Future Man (on Hulu)

Hulu's Future Man is a great example of niche television getting a chance in today's expansive landscape of entertainment production. And I am exactly the target audience.

The plot of Future Man revolves around time travelers going into the past to recruit a video game expert to help them save their future. Which is ridiculous and rapidly becomes more so, jumping around multiple times and places with barely a stop. Not that it really matters, because what Future Man is really about is hilarious pop culture references, insanity that seemed like a good idea at the time, and a whole lot of crude jokes.

I really like the performance by all three of the main actors: Josh Hutcherson, Eliza Coupe, and Derek Wilson. Each really sells the role they're playing, which I think is essential in this kind of comedy. It doesn't work if the characters don't seem truly invested in the events, not to mention often being confused by what's going on. All three of these folks do an outstanding job.

There are a lot of people who shouldn't watch Future Man. Anyone who's been offended by South Park, for instance. Or has issues with jokes about bodily functions. Or isn't steeped in pop culture time travel sci-fi, like Back to the Future and Terminator. Although I guess you could do without that last part, if you don't mind missing a good number of references.

Twenty years ago...maybe even ten...I'm not sure Future Man would have found a home. It's got a narrow target audience and wouldn't make it past the censors for broadcast TV. But these days, with all kinds of cable channels and streaming services producing a ton of content, there's a lot of room for all sorts of ideas. And I'm glad this one got a chance, because it's hilarious.