Fox’s compelling, addicting musical drama Empire offers up something rare in primetime network television: a series with a majority black cast in a vibrant, hip-hop industry setting. Focused on a powerful hip-hop mogul named Lucious Lyon (Terrence Howard) who heads Empire Entertainment, a successful record label, that comes down with a life-threatening illness and must choose one of his three sons as his successor. Complicating things is the return of Lyon’s wife, Cookie Lyon, from a 17-year prison sentence for drug dealing and now looking to reclaim her piece of the pie.

Where to stream Empire

You can stream the nine episodes of season five of Empire that have already aired here on the Fox website, but the only place to stream every season is on Hulu. Hulu is the #2 streaming service behind Netflix and offers thousands upon thousands of series from major networks, as well as a wide library of films from every genre. The service runs for $7.99 a month with commercials, or $11.99 for the ad-free premium plan, and comes with a one-month free trial.

Along with Empire, Hulu is the best place to stream the latest episodes from ABC, NBC, and Fox series and is all-in-all a great deal. The one issue many will have is that it is currently only available in the United States.

Why use a VPN to watch Empire

If you live outside the US, pesky regional restrictions will prevent you from bingeing Empire on Hulu. That is, unless you subscribe to a VPN. A VPN (virtual private network) allows to run your internet connection through private servers around the world, making it seem as if you are logging on from within that country, bypassing annoying geoblocking on websites and streaming services. For the purpose of streaming Empire from outside the states, that means connecting to a US server via your VPN before subscribing to and using Hulu, during which you’ll have no problem using the service.

In addition to this very useful feature, VPNs also offer top-end internet security by means of data encryption and user anonymity that veil your browsing and protect you from threats on the internet.  

How to purchase Hulu from outside the U.S.

The next challenge for Hulu hopefuls outside of the US is paying for the service, as it only takes US credit and debit cards as payment options. If you’re an American temporarily living abroad this shouldn’t be a concern, although everyone else might have a problem obtaining one.

Luckily for you, there’s a simple workaround: Walmart sells $25 and $50 Hulu gift cards through their website for use in paying for the service. Once you buy the card online, Walmart will email a code that you can use during the Hulu signup process. Not so hard, huh?

How to watch Empire from outside the US with a VPN

  1. Buy a subscription to a top VPN with a large selection of U.S. servers (our favorite is ExpressVPN).
  2. Download and install the VPN app on your digital media player, tablet or any other device where you’ll be watching Empire.
  3. Connect to a server within the United States using the VPN app.
  4. Go to the Hulu website and sign up. If you don’t have a US credit or debit card, be sure to buy a Hulu gift card from Walmart to complete the subscription.
  5. Download and install Hulu on the devices you stream media on, or head to the Hulu website if your PC or laptop is how you watch television.
  6. After checking that your VPN app is still connected to a US server, enter Hulu and chose Em​pire from the Hulu library, beginning with season 1, or where ever you left off.

Supported devices

  • Any VPN worth its salt will offer compatibility for iOS and Android phones/tablets, digital streaming devices, video game consoles, and select models of TVs such as LG TV and Samsung models. Check each individual VPN’s list of supported devices to be sure your device is included.  
  • Hulu has a wide range of compatibility, offering an app for many devices, including Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, iPhone, Ipad, Mac and PC Browsers, Blu-Ray players, Nintendo Switch, Playstation 3 & 4, Xbox 360 & One, and select models of LG Samsung TVs. Check the full list here.

Best VPNs for streaming Empire

ExpressVPN

Our top pick!
  • Always evades internet control in the PRC
  • Keeps ahead of the Netflix VPN detection algorithm
  • Benchmark tests show excellent speed

Ivacy VPN

  • Over 200 servers in 80+ countries
  • Sleek, easy to use UI
  • Customer support via email, Skype, and ticketing

PureVPN

  • Excellent client with pre-configured modes for streaming, P2P, privacy
  • Kill switch
  • Support for wide range of protocols, including OpenVPN

VyprVPN

  • Golden Frog, the business behind VyprVPN also runs a gaming platform
  • VyprVPN pioneered obfuscation techniques and they have always worked well
  • VyprVPN’s no logs policy is confirmed by an independent audit

CyberGhost

  • Precise locations
  • Very large VPN server network
  • Offers a 45-day money-back guarantee