Hulu's New Crime Thriller Massively Improves 39-Year-Old Movie With Rare Rotten Tomatoes Score

Published Jul 23, 2026, 12:50 PM EDT Abdullah Al-Ghamdi joined Screen Rant in August 2019 and is now one of the leading contributors of the TV News team. Having written over 4000 news stories in that time , with his work cited in Buzzfeed and TV Insider, he's always bemoaning that there's too many shows and not enough time. You can contact him at: aalghamdi@hey.com. Sign in to your ScreenRant account Hulu's new crime thriller is a massive improvement. Hulu's strength in the crime space is perhaps not surprising for those following its recent output. What unites the best of Hulu's ventures into the genre is a sharp focus on a specific setting and how that might impact a character's motivations or the events that unfold. That's true of The Dropout, which made the true story of Elizabeth Holmes' downfall feel riveting and fresh thanks to the way it explored her past and the rich enablers that allowed her to gain more influence. It's true of The Girl from Plainville, which examined how small-town isolation can fester into tragic outcomes. Under the Bridge followed along those lines, coupled with the destructiveness of racism and resentment. Furious, Hulu's latest crime thriller, differs from those previous examples because it's not based on true events. But it does get inspiration from a 1987 movie. Consisting of eight episodes and debuting on Hulu on July 27, Furious currently sits at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. That score is based on 10 reviews, although it could change once the series premieres and more reviews are added. In an encouraging sign, however, the Average of Rated Reviews comes in at 8.70 out of 10. This indicates that the opinions are strongly favorable. The Average of Rated Reviews refers to critic reviews with letter or numerical ratings are included in the average, and can be viewed by clicking on the Tomatometer. Regardless of whether the perfect score is maintained, however, Furious is well ahead of the 1987 film that inspired it. Black Widow, which was directed by Bob Rafelson, has a 58% score based on 24 reviews. Furious is led by Shameless alum Emmy Rossum as Alice Black, an FBI agent that is on the hunt for a female serial killer. Over the course of the series, their lives begin to intertwine and the line between what's right and what's wrong starts to blur. Lola Petticrew, Scoot McNairy, Quincy Tyler Bernstine, and Jake Lacy also star in the Hulu Original. Image via Hulu The Hollywood Reporter's Daniel Feinberg highlights the comparison between the film and the series explicitly in his review, writing in part that the crime thriller has “enough plot and more than enough thematic concern to justify going from 100 minutes to eight hours.” It's a relatively rare accomplishment when a main streaming era complaint is that many series would work better as one-off movies. The review goes on to praise the performances of Rossum and Petticrew, noting that the second half of the show is an improvement over the first. Collider's review by Carly Lane is similarly complimentary, as it speaks to how the thriller aptly and satisfyingly tackles its themes and gives Furious a score of 8 out of 10. The eight-part drama is created and executive produced by Elizabeth Meriwether, who is best known for creating the sitcom New Girl. More recently, though, Meriwether has earned praise for her writing on The Dropout, which helped earn an Emmy win for Amanda Seyfried. She then followed that up with Dying for Sex, a raunchy and candid dramedy that garnered Emmy nominations for Michelle Williams, Jenny Slate, and Rob Delaney. It bodes well for whichever young performer gets to play Britney Spears in the biopic that Meriwether will write. It also seems to be working great for Furious. Furious debuts on Hulu and Disney+ with three episodes on Monday, July 27, followed by weekly episodes until August 31. Release Date July 27, 2026 Network Hulu Directors Brian Kirk Cast Emmy Rossum FBI Agent Alice Black Creator(s) Elizabeth Meriwether