Hulu Documentary Execs Say ‘Entertainment’ Isn’t a ‘Bad Word’: ‘We Have to Get People to Listen’

Office With a View: Belisa Balaban and Beth Osisek recount the constant evolution of the streamer’s vérité and investigative slate

Office with a View
Hulu Originals SVP of Documentaries and Unscripted Series Belisa Balaban and Hulu Originals VP of Documentaries Beth Osisek (Courtesy of Hulu and TheWrap)

For Hulu documentary executives Belisa Balaban and Beth Osisek, flexibility is the name of the game when it comes to the constant pivoting required by vérité and investigative projects — a quality that they say only strengthens unscripted storytelling.

“The hallmark of nonfiction is that you don’t always know where a story’s going to go,” Balaban, who serves as SVP of Hulu original documentaries and unscripted series told TheWrap for this week’s Office With a View. “That’s always the central challenge, and also opportunity of nonfiction filmmaking. And of course, that’s the challenge and opportunity for us — then we’ve got to pivot on our end as well — a story might shift, or the length might shift or characters might shift, and we’re there to support filmmakers through that process.

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