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After a car accident, teenager Sonny Cooke (Sam Nivola) wakes in hospital convinced that his mother, Ellen (Connie Britton), has been replaced by an impostor who looks almost exactly like her. With nobody else seeing what he sees, he sets out to prove it, and to work out whether the problem is her or him.
Checked 25 Oct 2026. Services change their catalogues often; the service’s own page has the final word.
After a car accident, teenager Sonny Cooke (Sam Nivola) wakes in hospital convinced that his mother, Ellen (Connie Britton), has been replaced by an impostor who looks almost exactly like her. With nobody else seeing what he sees, he sets out to prove it, and to work out whether the problem is her or him.
Why watch A half hour mystery comedy with a premise that doubles as a story about growing up: what happens when a parent suddenly seems like a stranger. Britton playing a mother who may not be herself is the hook, and Nivola, seen in The White Lotus, carries the teenage paranoia. Suited to viewers who like their comedy with a puzzle and a slightly uncanny edge.
Nick Paley created Phony, wrote and directed the pilot, and serves as co-showrunner with Anthony King. The series is from 20th Television; the project first began at ABC Signature in 2022, and Hulu ordered it to series in August 2025. Executive producers include Britton and Drew Goddard.
Meera Syal plays Sharla, and the cast also includes Grace Brennan, Mahaela Park, Maliq Johnson and Colter Lee.
Phony premiered on Hulu on 20 October 2026. Part of the fun is deciding, alongside Sonny, whether he has uncovered something real or is simply a shaken teenager seeing threats at home.
Episode one: the mystery is serialized, so the opening hospital scenes and the first signs that something is off are essential.
The Guide · US
Prime Video, Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, Apple TV, Disney+, Paramount+, Peacock · US · 19 to 25 Oct
The Terminal List returns all at once, Nobody Wants This and Lupin come back to Netflix, and Hulu adds the thriller Phony: the US week, by day.
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