EXCLUSIVE: Casual, the series that helped usher in high-end original programming on Hulu, will be coming to the end. The streaming network has ordered an abbreviated eight-episode fourth season of the comedy, which will be its last. It will air in 2018.
Casual, from director Jason Reitman, creator Zander Lehmann and showrunner Liz Tigelaar, was one of the first original series to launch on Hulu in October 2015 as the service was beginning its transformation from a place for low-cost original series, mostly comedy, to a premium content destination. It was among the first TV series to premiere at the Toronto Film Festival as part of its first Primetime TV lineup in September 2015. And a couple of months later, Casual became the first Hulu program to land a best series awards nomination with a Golden Globe nom for best comedy or musical.
“I don’t want to overstate what nominations mean, but it puts us on the map in terms of our original productions,” Hulu CEO Mike Hopkins was quoted at the time of Casual‘s Golden Globe nomination. It would be Hulu’s only best series nom until breakout drama Handmaid’s Tale came along this year and swept the Emmys.
Given Casual’s legacy at Hulu, it is clear why it is being given a proper sendoff with a final chapter. The series, from Lionsgate Television and Right of Way Films, was created by Lehmann and has been executive produced by Reitman Lehmann, Helen Estabrook, and Tigelaar.
It centers on Valerie (Michaela Watkins), a newly divorced single mother living with her brother Alex (Tommy Dewey) and her daughter Laura (Tara Lynne Barr). Frances Conroy and Nyasha Hatendi co-star on the show, whose first season consisted of 10 episodes, Seasons 2 and 3 of 12 episodes each.
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