In a bit of counterprogramming against the networks and cable channels, Hulu plans to launch 10 new shows this summer, including one from Clerks auteur Kevin Smith.

Smith will host Spoilers, a half-hour show devoted to discussions of movies that launches on Hulu and Hulu Plus on June 4. In August, Hulu will premiere Up To Speed from School of Rock director Richard Linklater and We Got Next, which is billed as an "edgy male comedy" from Kenya Barris and Hale Rothstein. Both premieres come in a typically slow season for traditional TV networks, which launch their big shows in the fall.

In addition to those original titles, Hulu will also begin offering seven TV shows that have never been available to U.S. audiences, including Rev, The Yard, Pramface, Derren Brown: Inside Your Mind, The Promise and Little Mosque along with the second season of the sci-fi thriller The Booth at the End. Most of those titles previously aired in other parts of the world, including the UK, Canada and Israel. Hulu began expanding its original programming roster last summer.

The blitz of content comes as Hulu and Netflix are trying to expand their content selection beyond the studios. Netflix launched its first original series, Lillyhammer, in February. Netflix is planning more such homegrown content over the next year, including House of Cards starring Kevin Spacey and season 4 of Arrested Development in 2013.

For Hulu, original content is a top priority. CEO Jason Kilar said in January that there's a demand for such programming: “It’s important for us to differentiate the service and create content not out there right now, [to tell] stories that aren’t being told right now. Consumers are asking for it … [and] it does build up heavy differentiation. But it’s not ‘the thing’ on our agenda; it’s part of it.”

Image courtesy of Flickr, Jareed