Hulu announced its original programming plans for 2012 today in its first TCA appearance; the company has three shows slotted to premiere in the coming months. Two new series will join the successful A Day in The Life and one of them will be Hulu’s first scripted series, Battleground. Also joining the programming lineup is a documentary travel series from Richard Linklater called Up to Speed.
Just a few days ago Hulu made pulic their impressive growth last year and made clear they have very high hopes for a continued expansion. Today Deadline reported from the TCA tour the company’s plans for their original programming in the first half of 2012, including the return of J.D. Walsh’s documentary series A Day in the Life which follows an ordinary day in the life of well-known people. Expected in season two are comic Marc Maron and Community’s Joel McHale.
Hulu’s first original scripted series, Battleground is a political mockumentary/dramedy style series that will follow the behind the scenes story of a group of campaign workers in Wisconsin. J.D. Walsh is also behind this series as executive producer, and said he’s looking to tell the stories of the people who step up to make campaigns happen:
”I’m interested in the people behind the people. What makes them leave ordinary lives and enter the madhouse? It is their emotional journey that I find incredibly compelling”
Also new to Hulu is Up to Speed from filmmaker Richard Linklater, which will follow Timothy “Speed” Levitch, described as a “tour guide, historian and flaneur” (I’m not asking where he got that nickname) as he travels the nation visiting those monuments that rarely make it into travel guides. Undervisited monuments such as the shoe gardens in San Francisco will be featured in this twisted take on travel shows. Yes, there are apparently shoe gardens in San Francisco, and I can’t tell you how curious I am about them.
The new programming kicks off February 14th with Battleground’s premiere. The second season of A Day in the Life hits in March, and Up to Speed is slated for a summer launch. All three will be available both to free and subscription viewers on Hulu.
