Romy and Michele sequel starts production with original costume designer Mona May

The Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion sequel is officially in production, and it is already making one thing very clear: it is not treating this as a vague reboot. Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino are attached to the 20th Century Studios project, and Deadline reports that it will stream exclusively as a Hulu Original. Even better for fans who remember the specific look of the original, the sequel has also brought back the original costume designer, Mona May.

That costume continuity matters more than it sounds. Costumes in cult comedies are not just wardrobe choices, they are shorthand for character, era, and punchlines. By attaching Mona May from the first film, the production is basically telling you it wants the sequel to feel like the same world, not a costume party where everyone is “inspired by” the past. And with the two original stars, Kudrow and Sorvino, taking to social media to share a photo from the production start, the project is already behaving like a real continuation, not a storage-unit resurrection.

Zoom out for a second, because the Hulu exclusive piece is a business signal, not just a distribution detail. When a studio backs a sequel like this and routes it to a single streaming destination, it is using IP and nostalgia as subscription and retention fuel. In other words, it is not only selling entertainment. It is selling the idea that Hulu has the “must-watch” event calendar, and that viewers have a reason to stay subscribed instead of cycling through months like a streaming buffet.

For decision-makers, this is part of a wider playbook: premium entertainment is increasingly bundled into platform exclusives, and platforms are increasingly pressured to prove they can deliver “recognizable franchises” that reduce marketing friction. Kudrow and Sorvino bring name recognition that a typical new series has to earn from scratch. The more the sequel leans into original creative leadership, like Mona May, the more it can credibly promise that it is not just a brand extension, it is something that understands what made the original work.

There is also an ecosystem angle here. 20th Century Studios is handling production, which means the sequel sits inside a large studio engine that typically has the infrastructure for scaling releases, packaging talent, and supporting production timelines. Hulu, meanwhile, has a different but complementary incentive structure. Platforms do not control box office, but they can control binge potential, watch-time, and how quickly new audiences cross over from “curious” to “committed.” When a sequel is an exclusive, it becomes an anchor title. Anchors shape what gets marketed, what gets prioritized in the app, and what gets bundled into pitch meetings with advertisers and partners.

Now consider what “in production” really implies operationally. This is not a pre-announcement phase where everything can still drift. Production status signals that casting, creative planning, and schedule alignment have progressed enough to move into actual filmmaking work. That is a key inflection point for investors, boards, and internal teams, because it compresses uncertainty. The more a project reaches production, the more leadership teams can convert early fan interest into concrete delivery milestones, and the less they have to rely on hope.

The second-order effect is that creative continuity can raise expectations. Bring back the original costume designer, and you also raise the question: will the sequel match the original’s tonal and visual logic? In comedies especially, aesthetic consistency can influence how jokes land. The right costumes can support timing, movement, and character clarity, which matters when humor depends on quick recognition. That means the marketing team will likely have to calibrate messaging carefully. If it leans too far into “new and fresh,” it risks undermining the credibility created by bringing Mona May back and attaching the original stars.

So where does this leave operators and execs watching from the next office over? For anyone making platform content decisions, staffing decisions, or portfolio calls, this is a reminder that the sequel economy is not only about IP. It is about the specific people who shaped the original. A franchise can be iconic and still feel wrong if the creative DNA is swapped out. Here, the project is doing the opposite, and that is part of why this production start is worth noting.

If you are tracking Hulu’s positioning or 20th Century Studios’ content strategy, this sequel gives you a concrete data point. A cult classic sequel is moving forward, it has original stars attached, it has original costume leadership via Mona May, and it is designed to be an exclusive Hulu Original. That combination suggests a purposeful bet on both familiarity and platform differentiation, and it is the kind of move that can ripple across how boards measure streaming content returns: not just by views, but by the loyalty that recognizable worlds can generate.