With Reservation Dogs earning much acclaim (and now streaming its third episode) and American Horror Stories wrapping its seven-episode run this Thursday, more and more people are surely wondering if such FX on Hulu originals will ever air on cable, on regular FX.
Other FX on Hulu originals (which come with a Hulu subscription) include Mrs. America, the Emmy-nominated limited series led by Cate Blanchett and Emmy winner Uzo Aduba), Devs, A Teacher and the widely anticipated Y: The Last Man adaptation (premiering Sept. 13).
FX chairman John Landgraf addressed this topic during the exec session at the company TCA summer press tour day, and the gist was, well, up in the air.
“The distribution strategy [for FX on Hulu series] is heavily influenced by not only us but our partners at Disney Media Entertainment Distribution. They oversee the channels and the streaming platforms,” Landgraf at first explained. “So far, there’s an extremely good partnership and very cordial and productive relationship between my boss, Peter Rice, and his colleagues at DMED and me and my colleagues at DMED.”
But as of now, a year-and-a-half into FX on Hulu’s existence, the idea of the Hulu tab’s original fare getting a second window on cable remains TBD.
“We’re still figuring it out…. It’s a fluid situation,” Landgraf said. “I think what you’re seeing, across the entire industry, is experimentation with distribution and windowing strategies. And it’s hard for me to say exactly where that’s going to land [with FX on Hulu], because I think a number of different things are working, and I think we’re still in the process of learning.”
In the same TCA panel, though, there was good news to be had on a similar-ish front, in that the upcoming seasons of American Horror Story (premiering Aug. 25), It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (fall 2021) and Atlanta (early 2022) will make episodes available the next day on Hulu, throughout their seasons.
