Hulu’s upfront presentation in New York City on Wednesday saved its best for last, when it brought Mindy Kaling on stage to ake a couple of pointed shots at their competitors in the streaming video space, Netflix and Amazon Prime.
“Hulu doesn’t just drown you with 12 episodes of a show all at once, and then an Adam Sandler movie every other week,” the star said in a clear shot at streaming giant Netflix before turning her aim on Amazon Prime: “And Hulu also isn’t an add on to the website where you buy tampons and garden hoses.”
Kaling’s comments about Netflix and Amazon came shortly after Hulu said it surpassed 20 million subscribers in the U.S., though that’s still far behind what Amazon and Netflix have. Both of those have a global reach, whereas Hulu is available only in America.
Kaling, whose Hulu series “The Mindy Project” wrapped last year, was on hand to tout her new show for the streamer, a TV version of the 1994 film “Four Weddings and a Funeral.”
The series is from MGM Television (the same studio behind “The Handmaid’s Tale”) and Universal Television, with MGM serving as the lead studio.
While no casting announcements were made, Kaling did promise that the show would have a diverse cast. “I’m talking Pakistani people, I’m talking black people, I’m talking a couple old people but not too many. And don’t worry everyone, there will still be plenty of white people.”
Kaling didn’t just save the barbs for Hulu’s competitors, she had some fun at Hulu’s expense as well, adding that the streamer has “that show about the women in the red dresses and bonnets, who can’t stop complaining about having babies. Cmon guys, I just had a baby, it’s not that bad.”