Did 'The Handmaid's Tale' New Season Just Break Hulu?

Numerous Hulu users reported widespread service disruptions Tuesday, April 8 in the morning, which coincided with the highly anticipated premiere of the final season of The Handmaid's Tale. Subscribers attempting to access the platform encountered login issues and were met with error messages, like those reading "Error 503," indicating server unavailability due to high traffic or service disruptions. Could this be a coincidence or correlation?

The timing of the outage was particularly frustrating for fans eager to watch the new episodes of The Handmaid's Tale, a series (which boasts Elisabeth Moss, Yvonne Strahovski, Madeline Brewer, and Joseph Fiennes among its cast members) that has garnered a substantial following over the years, especially bolstered in recent years by the political landscape. The show's dystopian themes have resonated deeply with audiences, especially given current discussions surrounding women's rights and political climates in the United States.

Hulu acknowledged the technical issues through their support channels, stating, "We hear you! Our developers are on the case and working to resolve this as we speak. We appreciate your patience!" Despite this acknowledgment, many users expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of a detailed explanation for the outage.

This incident is not isolated; similar service interruptions occurred during the 2025 Academy Awards broadcast, where Hulu users experienced login failures and unexpected logouts, preventing them from viewing the live event. As of the early afternoon, Hulu's technical team has stated the issue has been resolved, and is asking users to sign out and restart their app if they are still having technical difficulties.