In the streaming television arms race, Hulu just got a huge advantage. This fall, 800 episodes of classic millennial TV will be available to Hulu customers.
I remember it just like it was yesterday. I’d get off the school bus, run home, pour a pint glass of 2% milk, and sit myself in front of the Panasonic tube just in time for TGIF: Full House, Step By Step, Family Matters, Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper, Perfect Strangers. ABC programming dominated my Friday afternoon and evening. I think it did for most American suburban families at that time. Hulu is recognizing millennial nostalgia with their most recent additions, and in September all of these ABC shows will be available in their entirety to subscribers.
Chris Welch of The Verge couldn’t help but point out that Netflix went to a lot of trouble to make the Full House reboot Fuller House, only to lose the battle in adding the original series to its collection. I don’t know if it was meant to be a low blow, but it definitely feels like one. Either way, Hulu just probably boosted their viewership by a lot. Between these shows and Seinfeld, Hulu is becoming a one-stop service for all the good classic television.
Regardless of how this affects Netflix, I think this is great. I get more excited for the fall with each passing day. After TGIF drops on Hulu in September, Riverdale comes back to CW and Stranger Things returns to Netflix just in time for Halloween. Bob Saget, the Olsen twins, Suzanne Somers, Urkel (!!), Archie, the ’80s—we’re going to have a good old-fashioned nostalgia party in the fall. Hulu is winning big with these shows. However, we’re going to have our hands full with all this other good stuff.
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On September 29, all five shows—Full House, Step By Step, Family Matters, Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper, and Perfect Strangers—will be available on Hulu, all 800 episodes.