Hulu Reports Strong Start For ‘Little Fires Everywhere’, Rise In Live News & Binge Viewing Amid COVID-19 Crisis

Click here to read the full article.

Keeping Up With the Kardashians and The Handmaid’s Tale are among the shows on Hulu people have been flocking onto during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Like other streamers, Hulu is reporting increased video consumption as people are staying home under federal and state guidelines to slow the spread of the virus. And like other streamers, Hulu is providing anecdotal information and no hard data.

Over the past two weeks, Hulu viewers have gravitated toward comedies and “comfort” TV shows like Bob’s Burgers, How I Met Your Mother and Brooklyn Nine-Nine as well as This is Us, Law and Order: SVU and Grey’s Anatomy, according to the streamer.

More from Deadline

• 'Shrill' Renewed For Season 3 By Hulu

• 'Normal People': Hulu & BBC Set Premiere & Unveil Trailer For Sally Rooney Adaptation

• Hulu Launches Free 24/7 Stream Of ABC News Live For Its On-Demand Subscribers

Shows that saw the biggest increase in hours watched included reality shows Keeping Up With the Kardashians and American Idol, as well as dramas 9-1-1, Fear The Walking Dead and Hulu original The Handmaid’s Tale. Binge viewing (watching 3+ episodes in the same session) has grown more than 25% over the past two weeks vs. the two weeks prior

Hulu is one of few streaming platforms that provide live news and not surprisingly, that area has seen a major growth as viewers seek information on the pandemic. Since March 9, live news viewing on Hulu has gone up +40% vs the prior two weeks.

Airing in those extraordinary circumstances, Hulu’s high profile new limited series Little Fires Everywhere has amassed solid viewership.

Per Hulu, with four episodes released to date, Little Fires Everywhere generated more hours of viewing over the past two weeks than any other drama on Hulu (including library titles with hundreds of episodes), and has been watched by more subscribers than any other program on Hulu overall during that period.

Interest has been building week to week, and the most recent Episode 4, which dropped last week, was viewed by more subscribers and generated more hours of viewing on its first day than the premiere Episode 1 did on Day 1.

Best of Deadline

• Coronavirus: U.S. Has Most Cases Worldwide As Death Toll Passes 2,400; Global Deaths At 33,100 - Update

• Coronavirus: Movies That Have Halted Or Delayed Production Amid Outbreak

• Hong Kong Filmart Postponed Due To Coronavirus Fears; Event Moves Two Weeks Before Toronto

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.