Hulu’s Binge-Worthy New Series Is Officially a Streaming Sensation

Published Oct 30, 2026, 8:45 PM EDT

Denis is a news writer for Collider with close to five years of experience in the industry. He has analyzed shows across different genres, formats and styles. His favorite types of articles to write are exciting news updates and episodic deep-dives. He might say he doesn't have a favorite show, but he has watched The Wire, Shameless, The Big Bang Theory, and The Blacklist more than once. Denis is increasingly becoming focused on the global streaming arena and how media connects with audiences in various markets. Find him on X tweeting about something random that occurred to him about a TV show or the industry in general.

Hulu has been having a great comedy run over the last several years. From megahits like Only Murders in the Building and The Bear to fan favorites like Deli Boys and The Great, the streamer is slowly cornering the genre. Like other streaming services, Hulu is always on the lookout for the next hit, and it has found one in a quirky mystery-comedy that has become a favorite among fans and critics.

It is one of those rare shows that works for both camps, as shown by the near-matching scores on Rotten Tomatoes. With a 92% critic score and a 91% audience score, the verdict is near-unanimous that Phony is entertaining. The coming-of-age mystery follows teenager Sonny Cook (Sam Nivola), who wakes up after an accident and realizes something is amiss. Sonny's only parent, Ellen (Connie Britton), is also his best friend. They know each other intimately and even have a secret language. But after the accident, Sonny wakes up to find his mom isn't really his mom, having been replaced by an impostor. The problem is that no one else can see it, and Sonny is convinced that the impostor mom could be dangerous.

Nick Paley created the series, and the cast also includes Grace Brennan (Pet Shop Days), Maliq Johnson (Grand Army), Colter Lee (Cursed Friends), Meera Syal (The Wheel of Time), and Mahaela Park (Dìdi). Fans have been enamored by the show's quirky vibe, funny situations, and central mystery. Phony is officially one of Hulu's most-watched shows in the U.S., ranked third by FlixPatrol at the time of writing. It has hit number one at its peak when new episodes are released on Tuesdays. Outside the U.S., it streams on Disney+, where it has also seen significant success and ranked in the top ten.

Collider Exclusive · 8 Questions · 2 Minutes What Is Your Biggest Horror Nightmare? Elm Street · Chucky · Scream · The Conjuring

Four horror franchises. Four completely different ways of scaring you. One waits until you fall asleep. One makes sure nobody believes you. One is already in your group of friends. And one is in the house with your family. Answer eight quick questions about how you actually watch horror, and find out which nightmare was built for you.

😴Elm Street(Freddy Krueger)

🧸Chucky(Child's Play)

📞Scream(Ghostface)

🕯️The Conjuring(The Warren Files)

FIND YOUR NIGHTMARE →

Which horror scene makes you cover your eyes? Four classic images. One of them is worse than the others for you.

ASomebody falling asleep when they really should not. BA toy that has moved, and nobody touched it. CA phone ringing in an empty house. DA child talking to somebody who is not there.

NEXT QUESTION →

You are home alone and you hear a noise. First thought? Everybody has one. It arrives before you have decided anything.

AI am exhausted and my mind is playing tricks on me. BSomething in this room is not where I left it. CSomebody is in here with me. DThis house has never felt entirely right.

NEXT QUESTION →

Which horror movie rule would you break first? Everybody thinks they would survive. Almost nobody actually does.

ANever fall asleep. BNever leave it out of your sight. CNever answer the phone. DNever go down to the basement.

NEXT QUESTION →

Something genuinely frightening happens. What do you do? Not in a film. In your actual living room, tonight.

AConvince myself I imagined the whole thing. BTell someone, and brace for them not believing me. CWork out which person I know could be behind it. DGet everybody in the house into one room.

NEXT QUESTION →

How do you actually watch a horror film? Be honest about this one. Nobody is checking.

AFine during. Wide awake at two in the morning. BShouting at the screen that nobody is listening. CCalling the twist out loud before it lands. DThrough my fingers, holding on to something.

NEXT QUESTION →

Somebody offers you serious money. Which do you still refuse? The amount does not matter. There is one on this list you are not doing.

AFall asleep in a room I have never been in before. BKeep an old doll on the shelf facing my bed. CAnswer every unknown number that calls after midnight. DSpend one night alone in a house with a history.

NEXT QUESTION →

Which feeling stays with you a week after the film? Good horror does not stop when the credits do.

ANot wanting to turn the bedroom light off. BNot trusting one particular object in my house. CLooking twice at people I have known for years. DFeeling like something came home with me.

NEXT QUESTION →

Something wakes you at 3am. What is the worst possibility? Eight questions in, this is the one that decides your nightmare.

AThat I am still asleep, and it knows it. BThat the thing nobody believed me about is here. CThat somebody with a key is downstairs. DThat something is in the doorway, watching us sleep.

REVEAL MY NIGHTMARE →

The Lights Just Went Out Your Nightmare Is…

Four franchises, four completely different ways of getting underneath your skin. This is the one built out of your particular fear, why it works so well on you, and what it would leave behind.

Elm Street

Your nightmare does not wait outside the door. It waits for you to close your eyes, which you are going to have to do eventually, because nobody has ever won that particular argument.

Freddy is horror's cruellest idea: a threat that lives in the one place you cannot guard, cannot lock, and cannot avoid forever.
You are the one who is fine during the film and wide awake at two in the morning. Your own head is where this does its damage.
These films understood exhaustion as a horror engine. The kids on Elm Street do not lose because they are weak. They lose because they are tired.
You can lock every door in the house. You still have to sleep.

Chucky

Your nightmare is not really the doll. It is the face of the person you tell, and the way they decide, very kindly, that you have imagined all of it.

Chucky works precisely because he is absurd. That is the trap: the more accurately you describe him, the less anybody is going to believe you.
You are the one shouting at the screen because the characters are not listening. You know that feeling from real life too.
The franchise is at its best when the adults in the room are the real obstacle, and you have met those adults.
By the time somebody finally believes you, you will have handled most of it on your own.

Scream

Your nightmare has your number, knows your name, and has almost certainly been inside your house before. The worst part is that you already know them.

Scream is the only one of these where the killer takes the mask off and turns out to be somebody who was at the party.
You are the person who calls the twist out loud before it lands. You watch people the same way you watch films.
The franchise made the rules of horror part of the plot, which means the survivors are the ones paying attention. You would be paying attention.
Everybody is a suspect, including the person who just offered to walk you home.

The Conjuring

Your nightmare is not really about you. It is about the people asleep down the hall, and the feeling that whatever is here is not interested in leaving.

The Conjuring films are domestic horror. The house, the family, the perfectly ordinary room that quietly stops feeling ordinary.
Your instinct is to get everybody into one room. Your fear is protective rather than personal, which is rarer than it sounds.
This is the one franchise where belief is the weapon. The people who come through it are the ones who are not alone and refuse to be.
Whatever is here did not come for you. It came for the household, and you are the one standing in the hallway.

↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ

Is 'Phony' Worth Watching?

According to critics, the series is worth investing in, even though they were only given half the episodes to review. Collider's David Caballero noted that while the show does not break any new ground thematically or visually, it is "genuinely trippy." He added that Phony could have spent more time building Sonny and Ellen's connection to make it more believable. ScreenRant's Grant Hermanns praised Nivola and Brittons' performances, noting that while the first four episodes are far from perfect, the series is "inviting." AV Club's Ben Rosenstock enjoyed "hanging out in its idiosyncratic world" as much as he did getting to the central mystery.

Stream new episodes of Phony on Hulu in the U.S. on Tuesdays and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.