Though many consumers often regard Netflix as the go-to streaming service, Hulu has developed a respectable catalog of binge-able content over the last few years as well. 2017 saw some significant successes for Hulu, and it looks like the coming year may very well see the streaming platform continue on its upward trajectory. On that note, Hulu has officially announced the major players in its 2018 midseason release slate, which includes an April release for Season 2 of The Handmaid's Tale, as well as premiere dates for returning favorite The Path and the new The Looming Tower and Hard Sun.
CinemaBlend has officially learned that The Handmaid's Tale is gearing up to return to Hulu this April. This is relatively consistent with the first season, which similarly chose the generally cheery fourth month of the year for its dark and dour premiere. As such, we're not particularly surprised by this turn with the second season of The Handmaid's Tale. The freshman season of the Margaret Atwood-inspired series has handily become one of the most talked-about and beloved new shows of 2017, and Season 2 is only going to get the esteemed author more involved from a creative point of view, so we're incredibly intrigued to see how it continues to wow audiences.
Beyond the success of The Handmaid's Tale with Hulu subscribers, the patriarchy-toppling drama has quickly become one of TV's most prestigious new shows. It cleaned up at the Emmys this year, a first for a Hulu series, and the sheer amount of goodwill that it has generated among fans means that it should have no trouble following the same roadmap to streaming success as last year. The Handmaid's Tale debuted its first season in April 2017, so an April 2018 release date for Season 2 should be a no-brainer. If it ain't broken, don't fix it by impulsively running over it with a car.
However, before The Handmaid's Tale returns for its second season, Hulu will kick off its 2018 release schedule with the debut of The Path Season 3 on January 17. The series stars Breaking Bad's Aaron Paul as Eddie Lane, a man dealing with a troubled relationship with a new-age religious movement called Meyerism, which is putting it lightly. The Path has received quite a bit of praise for its belief-questioning narrative since its premiere back in 2016, in no small part due to the excellent cast, which also includes Michelle Monaghan and Hugh Dancy.
Filling in the gap between The Path premiere and The Handmaid's Tale premiere is the debut of The Looming Tower, which debuts on February 28. A limited series event starring Jeff Daniels, The Looming Tower is a story that chronicles the rise of Al-Quaeda and the terror-driven road to 9/11. It's based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book of the same name, so it should be quite a sight to see. One week after that, Hulu subscribers will receive the series premiere of the drama Hard Sun on March 7, which stars Agyness Deyn and Geostorm's Jim Sturgess as two cops trying to maintain law and order in a world inching closer and closer to a natural apocalyptic disaster. Needless to say, there's something for everyone on Hulu this year.
Of course, those Hulu dates only represent a handful of the excellent television content on the horizon for the next few months, and we still have plenty of great shows left to debut this fall. Check out our fall TV premiere guide for more up-to-date information on all of them, and make sure to listen to The Cord Cutter Podcast to hear everything CinemaBlend has to say about the wonderful world of streaming content.
