Issues playing FX content in Hulu app

The other day I noticed that I was unable to play a

particular show on Hulu with my Apple TV 4K on tvOS 14.5. The program would

start, play for a second or so, then stop (image would freeze.) I force quit

Hulu and tried again, and the same thing happened. I tried several more time; sometimes

it would look like it was buffering (black screen with the spinning wheel,) and

occasionally I’d see an error about HDCP.


Seeing the HDCP error, I tried unplugging the HDMI cable and

plugging it back in. This did nothing, so I restarted the Apple TV. I also

tried a different input and HDMI cable to the TV. Still no go.


At some point I went into another room which has an older

Apple TV HD (also on tvOS 14.5.) The show played normally there. The show also

played on my iPad. At this point I ruled out an issue with Hulu. Feeling

frustrated, I let it go for the night.


The next morning, I swapped the Apple TV 4K and HD. The HD

worked fine in its new location and the 4K continued to have issues in its new

location, with different cables and TV. At this point the issue seemed

localized to the Apple TV 4K, changing inputs, cables, and TVs did nothing to

resolve the issue.


During all this testing I noticed other shows that were

showing the same behavior. All of them were FX shows on Hulu. Every other show

or movie, on every other app I tested, worked fine.


With nothing else to try, that I could think of, I reset the

Apple TV 4K to defaults and set it up again. Even after this, I still can't

watch FX shows on Hulu, on that particular Apple TV 4K.


For clarification, I have watched this particular show, and

other FX shows on Hulu, on this particular Apple TV 4K before, at least within

the past couple weeks.  It’s possible it

started after the 14.5 update, but I’m not sure.


Has anybody else seen this behavior?  Is there something else I can try?

Apple TV 4K, tvOS 14

Posted on May 3, 2021 6:01 AM

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Posted on May 15, 2021 5:05 PM

I have had the same issue with Mayans and Snowfall. It even sometimes stops playing recorded content. I contacted HULU support and they told me to AirPlay it from my phone. It works, but that should not be the work around, especially when my battery is low. This all started with tvOS 14.5. Come on Apple, we need a fix!!!

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27 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

May 15, 2021 5:05 PM in response to mijosc

I have had the same issue with Mayans and Snowfall. It even sometimes stops playing recorded content. I contacted HULU support and they told me to AirPlay it from my phone. It works, but that should not be the work around, especially when my battery is low. This all started with tvOS 14.5. Come on Apple, we need a fix!!!

May 13, 2021 3:40 PM in response to mijosc

Found a work around folks!!


First off, I am glad I was not the only one to have the same issue. Thought I’d was continuing down the quarantine crazy spiral. Lol


So, Mayans will work on the mobile Hulu app.. just to turn over every stone, I tried air playing it to my Apple TV 4K.. and IT WORKED!!!


enjoy Mayans like I am gente!!! 🤘🏽

May 24, 2021 3:40 PM in response to mijosc

I have the exact same issue.


Only a problem for some FX shows on Hulu.


The only common factor I’ve found is that it’s FX series that started in 2017 or later. FX series that started before that (eg American Horror Story, Fargo) play fine. Shows from other networks (ABC, Fox etc) from 2017 or after also play without any issues.


I have not been able to find any FX series that started after 2017 that I can play without this error.


If I start playing on my iPhone it’s fine, and then if I switch to Apple TV and try to continue the episode I’ll get a fraction of a second video and audio before it pauses, attempting to press play I get the loading indicator for a few seconds and the the HDCP error message.


I tried to troubleshoot with a Hulu live chat agent, but lost connection after 30 mins so gave up after that.

Jul 25, 2021 6:09 AM in response to mijosc

This morning I was able to successfully play shows that had not been working previously. It's been a while since I've watched any FX/Hulu content, so I'm not exactly sure when it was fixed or what fixed it. I did recently update to tvOS 14.7, but it was possibly a Hulu update as well. Regardless, the issue seems resolved for me.

May 6, 2021 1:06 PM in response to mijosc

Exact same thing is happening to me since the 14.5 auto-upgrade. I can't watch Atlanta or Legion on the 4K. It will only play on an older AppleTV 4 HD. Swapping HDMI cables did not help.


I don't think there's any way to get customer support from either Hulu or Apple for stuff like this, is there? I would think it's a TVOS problem since it happened with the 14.5 upgrade.

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Issues playing FX content in Hulu app

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