Hulu’s newest television series, “Future Man,” brings together comedy and science fiction as it tells the story of a janitor who is suddenly tasked with saving the world.
The project, which was created by Ariel Shaffir and Kyle Hunter, has been in the works for over two years. It was originally planned to be a movie.
“Every time we finished the script, we felt like there was so much more story here,” Hunter said.
Despite the extra work involved in converting the film to a television series, the two creators embraced the idea.
“It takes a lot of work and time,” Shaffir said. “But once we knew that we were turning it into a TV show and had a certain number of episodes that we needed to stretch the story out over, it honestly wasn’t that difficult.”
Seth Rogen, who works as an executive producer on the show, is well-known for his comedic films. Rogen said the comedy in “Future Man” will remind many of the comedy from his previous works.
“I think it’s tonally most like some of our movies like ‘This is the End’ or ‘Pineapple Express,’” Rogen said.
Josh Hutcherson of “The Hunger Games” fame will play the titular role. Hutcherson joined the project after doing a small role in James Franco’s upcoming film, “The Disaster Artist,” which Rogen also stars in.
Hutcherson’s character, Josh Futterman, is a janitor at a “Sexual Disease Research Center” by day, and an extreme video gamer by night.
“He’s playing this one game called ‘The Biotic Wars’ and it’s like the unbeatable game that no one has ever beaten,” Hutcherson said. “He finally beats it one night and finds out that the game is actually a simulator sent from the future to find the chosen one to save all humanity.”
Hutcherson, who, like Rogen, is better known for his films than his work in television, said shooting “Future Man” felt more like shooting a really long movie.
“The scope and scale of the show is insane,” Hutcherson said. “The sequences and whatnot are very cinematic and massive.”
“Future Man” premieres on Hulu on Tuesday.
Brandon Rowe interviewed the “Future Man” cast and creators at this year’s San Diego Comic Con.