When The Walt Disney Company acquired 20th Century Fox, that included the cable network FX and all of the shows that come along with it. Since Disney is also the majority stakeholder in Hulu, they’re bringing them both together with a new deal that will bring FX’s existing shows, new shows, and nearly all of their old shows exclusively to Hulu.
During a fourth quarter earnings call on Thursday, Disney CEO Bob Iger laid out the company’s plan to create “FX on Hulu” starting in March. Along with the library content of old and current shows, “FX on Hulu” will also see upcoming shows moved from airing on FX to debuting only through streaming by way of this new deal between the cable channel and streaming service. Find out more about the “FX on Hulu” deal below.
IndieWire has word on the “FX on Hulu” endeavor that will bring more than 40 of FX’s new and existing shows to the streaming service. Upcoming new original shows originally intended for FX will instead debut on Hulu. This includes upcoming shows like Alex Garland’s sci-fi series Devs, the drama Mrs. America starring Cate Blanchett, the series adaptation of Hannah Fidell’s A Teacher, and The Old Man with Jeff Bridges.
As for existing shows that are still churning out new episodes, such as It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, What We Do in the Shadows, and Pose, they will continue to premiere on FX, and then arrive on Hulu the following day.
This just further shows how Disney aims to handle the more grown-up content they landed in their acquisition of 20th Century Fox assets. Hulu will basically become an adult version of Disney+ (which launches on Tuesday, November 12), and it’s likely we’ll be seeing the less family-friendly movies and TV shows from 20th Century Fox showing up over there as time goes on.
Hulu CEO Randy Freer made a statement about the new collaboration with FX:
“We’re excited to become the official streaming home to the award-winning current and legacy series that FX has produced over nearly two decades, as well as brand-new original series that will be exclusive to Hulu subscribers — all available through ‘FX on Hulu. FX has solidified its position as a premium brand that consumers are passionate about, and we can’t wait to bring its valuable content offering to our customers, all in one place.”
Meanwhile, FX Chairman John Landgraf also had some standard publicity fluff to offer up:
“We’re thrilled to have Hulu as our streaming partner with the creation of FX on Hulu, which will be the best and most complete representation of the FX brand, finally putting us on equal footing with competitors like HBO. This will allow us to expand FX’s original programming lineup and to reach Hulu’s growing audience of young and highly engaged subscribers, whom we believe will love these shows. We are more committed than ever to quality over quantity, with our primary focus on excellence that can cut through the clutter at a time of unprecedented consumer choice. This is a game-changing opportunity for FX, and we can’t wait to embark on this journey with Randy and his great Hulu team.”
It’ll be interesting to see how Hulu evolves over time and whether or not they’ll simply become a hub for all of Disney’s stuff that doesn’t fit in at Disney+. Will Hulu still acquire and stream shows and movies that aren’t owned by Disney? Or will those deals be few and far between after any current streaming deals for library content run out? We’ll have to wait and see.
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