EXCLUSIVE: Hulu has passed on its YA drama pilot Foster Dade, from Greg Berlanti, Bash Doran, Warner Bros. Television and studio-based Berlanti Productions. The project already is being shopped to other platforms by the studio, which remains high on the pilot, sources said.
Based on Nash Jenkins’ debut novel Foster Dade Explores the Cosmos, Foster Dade was one of three YA pilots Hulu had ordered over the past year as the streamer has been looking to beef up its offerings in the arena following the breakout success of its college drama Tell Me Lies. None of them moved forward, with Foster Dade following the recent passes to drama Buffy: New Sunnydale and comedy Don’t Get High.
Hulu did pick up to series its 2024 YA comedy-mystery pilot Phony, starring Connie Britton and Sam Nivola, and it also has coming up Mindy Kaling’s 20-somethings comedy series Not Suitable For Work as it remains committed to the space, sources said.
This marks the first Hulu pickup decision following the March restructuring which saw Debra OConnell add Hulu Originals to her purview in her new role as chairman of Disney Entertainment Television. It came after initial positive internal buzz on Foster Dade while the pilot was still in production.
Described as a sophisticated mystery set at an East Coast boarding school that explores privilege, scandal, sexuality and masculinity amid the rise of social media, millennial anxiety and pharmaceuticals, Foster Dade is said to be pushing the envelope of edgy, sexual content.
That may not have been a good fit for Disney’s Hulu, though the exact reasons for the pass are unclear. (Hulu has racy shows on, with the British series Rivals as a prime example.) The team behind Foster Dade is likely hoping that the recent success of Heated Rivalry, which came out after Foster Dade had been greenlighted to pilot at Hulu, has increased the appetite for such programming among streamers, including WBTV sibling HBO Max, the home in the U.S. and other territories of the hugely popular hockey romance.
Berlanti and Doran already have a high-profile pilot at HBO Max, drama How To Survive Without Me starring Ray Romano, Joshua Jackson, Kaley Cuoco and Rita Wilson.
The hope is for Foster Dade to follow another racy Berlanti Prods./WBTV series targeting younger viewers, You, which started at Lifetime before finding a long-time (and more suitable) home at Netflix.
The cast of the Foster Dade pilot, written by Greg Berlanti and Bash Doran and directed by Daniel Minahan, includes Jack Alldridge, Chloe East, Cameron Mann, Matt Bomer, Wyatt Aubrey, Olivia Campos-Tarantino and Vinny Chhibber.
Executive producing are Berlanti Prods.’ Berlanti, Sarah Schechter and Leigh London Redman alongside Doran, Jenkins, Robbie Rogers as well as Donald De Line of De Line Pictures.