Hulu teams with Spurlock for first original programming

By bclark Published October 5, 2011

Hulu A Day in the LIfe — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Online video streaming service Hulu has announced it is teaming with documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock to produce A Day in the Life, a series of six half-hour episodes that will follow famous people as they go about their everyday lives. Participants will apparently include billionaire Richard Branson, comedian Russell Peters, and rapper/producer (and Intel “director of creative innovation”) wil.i.am.

Although Hulu is mainly known for streaming current and dear-departed TV series (as well as catalog movies), A Day in the Life represents Hulu’s first foray into original programming. The series is the first of several original projects the company hopes to produce to attract viewers and, of course, advertisers. The show will be available to Hulu and Hulu Plus users starting August 17, with new episodes appearing every Wednesday thereafter.

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Morgan Spurlock is best known for his documentaries Super Size Me and Where in the World is Osama bin Laden. Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

Hulu’s owners—Disney, Comcast/NBC, and News Corp.—currently have Hulu up for sale. Interested buyers apparently include Yahoo and Google, although Microsoft and Apple have been mentioned as potential suitors.

Branching out into original programming potentially puts Hulu into competition with its content partners; however, Hulu is positioning its programming as an effort “designed to support creatively and financially the work of independent storytellers,” rather than compete with studios.

Earlier this year, video streaming giant Netflix announced it was getting into original programming with a 26-episode series House of Cards.

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