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Hulu Opens Merch Shop, Offers Ugly Sweaters

The streaming service is following in the footsteps of Netflix, which also launched a branded merch site this year.

’Tis the season for streaming swag. Hulu this week announced the launch of “Shop Hulu,” an e-commerce merch site featuring limited-edition apparel and lifestyle products inspired by a selection of its shows.

Among the first items being released is a collection of ugly holiday sweaters representing The Handmaid’s Tale and Wu Tang: An American Saga, among other titles.

holiday sweaters against backdrop of tinsel and garland

Shop Hulu includes a collection of limited-edition ugly Christmas sweaters inspired by several of its original shows, including titles like The Handmaid’s Tale.

Hulu’s announcement comes a few months after rival Netflix made its own foray into e-commerce, in part to help it quickly develop and release moment merch based on social media trends and unexpected hits.

Hulu ugly Christmas sweaters will be available for purchase beginning Nov. 30. Through Dec. 31, 100% of the purchase price from the sale of the sweaters, excluding taxes and shipping fees, will be donated to Feeding America.

In addition, fans of Solar Opposites, an animated sitcom on the streaming service, will be able to purchase an array of branded apparel, glassware, stickers and more, timed around the release of the show’s holiday special set to premiere Nov. 22. The Shop Hulu team collaborated with Solar Opposites executive producers to curate the collection.

The “launch provides fans with a way to engage with their favorite shows beyond the screen,” notes a press release from Hulu. “Shoppers will be delighted by hundreds of exclusive apparel and household items based on their go-to shows from the Hulu library.”

In addition to merch from Hulu’s original programming, the retail site includes items from other popular shows it’s acquired the rights to air, including Grey’s Anatomy, American Horror Story and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Golden Girls gold mug

Shop Hulu includes an array of merch from new hits and old favorites, including this mug for the ’80s-era hit sitcom The Golden Girls.

Even seemingly unusual picks, like The Golden Girls, have a healthy lineup of almost 100 items in Shop Hulu. There’s a metallic coffee mug with the main characters’ faces emblazoned on it along with the phrase “Stay Golden,” a sweatshirt that includes the phrase “Keep calm and eat cheesecake” across the chest, and many more. Much digital ink has been spilled on the phenomenon of millennials’ love of the ’80s-era sitcom about four retirees living together in Miami. The pull of nostalgia is strong, so merch based around it just makes sense.

Considering that some of the other major streaming sites, like Amazon Prime and Disney+, are already pros at e-commerce and merch development, it makes sense for Netflix and Hulu to follow in those footsteps – particularly since a quick search of various print-on-demand sites reveals scads of unofficial feature merch for sale for just about any show out there. Even Apple+ has an official merch store for its sweet-natured hit Ted Lasso, dropping official jerseys for AFC Richmond, the show’s fictional football team, prior to the release of its second season in the summer.