How Hulu found buzzworthy success with new comedies PEN15, Shrill and Ramy

Vulture

The streaming service has introduced acclaimed comedies in each of the past three months -- though only one, Shrill, has been renewed for a second season so far. Craig Erwich, who's in charge of originals for Hulu says of the buzz his new comedies generated: "You want shows that are relevant. You want shows that reflect the culture. You want to hear people talking about them on line at Starbucks. We’re not looking to do much niche programming, but one of the ways I really know we’ve hit it is when I see our shows being written about not in the entertainment section but in the style or politics sections or in the New Yorker. The other thing we talk about is making sure that any of our originals have a degree of relevancy to them and are about something. Entertainment first, right? But when you look at PEN15 and sexuality from the point of view of girls versus boys, that’s something. Shrill certainly had something to say. That was core to the premise of the show. Ramy was highly relevant: It’s, 'How do you be a person of faith and a millennial?' So those are ingredients that we look for."