The Handmaid’s Tale will soon embark upon its sixth and final season to aim for revolution and, ideally, tear Gilead’s little world apart.
As Hulu subscribers darn well realize, the flagship series has masterfully kept people watching despite an onslaught of horrors (drained bank accounts, sewn mouths, and a drowned Sydney Sweeney character are only the beginning of that list), and some form of catharsis will likely come with the sixth season, but that won’t be the end of what Margaret Atwood wrote for TV. Her 2019 novel, The Testaments, will continue the story, and Praise Be. Let’s get down to business on what to expect.
Plot
The Testaments will be in good TV hands. The sequel series has been created by The Handmaid’s Tale creator Bruce Miller, who stepped down from the final season of the flagship series (turning over the sixth season to fellow executive producers and writers Eric Tuchman and Yahlin Chang) so that he could fully develop the sequel series. The new show’s story, which picks up 15 years after Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale novel ends, will follow the perspective of three protagonists, including two daughters in Gilead and the Aunt Lydia character already familiar to viewers.
In The Testaments novel, Gilead’s theocratic regime is still technically in charge of society, but the structural rotting has become apparent, and the protagnoists’ stories will come together with competing perspectives, ultimately converging. This will include revelations of Aunt Lydia’s past contributions to the oppressive regime, and The Handmaid’s Tale‘s final synopsis has revealed, “Commander Lawrence and Aunt Lydia reckon with what they have wrought,” and what happens there will surely provide an avenue to where Lydia’s mindset begins in The Testaments. Hulu has further disclosed that, with The Testaments, the fates of Lydia and the younger women will “become intertwined as they uncover the secrets of Gilead and the resistance against its regime.”
As The Testaments‘ book description further suggests (NO WORRIES, NO SPOILERS HERE), “Margaret Atwood opens up the innermost workings of Gilead, as each woman is forced to come to terms with who she is, and how far she will go for what she believes.”
Will we see any characters beyond Lydia to bridge the gap between shows? Since fifteen years have passed, that doesn’t seem terribly likely, and ideally, June will be off living her best life outside of Gilead with the same for Moira and many other beloved characters. Hulu is, however, lining up the new cast for what could be the future generation of rebellion.
Cast
Ann Dowd will reprise her role as Aunt Lydia and likely the sole carryover cast member between shows. Lucy Halliday (Blue Jean) will portray Daisy, Chase Infiniti (Presumed Innocent) will portray Agnes, and Rowan Blanchard will appear as Shunammite, who hails from a powerful Gilead family.
Release Date
The Handmaid’s Tale will finish its sixth season at the end of May, and in all likelihood, The Testaments won’t take too long. Late 2026 or early 2027 seems feasible.
Trailer
No trailer yet, of course, but here’s a 2019 CBS This Morning interview of Atwood discussing The Testaments‘ release and why The Handmaid’s Tale has resonated most out of her 60 authored books.