diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index ee1669ff7..27cf436c8 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -66,6 +66,7 @@ The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/).
 - Fix slow startup caused by check for overlapping playout items
 - Fix green line in *most* cases when overlaying content using NVIDIA acceleration and H264 output
 - Fix non-SRT (e.g. SSA/ASS) external subtitle playback from media servers
+- Clean up some invalid external subtitle data to prevent playback failures
 
 ### Changed
 - Filler presets: use separate text fields for `hours`, `minutes` and `seconds` duration
diff --git a/ErsatzTV.Application/Subtitles/Commands/ExtractEmbeddedSubtitlesHandler.cs b/ErsatzTV.Application/Subtitles/Commands/ExtractEmbeddedSubtitlesHandler.cs
index 0b779e640..047374a35 100644
--- a/ErsatzTV.Application/Subtitles/Commands/ExtractEmbeddedSubtitlesHandler.cs
+++ b/ErsatzTV.Application/Subtitles/Commands/ExtractEmbeddedSubtitlesHandler.cs
@@ -328,11 +328,11 @@ public class ExtractEmbeddedSubtitlesHandler : IRequestHandler<ExtractEmbeddedSu
                 {
                     foreach (SubtitleToExtract subtitle in subtitlesToExtract)
                     {
-                        subtitle.Subtitle.IsExtracted = true;
-                        subtitle.Subtitle.Path = subtitle.OutputPath;
+                        await dbContext.Connection.ExecuteAsync(
+                            "UPDATE `Subtitle` SET `IsExtracted` = 1, `Path` = @Path WHERE `Id` = @SubtitleId",
+                            new { SubtitleId = subtitle.Subtitle.Id, Path = subtitle.OutputPath });
                     }
 
-                    await dbContext.SaveChangesAsync(cancellationToken);
                     _logger.LogDebug("Successfully extracted {Count} subtitles", subtitlesToExtract.Count);
                 }
                 else
@@ -358,6 +358,7 @@ public class ExtractEmbeddedSubtitlesHandler : IRequestHandler<ExtractEmbeddedSu
         int mediaItemId,
         CancellationToken cancellationToken) =>
         await dbContext.MediaItems
+            .AsNoTracking()
             .Include(mi => (mi as Episode).MediaVersions)
             .ThenInclude(mv => mv.MediaFiles)
             .Include(mi => (mi as Episode).MediaVersions)
diff --git a/ErsatzTV/Services/RunOnce/DatabaseCleanerService.cs b/ErsatzTV/Services/RunOnce/DatabaseCleanerService.cs
index 54878d0de..6a5f36c84 100644
--- a/ErsatzTV/Services/RunOnce/DatabaseCleanerService.cs
+++ b/ErsatzTV/Services/RunOnce/DatabaseCleanerService.cs
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ public class DatabaseCleanerService(
 
         await DeleteInvalidMediaItems(dbContext);
         await GenerateFallbackMetadata(scope, dbContext, stoppingToken);
+        await ResetExternalSubtitleState(dbContext, stoppingToken);
 
         systemStartup.DatabaseIsCleaned();
 
@@ -82,4 +83,11 @@ public class DatabaseCleanerService(
 
         await dbContext.SaveChangesAsync(cancellationToken);
     }
+
+    private static async Task ResetExternalSubtitleState(TvContext dbContext, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
+    {
+        await dbContext.Database.ExecuteSqlRawAsync(
+            "UPDATE `Subtitle` SET `IsExtracted`=0 WHERE `Path` IS NULL",
+            cancellationToken);
+    }
 }