2017 Was The Year Hulu Won Me Over

2017 was a surprising year, to say the least. But those surprises weren’t always ones that made you switch off the TV or close Twitter in anger. I mean, most of 2017’s surprises were infuriating, sure, but some were pleasant. And of all the non-ulcer-aggravating surprises of 2017, Hulu’s out-of-nowhere rise is my favorite. Yep, I’m all in on Hulu now, y’all.

Like many things in 2017, I did not see that one coming. I’ve never really expressed loyalty to any one particular streaming service or another. I have the ones I have, and I watch what I want to watch on them. I’ve been using Hulu since practically its launch almost a decade ago, but I’ve been with Netflix for just as long (shout out to everyone that remembers those little red envelopes). Prior to just a few months ago, my husband and I spent most of our time hanging out in Netflix, keeping 30 Rock, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and Parks and Recreation on a loop as the soundtrack to our weekday evenings. We’d switch over to Hulu to catch up on new episodes of Bob’s Burgers or The Mick, but Hulu was never our go-to service. They were like two shopping malls, each with different stores catering to our different needs. We’d go to Hulu when we needed new shoes, but Netflix had the dope food court and all the reliable chain stores. We just hung out at Netflix Shopping Plaza more often.

And then things changed. All of Netflix’s reliable chain stores closed and were replaced with high-end boutiques. Surprise–Hulu now had the Hot Topic and Disney Store, as well as throwbacks like Suncoast Video (!) and Waldenbooks (!!). Suddenly it wasn’t so easy to decide where to hang out after work, and ultimately our new spot became Hulu.

So what changed, specifically? Hulu got aggressive just as Netflix’s priorities evolved, among a few other talking points that my colleague Scott Porch pointed out here. The shift for me began in late July when Hulu announced they were adding a chunk of ABC’s iconic ’90s programming block TGIF. Full House, Family Matters, Step By Step, Perfect Strangers, and Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper–all shows that were never available to stream before. Hulu added Will & Grace to their list of good gets in September, and then added even more ’90s sitcoms (including the previously unavailable Home Improvement). And in the last few months, the platform has added Ellen and Blossom, two more ’90s classics that were pretty much lost. Back in May, I wrote a big piece titled “Where Have All The ’90s Sitcoms Gone?,” highlighting just how few of the decade’s biggest hits were available to stream. By the end of 2017, 12 of those 30 shows went from languishing on dusty used DVD store shelves to streaming on Hulu.

And while Hulu was introducing a new generation of fans to the comedic brilliance of Waldo Faldo, they were also picking up seemingly every show Netflix dropped. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The X-Files, Angel, Bob’s Burgers, Scrubs, Futurama, 30 Rock, How I Met Your Mother, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and plenty more all left Netflix this year. Know where you can find them now? Hulu, and these shows were usually added the day after they disappeared from Netflix. Old shows and new shows alike, Hulu has made it a priority to be the go-to place when you just need to put something on.

That’s where Hulu has succeeded in 2017, because streaming services aren’t just for appointment TV watching. For people that need to have something on at all times, people like me, streaming services are colorful white noise machines (with catchy theme songs every 20 minutes). Netflix is building up a stable of original series and letting their licensed library lapse, which means I now go to Netflix when I know I need to go to Netflix–when I need to actually sit down and watch shows I loved like Stranger Things or Marvel’s The Defenders or American Vandal. Hulu, on the other hand, is where I spend all of my time, throwing on a Home Improvement here and a Will & Grace there, and letting those shows run while I unwind.

That’s a smart move on Hulu’s part, though, because spending so much spare time in Hulu’s interface (which doesn’t throw autoplaying trailers at me like Netflix’s) means I see all their breezy, pastel-colored advertisements for original programming like I Love You, America, Marvel’s Runaways, and Future Man–all shows I have watched this year, partly because Hulu made sure I was aware of them. And the fact that Hulu became the first streaming service to win a Best Series Emmy for The Handmaid’s Tale only increased my interest in their original offerings. Now Hulu’s the service I spend all my spare time in, and it’s also a place I can go to for originals. Whoda thunk?

All this isn’t a knock on Netflix, either. Netflix is becoming what it’s been very up front about what it wants to be: a provider of acclaimed and highly entertaining original content. That sprawling content library was a means to an end, this end. But for me and what I want out of a streaming service, Hulu has picked up all that laugh track slack and turned me on to a few of their originals in the process. There is definitely room in my life for both Netflix and Hulu, as the services they provide actually started to overlap less this year. But when it comes to where I hang out now, Hulu is my hot spot–and that’s one of the best surprises of 2017.

Where to stream Home Improvement

Where to stream 30 Rock

Where to stream Marvel's Runaways