Hulu is now streaming a Palm Springs commentary cut, featuring stars Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti providing insight into the streaming hit. It’s a fun idea, and it’s something more streaming titles should take advantage of – the technology to provide streaming commentary tracks is there and waiting. Could this be the start of a new trend or something Hulu is trying out just to drum up more awards season attention for Palm Springs? Time will tell.
Palm Springs Commentary Cut Trailer
When the golden age of LaserDisc and then DVDs arrived it brought with it something unique: the commentary track. Directors, actors, and other crew members from certain films would gather together and provide (sometimes) insightful commentary into their specific productions, and at times it was like listening to a mini film school lecture. Commentaries continued into the Blu-ray era, but over the last few years, they’ve dropped off considerably. Sometimes, studios just don’t want to shell out the money.
Things became even direr in the age of streaming. Now that more and more films are made directly for streaming services, the commentary track feels extinct. But it doesn’t have to be! Streaming services have the capability to provide commentary tracks. To its credit, The Criterion Channel does just this, providing the commentaries that were included on various Criterion Collection LaserDiscs/DVDs/Blu-rays.
Thankfully it looks like Hulu has caught on, and they’re now providing a Palm Springs commentary cut on their platform. Netflix has tried something similar with commentary podcasts in the past, but this commentary is available right on your Hulu account, which seems more accessible. “As far as I know we’re the first,” star Andy Samberg told Variety. “We realized that Palm Springs will always be on Hulu, which is great, but there are elements of the DVD experience that just don’t exist anymore. They were very amenable in talking about ways to get some fun stuff in there.”
I really hope this kicks off a new trend for streaming titles going forward and isn’t just a one-off idea Hulu is trying out for awards season. In Palm Springs, “Today, tomorrow, and yesterday are all the same for carefree Nyles (Andy Samberg), who is stuck in a time loop at a wedding in Palm Springs. But when Sarah (Cristin Milioti), the sister of the bride, gets stuck as well, she helps him realize that carrying the weight of existence might just be a little better together.”
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