Hi,
I have this empty bed by the back of the house that gets only 1.5-2 hours of sun in the morning - only in the summer. By September it recedes and by the mid of the month there is zero sun.
I know hydrangeas can take shade, but is this too extreme?
Attaching a pic of the bed, there is room for 2 of them.

Also, if this is a possibility, is there a variety that does better than the others? Would rather a color variety than a white one.

It probably depends on how strong or weak the sun is during the growing season, what type of hydrangea you are talking about and whether it is potted or in the ground. A potted hydrangea can be moved during the growing season to follow the sun and maximize sun exposure as appropriate for the type of hydrangea.

I saw a macrophylla hydrangea at my sister's neighbor some years ago that received a few hours of sun at sunrise in the summer and then it received full but bright indirect sun (so it was not deep shade). It bloomed fine on those conditions. In NJ, you may want to try rebloomer macrophyllas from the Let's Dance Series. They do not grow very tall but that helps them make for more reliable bloomers in their second summer time flush than taller varieties like the Endless Series rebloomers. That is because the new growth in Spring will bloom in the summer if it is able to get tall enough and old enough to develop flower buds and open the buds. And sunlight makes them grow. If there is less sun, the stems may not get tall enough to produce blooms. But since the LD Series is bred to grow shorter stems, they should be able to produce buds faster. Similar comment for Mountain Hydrangeas (serratas) as they are normally shorter/smaller and bloom slightly later than macrophyllas. There are fewer rebloomer serrata series though; look for the Tuff Series.

Oakleaf (quercifolias) hydrangeas are probably the most bloom reliable in shady conditions. I have two in full but bright shade that always bloom and stay evergreen in many years. Fall foliage is excellent when they get some Fall sun.

The only ones that I would be "concerned" about the most are Smooth (arborescens) and Pee Gee (paniculata) hydrangeas but it is for a weird reason. I have had them both in full but bright shade but not in 1.5 hours of sun. On some years, their blooms failed to turn from their initially lime green color to white and the blooms stayed lime green until the end of the growing season. The number of blooms was not affected, mind you; it was that they did not change from lime green to white. Annabelle (an arborescens) did it one time. Then Little Lime (a paniculata) did it in another year). So not often. The only thing odd those 2 years was that we had very cloudy weather long-term. Paniculatas love sun and are the most sun tolerant of all hydrangeas; they can thrive in full sun conditions. They may do fine with 2 hours of sun during the growing season but I have only had them in either full sun or in full, but bright shade, conditions.

You did not list your zone so please check that the variety you decide on is winter hardy.

Thank you so much for your very detailed answer. Wanted to add that my zone is 6b/7.

6B: some macrophyllas, serratas and oakleaf hydrangeas may be winter hardy in your location but not necessarily bloom reliable. The only way to know for sure is to try. If available, I would try to use rebloomer varieties or varieties that bloom only on new wood (Smooth and Pee Gee).

I'd look at quercifolias. You say there is room for two but look at mature plant size of what you decide on before assuming two will work. May be small now, but...