How Hulu’s Drama Based On An Award-Winning Book Redefined Streaming TV

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Premiering in 2013, House of Cards is widely recognized as one of the first big TV shows created specifically for streaming services. It paved the way for other popular streaming series like Orange is the New Black (2013), Bosch (2015), and Stranger Things (2016). However, despite their success, no streaming show had ever won an Emmy for Best Drama Series until 2017, when The Handmaid’s Tale broke that barrier.

Hulu hadn’t produced many dramatic series when it decided to adapt Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale. The show immediately signaled its commitment to high quality by casting Elisabeth Moss – a well-known actress from popular series like The West Wing and Mad Men – in the lead role.

When The Handmaid’s Tale premiered, it quickly became a landmark achievement. In 2017, its first season made history by becoming the first streaming series to win an Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series, and the first original series from Hulu to win any major award. While not the first streaming show ever, The Handmaid’s Tale changed how people viewed the potential of streaming television.

Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale Set New Expectations For TV Shows On Streaming

The rise of streaming services shares a lot of similarities with the early days of cable TV in the 1990s and 2000s. Just like HBO and Showtime, which offered subscription-based, ad-free viewing, streaming services have greater creative freedom than traditional broadcast networks, and their shows often reflect that.

HBO’s early drama, Oz, was known for its shocking use of strong language, violence, and sexual content. While groundbreaking, it wasn’t until The Sopranos premiered two years later that HBO truly became known for high-quality television, proving that shows could be both mature and well-made.

Interestingly, The Sopranos became the first cable television show to win the Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series, marking a significant achievement for HBO and the industry.

As streaming services became popular, they also benefited from creative freedom, and quickly embraced it. Netflix’s second original global series, Orange is the New Black, shared similarities with the earlier show Oz – both were set in prisons and known for their realistic and often shocking portrayal of life behind bars, bringing previously unheard stories to television.

Shows like Orange is the New Black and House of Cards initially grabbed viewers’ attention, but it was The Handmaid’s Tale – and its award wins – that truly changed streaming television. It proved streaming could be as good as, or even better than, traditional TV, much like The Sopranos did for cable.

Streaming Titles Are Now Common For Major Award Categories

Streaming services have grown significantly in recent years, becoming more popular and offering higher-quality content. In 2024, Hulu and FX achieved a major milestone at the Emmys. Their original series, Shōgun, won a record-breaking 18 awards at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards – more than any other show in a single year.

These successful shows weren’t one-time occurrences. Since HBO transitioned to its streaming service, HBO Max, streaming programs have become the frontrunners at major television award shows. At the 2025 Emmys, the drama awards were primarily a close competition between HBO Max’s The Pitt and Apple TV’s Severance. Notably, no shows from traditional television networks received nominations for Outstanding Drama.

These days, most people watch TV through streaming services, but this shift isn’t just about technology getting better. Despite some drawbacks, streaming allows for a level of creative freedom and high-quality storytelling we hadn’t seen before, and shows like The Handmaid’s Tale—which premiered in 2017—really set the standard.

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2026-04-26 16:38