Hulu Becomes Exclusive Streaming home for ‘Manhattan'

Coming off rave reviews surrounding last night's debut of the powerful new drama Manhattan on WGN America, Lionsgate, and Hulu have announced a ground-breaking deal for the new series to stream exclusively on Hulu Plus the day after its WGN America Sunday night airing, the two companies announced today. Hulu has acquired exclusive subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) rights to the critically-acclaimed new series produced by Lionsgate, Skydance Television and Tribune Studios.

Beginning today, new episodes of season one will be available every Monday following WGN America's Sunday night airing, with all 13 episodes of season one available on Hulu Plus upon the completion of the season on air. Hulu will also make the five most recently broadcast episodes of season one available on the free, ad-supported Hulu on a three day delay.

"After seeing the episodes, and enjoying every minute, I knew this series represented the kind of high-quality, addictive programming that we strive to bring to Hulu," said Craig Erwich, Senior Vice President, Head of Content at Hulu. "That's why this deal marks the first time that Hulu has committed to a series before a single episode had even aired."

"The speed with which we were able to launch a second window deal is a testament to three factors -- the willingness of our entrepreneurial partner Hulu to join us in embracing new approaches to our business, the tremendous quality of our ensemble cast, creator Sam Shaw and director Thomas Schlamme, and the enormous critical acclaim with which the series has been received," said Kevin Beggs, Chairman of Lionsgate Television Group. "Manhattan is shaping up to become another proud entry in our tradition of ground-breaking television series with enduring value."

"We're delighted to extend a partnership with Hulu that should help further expand the audience for this deserving show," said Lionsgate President of Worldwide Television & Digital Distribution Jim Packer. "We believe that this innovative arrangement will be a win/win/win for Lionsgate, our partners and, most of all, our audiences."

Lionsgate and Hulu are already partnered on the Hulu Original Deadbeat, which is currently streaming on Hulu and has already been renewed for a second season.