Hulu has chosen as its first original television-style series A Day in the Life, a six-episode documentary by Morgan Spurlock, his producing partner Jeremy Chilnick, and their production company Warrior Poets. It debuts on Hulu and the Hulu Plus subscription service Aug. 17.
Hulu original content development executive Charlotte Koh blogged that the series is “the beginning of a new Hulu initiative designed to support creatively and financially the work of independent storytellers.”
Terms of the deal with Spurlock were not disclosed, but AdAge reported it includes a license fee plus additional bonuses if certain viewer and advertising targets are met. Whatever the details are, the arrangement is undoubtedly more lucrative than licensing television programs from the major networks, Hulu’s current primary source of content.
Each half-hour episode is an up-close look at how a variety of interesting people spend their lives. Among the subjects are Virgin billionaire Richard Branson, style icon and musician will.i.am, comedian Russell Peters and mashup/digital sample artist Girl Talk.
“As a filmmaker, I am always looking for new and exciting ways to reach an audience and to tell stories,” Spurlock said in a statement. “When the opportunity to create an original doc series with Hulu presented itself, I jumped at the chance. Hulu has become such an important outlet for content creators and a real destination for fans.”
Related Links:
Hulu’s blog post – http://tinyurl.com/4ylofyj
A Day in the Life –http://www.hulu.com/a-day-in-the-life
AdAge – http://tinyurl.com/44lccma
NY Times Mediacoder – http://tinyurl.com/3fb5pxq