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Hulu, Marvel bring back Ghost Rider with new show

The streamer announced that Chrissy Teigen has a cooking show with Momofuku chef David Chang coming, and it released new trailers for Veronica Mars and Handmaid's Tale.

Joan E. Solsman Former Senior Reporter
Joan E. Solsman was CNET's senior media reporter, covering the intersection of entertainment and technology. She's reported from locations spanning from Disneyland to Serbian refugee camps, and she previously wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. She bikes to get almost everywhere and has been doored only once.
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Joan E. Solsman
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ABC's "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." - Season Four

Gabriel Luna will reprise his Ghost Rider role for a new Hulu series centered on the fiery character.

 Jennifer Clasen/ABC via Getty Images

Hulu unveiled plans for two new Marvel shows on its streaming video service, based on the characters Rider and Helstrom, as it revealed a new slate of programming and series renewals Wednesday at a Newfront presentation to advertisers in New York. 

Hulu also announced it surpassed 28 million members. 

The live-action Ghost Rider, which will star Gabriel Luna reprising his role from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Helstrom shows will join a swelling lineup of Marvel programming on Hulu. The service is embarking on its third season of Runaways, another live-action Marvel-based series, and the company announced plans for four adult-oriented Marvel animated series -- a team-up it's calling Marvel's The Offenders -- in February. 

The reveal comes as the Marvel Cinematic Universe 's big-budget theatrical films are dominating the box office; Avengers: Endgame booked a record $1.22 billion opening weekend. (Hulu didn't specify if its new Marvel programs would be linked to the storylines of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.)

Wednesday's announcements are Hulu's first public comments since Disney , its majority owner, revealed detailed plans for Disney Plus, a streaming service set to be the family-friend sister service to edgier Hulu. Disney owns two-thirds of Hulu, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding the rest.

Hulu's rapidly shifting ownership -- the company was a joint venture of four media heavyweights as recently as March -- and Disney's ambitious plans for Disney Plus have raised questions about Hulu's position in a changing streaming-video landscape.

Hulu unveiled other programming news Wednesday, plus two new trailers for upcoming originals:

  • Model and Twitter power user Chrissy Teigen is teaming up with Momofuku celebrity chef David Chang for Hulu's first-ever original food show. The project is the first in a multiyear deal for food programming with Vox Media Studios, Chang's MajorDomo Media and Teigen's Suit & Thai Productions.
  • Teigen's Suit & Thai also struck a two-year deal on its own with Hulu, with the possibility for wide-ranging programming. 
  • Nicole Kidman is teaming up again with Big Little Lies writer and producer David E. Kelley for Nine Perfect Strangers, based on the bestselling novel by Liane Moriarty. 
  • Saturday Night Live's Kate McKinnon will star as Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes in a limited series, The Dropout
  • Hulu's freshman comedies Pen15 and Ramy were renewed for second seasons. 
  • New trailers arrived for the continuation of Veronica Mars and season 3 of The Handmaid's Tale both got new trailers.

Hulu also introduced the second of what it calls "non-intrusive" ad formats. After it rolled out a way to advertise when viewers pause their shows earlier this year, Hulu said was kicking off a way for marketers to target binge viewers. Its pause ads are also widening in August, the company said.

First published May 1, 2019 at 6 a.m. PT.
Update 8:25 a.m. PT: Adds Marvel's confirmation that Gabriel Luna will reprise the Ghost Rider role. Update 8:53 a.m. PT: Adds new trailers.