scolding her for cheating on her first boyfriend and ignoring the new one. Nevertheless, the jokes were funny, the music good and the setup for Cherise –– the only dark-skinned woman on the show –– deserved to shine.
5. Dollface
More familiar celebrity faces! This show features Brenda Song, Kat Dennings, and Shay Mitchell (Suite Life of Zack and Cody, 2 Broke Girls, and Pretty Little Liars). Looking for a new show to watch, I stumbled upon Dollface after looking at the weird trailer of women with cat faces for heads. *No, really.* It follows a young woman whose boyfriend breaks up with her because he feels like he needs something new after dating for so long. He…got bored of her basically. She goes to the friends she neglected during her relationship and they snap her back into reality. They remind her of her complete devotion to her boyfriend, lack of self-worth, and abandonment of her friendships. It’s a satirical show on dating and identity and totally relatable to the struggles that are being in your 20s in the digital age.
6. Woke
Literally clicked on the show because of Sasheer Zamata (SNL alumna). She had a movie on Hulu called “The Weekend” and I didn’t like it? Hehe hehe! *awkwardly raises hand* But I follow her podcast and liked her on SNL and decided to check out her performance. The show follows Keef, a black cartoonist who is about to score a big break. He lives a colorblind life, blissfully ignorant of microaggressions until he’s racially profiled and arrested by a white police officer. He becomes “woke” about his experiences and tries to rebrand his work. Decent enough plot line, but disappointing in the end. The plot was too predictable and *SPOILER* –– he should have opened up to his black girlfriend about his profiling experience instead of ignoring her and assuming she wouldn’t understand his pain. My commentary clearly doesn’t matter because the show got renewed for a second season. Oh well, that means more Sasheer Zamata screen time.
Moni Media 