In what’s hopefully a sign of things to come, Palm Springs – one of the best films of 2020 – is getting a full audio commentary from its cast and filmmakers despite the fact that it only exists on a streaming service. Indeed, when Hulu and Neon bought Palm Springs for a record $17.5 million at Sundance, they intended to give it a full theatrical release in 2020 before it landed on Hulu. And then the pandemic happened.

As a result, Palm Springs debuted on Hulu last summer and while it was watched and loved by a lot of people, proponents of the theatrical experience and physical media like myself were still a little bummed. So it’s great to hear via Variety that Hulu has now released a “Commentary Version” of Palm Springs, which features stars Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti, director Max Barbakow, and screenwriter Andy Siara providing commentary throughout the film. You know, like an audio commentary you’d find on a Blu-ray.

This “Commentary Version” was actually the idea of the stars and filmmakers, as Samberg told Variety that they asked Hulu to make this unique move:

“As far as I know we’re the first,” Samberg told Variety of the new version. “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.”

Indeed, those who collect physical media don’t do so only to control their library (relying on streaming for the availability of your favorite films is folly), they also collect because some of the best Blu-rays and DVDs feature a wealth of bonus features that allow you to dig deeper into the making of your favorite films.

Netflix has previously released podcast commentaries for a couple of films as well as some roundtable discussions and short making-of documentaries for films like The Irishman and Roma, and I do hope Hulu’s move with Palm Springs here starts a trend. This was my favorite film of last year, and I can’t wait to hear what the folks responsible for making it have to say about putting the whole thing together.

You can watch a trailer for the commentary version of Palm Springs below, which is already streaming on Hulu – just go to Palm Springs and look under the “Extras” tab.

For more on the film, check out my extended interview with Samberg and his Lonely Island companions Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone, all of whom produced Palm Springs.

And if any Academy voters are reading, consider the abject brilliance of this wonderful, unique film.