If you’re looking to boost your entertainment options going into the new year, then this Disney+, Hulu and ESPN bundle deal may be just what you’re looking for, as it bundles all three of the best streaming services available together for just under twenty bucks.
It’s a fantastic deal that gives you access to a wealth of the best TV shows, including everything Marvel and Star Wars over on Disney+ and hits like The Handmaid’s Tale and Only Murders in the Building on the Hulu side of things. There’s also plenty of sports options with ESPN part of the deal. But with so many great options to choose from, it’s hard to know just what to opt for as your go to binge during those quiet post-Christmas weeks.
But worry not, because below is my pick of the three best Disney+ shows and best Hulu shows to start with, covering the spectrum from kitchen drama to futuristic sci-fi and comic book craziness. What’s more, all three shows boast over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes from the critics, so read on to discover your next streaming obsession.
WandaVision
Seasons: 1
Cast: Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Debra Jo Rupp, Fred Melamed, Kathryn Hahn, Teyonah Parris, Randall Park, Kat Dennings
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 92%
Kicking off the Disney+ era of the MCU, WandaVision exploded onto the scene back in 2021 delivering a Marvel tale like we’d never seen one before.
Picking up in the aftermath of Avengers: Endgame, the show follows Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda, aka The Scarlet Witch, relocated to a seemingly idyllic life in the suburbs. All is very much not as it seems, however, as the cracks of this ‘perfect’ reality begin to show and the truth behind life in small-town Westview is revealed.
The show, from Fantastic Four: First Steps director Matt Shakman, takes the form of a sitcom pastiche, aping the style and tone of family comedies through the decades with each episode. The closer we get to modern day, the more bizarre things become. To go into any further detail would be to spoil what are some shocking reveals, but beyond its excellent send up of sitcoms past, WandaVision is an outstanding study of grief, denial and wishing for what could have been that frequently wrong foots the audience, drawing us in to a screwball comedy before delivering a devastating emotional gut punch. Marvel may have been bigger than this, but it’s never been better.
Alien: Earth
Seasons: 1
Cast: Sydney Chandler, Alex Lawther, Essie Davis, Samuel Blenkin, Babou Ceesay, Adarsh Gourav, Erana James, Lily Newmark, Jonathan Ajayi, David Rysdahl, Diêm Camille, Moe Bar-El, Adrian Edmondson, Timothy Olyphant
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 94%
If two kids vs monsters vs the military shows (Stranger Things, Welcome to Derry) weren’t enough for you in 2025, then Alien: Earth is a fantastic way to complete the thematic trilogy.
Set after Ridley Scott’s latest installments in the franchise but just before the events of the original film, Alien: Earth sees a group of terminally ill children have their consciousness transposed into android bodies, while at the same time, a crashed Weyland-Yutani ship kicks off a corporate war over the alien species, Xenemorph included, on board.
As one would expect from Legion showrunner Noah Hawley, the show is heavy on the philosophy, but never loses sight of being an Alien property the way the likes of Prometheus did. The corporate espionage is intriguing as the two sides try to outflank one another in the boardroom before resorting to their private armies, and the hybrid children, dubbed “The Lost Boys” are fantastically captured by their adult performers. When the Xenemorph does take centre stage, it’s rarely been more terrifying as it ferociously dispatches waves of armed goons, and the other alien species involved deliver plenty of icky moments. For both fans of the franchise and newcomers, Alien: Earth makes for a hugely entertaining binge.
The Bear
Seasons: 4
Cast: Jeremy Allen White, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ayo Edebiri, Lionel Boyce, Liza Colón-Zayas, Abby Elliott, Matty Matheson, Edwin Lee Gibson
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%
The day to day of a Chicago Italian beef sandwich shop with aspirations of becoming a Michelin-starred restaurant doesn’t sound like the most riveting premise, but solid writing and direction and outstanding performances make The Bear one of the most gripping shows around.
The show follows Carmy (Jeremy Allen White), an award-winning chef returning to his hometown to manage the sandwich joint following the death of his brother, its former owner. Met with a chaotic kitchen and a team mostly unwilling to adapt to his style, Carmy sets out to make the business thrive, before pivoting to fulfill his aspirations of transforming it into a high end restaurant.
Frequently misclassified as a comedy, The Bear is undoubtedly laugh-out-loud funny at times, however, the beating heart of the show is the human drama, as the various people invested in the business experience the ups and downs of hospitality in the modern age. Through flashback episodes, we learn more about Carm’s brother Mikey (John Bernthal), the magnetic appeal he had to those around him, and the battles he fought that eventually led to him taking his own life. The drama is often raw and powerful as we’re thrust into the thick of it with this makeshift family, cheering their wins and mourning their losses. If you want to see just what the show is capable of, the outstanding season 2 episode ‘Fishes’ serves as somewhat stand alone, but with an average runtime of 30 minutes, the whole show is addictively bingeable.
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