The Handmaid’s Tale may have come to an end, but the story is far from over.
In an interview with Decider at PaleyFest LA prior to the debut of Season 6, Elisabeth Moss, who serves as producer, director, and star, shared that although the final episodes of the series are approaching, the narrative of Gilead’s women will carry on through a spinoff titled The Testaments.
“We concluded the story in a manner we believe is fitting, but it’s not the absolute end, which felt liberating for us,” she explained. “That was quite a freeing experience.”
The Testaments draws inspiration from Margaret Atwood’s sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale, released over thirty years following the original. The Hulu series will feature Ann Dowd returning as Aunt Lydia, along with Chase Infiniti, Lucy Halliday, and Rowan Blanchard portraying the three principal characters. The storyline takes place in the imagined post-U.S. nation of Gilead, set 15 years after the conclusion of The Handmaid’s Tale.
Moss told Decider that when it came to deciding how the show would conclude after telling the story of June Osborne (Moss) over the better part of a decade, knowing more Gilead would be on the way helped to provide closure for the cast and crew.
“We didn’t feel like we had to wrap everything up in a bow,” she explained of how The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6 ends. “There’s more story that we can tell.”
Even with the guarantee of a spinoff series, Moss said she and everyone behind the Hulu drama — which has received a whopping 76 Emmy nominations and 15 wins — have worked incredibly hard to give the show a perfect sendoff. She explained that while the show has gone through ups and downs and taken some incredibly dark turns, the hope is for fans to come out seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, no matter what they’re going through.
“Hopeful,” Moss said of what she wants fans to feel after the last scene has played out.”I really do think that and hope that they do take some hope away from it.”
How To Stream The Handmaid’s Tale
All six seasons of The Handmaid’s Tale are currently streaming on Hulu.
If you’re new to Hulu, you can get started with a 30-day free trial on the streamer’s basic (with ads) plan. After the trial period, you’ll pay $9.99/month. If you want to upgrade to Hulu ad-free, it costs $18.99/month.
If you want to stream even more and save a few bucks a month while you’re at it, we recommend subscribing to one of the Disney+ Bundles, all of which include Hulu. These bundles start at $10.99/month for ad-supported Disney+ and Hulu and goes up to $29.99/month for Disney+, Hulu, and Max, all ad-free.
