Enjoying Some Quality ME Time With Movies, Music and Books: Hulu Original

Showing posts with label Hulu Original. Show all posts

Saturday, January 3, 2026

Hulu Original Korean Drama ~ Tempest (2025)

Tempest (2025): Genre: Action, Romance, Political Thriller, Conspiracy Drama; No. of episodes: 9

A high-stakes political thriller centered on a former UN Ambassador whose life spirals after her husband’s mysterious assassination.

Main Characters:

Seo Mun-Ju (played by Gianna Jun)
Chae Kyung-Sin (played by Kim Hae-Sook)

Seo Munju was a highly respected UN ambassador with a successful career and clear aspirations of her own. She probably could have run for president. But at her husband’s request, she stepped away from her post so she could support his plan to run for president. Though the sitting president warned her that her husband’s ideas—especially reunifying North and South Korea—were dangerous, she chose to be loyal to her husband.

Before the campaign could begin, her husband was assassinated during a speech at a church. Seo Munju tried to shield him from the shooter and nearly died herself. But a bystander, Baek San-ho, tackled the gunman and saved her life. Before committing suicide, the assassin claimed her husband was a spy. A spy? Clearly, a false accusation. There was no way that her husband was a spy. But how can she prove it? Her husband and the shooter are dead. Where does she begin?

It turns out that Baek San-ho, the man who saved her, is a former special agent. He saved her, but can he be trusted? Seo Munju decides to start with him. Or rather, he makes sure that she decides that she can trust him. As their relationship develops, he reveals evidence suggesting a larger conspiracy, including suspicious phone calls and footage linking the assassin to Seo Munju’s brother-in-law. Her own brother-in-law? He may have killed his own brother? Realizing she was in danger, Seo Munju agreed to work with Baek San-ho to uncover the truth behind her husband’s death.

OFFICIAL TRAILER: Hulu. “Tempest.” YouTube, 20 Aug. 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEz4SuMI1-Q.

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Thursday, January 1, 2026

Hulu Original Korean Drama ~ Light Shop (2024)

Light Shop (2024): GENRE: Fantasy, Supernatural, Crime, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense; No. of episodes: 8

This supernatural mystery explores a strange store that offers customers a chance to revisit moments from their past.

Main Characters:

Jung Won-Young (played by Ju Ji-Hoon)
Joo Hyun-Ju (played by Shin Eun-Soo)
Lee Ji-Young (played by Seol Hyun)

A mysterious young woman appears human but may be something far more dangerous. No one knows her name or where she comes from, only that encounters with her rarely end well. A young man notices her sitting at the same bus stop every night with a suitcase, not moving. One rainy evening, he offers her help, unaware that her intentions may be far from innocent.

Nearby, Jung Won-young runs a small light shop at the end of a dark alley. He claims to see “strangers”—supernatural beings that move in darkness. A schoolgirl, Joo Hyun-ju, often stops by his shop, drawn to its safety and light. Jung Won-young warns her that if she ever encounters a stranger, she must pretend nothing is wrong to survive.

When Joo Hyun-ju finally faces one of the “strangers”, she escapes by reaching the light shop. It becomes clear that the light shop is protection, and darkness is danger. The light shop owner Jung Won-young is also mysterious. He may be guarding more than just the store. Maybe he's a “good stranger”???

OFFICIAL TRAILER: Hulu. “Light Shop.” YouTube, 2 Dec. 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUTranui_uY.

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Thursday, December 19, 2024

“Interior Chinatown” (2024) ~ A Hilarious Hulu Original Series Starrng Jimmy O. Yang

Interior Chinatown is a hilarious Hulu Original series, with 10 episodes, adapted from a 2020 award-winning novel by Charles Yu; released November 19, 2024.

"Feel like I'm a background character in someone else's story." - Willis Wu

This series pokes fun at Hollywood's stereotypes of Asians while making you laugh and also get involved with the main character, Willis Wu, who has always thought that nothing significant or important ever happens in his life. Then a female detective asks for his help in solving a crime and in the process, he learns things about his own family that he never knew.

If you liked Jimmy O. Yang as a stand-up comedian, you'll probably be happy that he got the opportunity to spread his wings. Getting the lead role in “Interior Chinatown” is definitely something significant and important in his life. In an interview with The Wrap, Yang indicated the his character was very much like him in that he had similar experiences early in his career where he felt invisible or not represented. (Interior Chinatown: Jimmy O. Yang Talks Stepping Into Lead Role |The Wrap)

The reviews on this Hulu Original series are mixed. It figures. Asian-Americans rarely speak out about the racism and discrimination they experience. So when a TV show gets released pointing it out and poking fun at the unfairness and inequality, and it's very IN YOUR FACE, that might strike a nerve with some people. Me? I like Jimmy O. Yang and am happy for this major step he has taken with his career. All of the actors in “Interior Chinatown” were an impressive cast.

CAST: Jimmy O. Yang, Ronny Chieng, Chloe Bennet

GENRE: Comedy, Crime, Murder Mystery, Police Procedural

FILMING LOCATIONS: Filmed mainly in Los Angeles, California (on-location shoots and studio spaces, including the Fox Studio Lot and Universal Studios Lot). Certain scenes were in the actual Chinatown neighborhood in Los Angeles.