TCA16: Hulu Taps Jeffrey Donovan, Hugh Laurie for New Series

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Pasadena, Calif. -- Actors Jeffrey Donovan and Hugh Laurie will helm separate original series for Hulu, the over-the-top streaming service announced Saturday at its Television Critics Association press tour session.

Donovan (Burn Notice, Fargo) will star in Shut Eye, which takes a dark, comedic look at the underground world of Los Angeles storefront psychics and the organize crime syndicate that runs them, according to Hulu officials.

Psychological thriller Chance will star Laurie (House, Veep) as a forensic neuropsychiatrist who reluctantly gets sucked into a violent and dangerous world of mistaken identity, police corruption and mental illness.

Hulu also announced a multi-year distribution deal with Sony which includes streaming rights to such TV series as The Shield, Party of Five, Dawson’s Creek and Damages, as well Sony’s movie archive.

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.