Disney CEO Bob Iger made it official on the company's Q1 2026 earnings call in February that the standalone Hulu app is going away, with the full Hulu library folding into Disney+ before the end of the calendar year. The Nintendo Switch version of the app already pulled the plug on February 5, the first domino in a shutdown that will happen throughout 2026. A Hulu subscription will still exist as a standalone product, but the app icon itself, the one that has carried The Kardashians, Dancing with the Stars, and The Handmaid's Tale for years, is on a countdown.
For fans who aren’t aware, this merger is happening because Disney now owns all of Hulu, and running two separate apps no longer makes sense. Disney bought out NBCUniversal's 33 percent stake in 2025 to take full control. Collapsing Hulu into Disney+ lets the House of Mouse run both services as one, which helps cut operational costs and makes it easier for subscribers to access all content in one place.
However, before this happens, Hulu will go on one last rodeo and release a good number of blockbuster shows. The rollout kicked into gear on April 22 at the streamer's second annual Get Real House event in Beverly Hills. Khloé Kardashian, Parker Posey, Heidi Klum, and Stassi Schroeder all took the stage to confirm new series and returning seasons, most of which will be released in 2026 while the Hulu app is still live.
Big TV Shows Releasing on Hulu Before It Shuts Down
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives: Orange County
Hulu is expanding its MomTok empire with its first official spinoff, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives: Orange County. Trading the original's Utah’s cul-de-sacs for Southern California, the series follows a new group of young mothers as they cope with faith, fame, and scandal. Confirmed at Hulu's Get Real event, the show features a high-profile cast of influencers and newcomers, including Aspyn Ovard, Bobbi Althoff, and McCall DaPron, the sister of original cast member Mayci Neeley, among others.
The show has faced a few challenges as production paused earlier this year amid a domestic violence investigation involving star Taylor Frankie Paul and her ex-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen. Filming is now resuming, but an exact premiere date hasn’t been revealed, though the season is confirmed to open sometime this year.
The Girls
Khloé Kardashian is extending the family's Hulu footprint with a new reality series built around her inner circle of real-life best friends. The Girls will follow Natalie Halcro, Khadijah Haqq, Malika Haqq, Yris Palmer, Olivia Pierson, and Nicole Williams English through motherhood, business ventures, and group-chat warfare with Khloé serving as executive producer.
The series is produced by Bunim/Murray Productions and premieres on Hulu later this year, joining a Kardashian slate that still includes the flagship The Kardashians and the long-in-development Calabasas: Behind the Gates, a Khloé and Scott Disick collaboration that is still in the works.
Project Runway
The fashion-competition veteran is back for what could be its biggest season ever. Project Runway Season 22 debuts July 9 on Hulu, Disney+, and Freeform with a two-episode premiere. Heidi Klum hosts, with Nina Garcia and Law Roach on the judging panel and Christian Siriano returning as mentor.
This year's twist is that there will be 22 designers, a series high. The season will also bring in Dancing with the Stars pros Brandon Armstrong, Alan Bersten, Val Chmerkovskiy, and many others to walk the catwalk. Spyglass Media Group and Alfred Street Industries produce, with Michael Rucker as showrunner. Klum, Siriano, and Garcia also executive produce, with Roach serving as co-executive producer.
The Mob
Parker Posey is trading The White Lotus for a mafia game show. The Mob is Hulu's new celebrity reality competition, from The Traitors producer Studio Lambert and STV Studios' Primal Media. Posey hosts and executive produces, guiding a cast of reality-TV heavy hitters through mafia-movie-inspired challenges in a lavish Italian villa, with up to $250,000 in cash prizes on the line.
The cast is full of massive crossovers including The Sopranos icon Aida Turturro, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives' Demi Engemann, Dancing with the Stars' Bruno Tonioli, RuPaul's Drag Race alum Willam Belli, The Real Housewives of New Jersey's Joe Gorga, dating-show veteran Harry Jowsey, Selling Sunset's Chelsea Lazkani, Younger's Debi Mazar, Love Overboard's Bella Palk, rapper Romeo, Maria Georgas and Shane Parton.
In every episode of this show, contestants choose a don with absolute authority over who earns money, who stays, and who gets whacked. The don's position isn't permanent, which means alliances and betrayals will be a big part of the season. Hulu has not confirmed a specific premiere date, but the series is set to drop later this year.
Love Thy Nader Season 2
Hulu's breakout Nader sisters show is coming back for a second run, though the winter window means it could slip toward the very end of the Hulu app's life. Love Thy Nader Season 2 follows Brooks, Mary Holland, Grace Ann, and Sarah Jane Nader as they continue to handle fashion campaigns, Soho lofts, and the social gauntlet of Manhattan after leaving the Louisiana bayou.
The second season comes with a few changes as Rachel Tung, who showran Season 1, exited the role, and Ailee O'Neill, a former executive producer on Peacock's Paris in Love and E!'s Honestly Cavallari, has stepped in to take over. The show has also moved to a new production company, Alex Baskin's 32 Flavors. Despite the changes, Brooks Nader remains the star of the show heading into Season 2.
Rivals Season 2
Hulu's final slate will also include Rivals Season 2, the return of the Jilly Cooper adaptation that became one of Disney's biggest international hits in 2024. The new season premieres May 15, on Hulu in the US and Disney+ everywhere else. Hulu is splitting the season into two six-episode batches. The first three episodes land on premiere day, and the rest roll out later in the year.
The full cast is back, including David Tennant, who has played several roles for Disney as Lord Tony Baddingham, Alex Hassell as Rupert Campbell-Black, Aidan Turner as Declan O'Hara, Nafessa Williams as Cameron Cook, Bella Maclean as Taggie O'Hara, Katherine Parkinson as Lizzie Vereker, Danny Dyer as Freddie Jones, Victoria Smurfit as Maud O'Hara, Claire Rushbrook as Lady Monica Baddingham, and Emily Atack as Sarah Stratton. Hayley Atwell and Rupert Everett are joining the cast for Season 2.
The story picks up after Season 1's violent cliffhanger, in which Tony got hit in the head. Tony's fight against his rivals gets uglier, and his affair with Cameron is on the ropes. Dame Jilly Cooper, the author of the original novels and an executive producer on both seasons, died in October last year before the new episodes could air, and tributes have poured in ahead of Season 2.
Geraldo Amartey is a writer at The Direct. He joined the team in 2025, bringing with him four years of experience covering entertainment news, pop culture, and fan-favorite franchises for sites like YEN, Briefly and Tuko.
