It’s good news and bad news for fans of The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6. Hulu renewed the show for another season, which will likely air in 2023 or 2024, which is great news. Unfortunately, Hulu also announced that The Handmaid’s Tale season 6 would be the show’s final season. This comes shortly before the debut of Season 5, which will first air on September 14th.The TV series first aired in 2017 and is based on Margaret Atwood’s 1985 book with the same title. Ever since its debut, critics and fans have loved the show. They have praised the show’s portrayal of a dystopian society, with many people drawing parallels between the show and today’s world. Additionally, the show also won many awards. This includes an Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series, which also marked the first time a series exclusively on streaming had received such an award. As such, the news about The Handmaid’s Tale season 6 being the final one will certainly be a bitter pill to swallow.However, fan’s haven’t lost all the world of The Handmaid’s Tale! Back in 2019, Hulu announced that they were creating a sequel series to the TV show. Like the original show, this would be based on another book, this time Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments.
The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6
Image: Hulu
The setting of The Handmaid’s Tale is after another Civil War breaks out in America. In the aftermath of this war, women who can give birth are forcibly impregnated as a form of slavery. These women are the ‘handmaids’ and are forced to bear children for the infertile families. As such, the series centers on one of the handmaidens named June, who Elisabeth Moss plays, as she tries to free herself from slavery. Over the four seasons so far, fans have seen the twists and turns as she flees Gilead. At the end of season 4, we saw June work with other handmaidens to kill her abuser, Commander Waterford. Joseph Fiennes plays the role of this Commander.However, it seems that with The Handmaid’s Tale season 5, we’ll see June face some of the consequences of her actions. It’s unclear what will happen, but we’re sure it will not be good!Earlier, Hulu announced that The Handmaid’s Tale season 6 would be the show’s final season. Thankfully, this didn’t come as a surprise to anyone involved. In fact, the showrunner for the series, Bruce Miller, spoke about how glad he was to finish the show in the way he wanted:
“It has been a true honor to tell the story of Margaret Atwood’s groundbreaking novel and chillingly relevant world, and we are thrilled to bring viewers a sixth and final season of. We are grateful to Hulu and MGM for allowing us to tell this story, which unfortunately has remained as relevant as ever throughout its run, and are in awe of our incredible fans for their unwavering support, and without whom we never would have gotten to this point.”
The Testaments Release Date
Image: Hulu
Although The Handmaid’s Tale season 6 might be wrapping up the original series, Hulu appears to be in the early stages of developing The Testaments. This original novel occurred many years after The Handmaid’s Tale and finally revealed what happened to June. As such, it’s possible that actor Elisabeth Moss could return for this spinoff series.
However, it’s still very early stages for the show. Additionally, it’s important to remember that the TV series deviated quite a lot from the original novel. So, it’s likely that the spinoff series will do the same, and it might not feature June at all. One interesting thing to note is that the horrific elements of The Handmaid’s Tale are all based on real events. Enslaved women have been forced to rear children for their masters in the past, and Atwood deliberately made sure to use real events in her story. So, it’ll be interesting to see how real-life events could shape The Handmaid’s Tale season 6 and The Testaments.
Either way, it’s certainly refreshing for fans to know that there are more stories yet to be told in Gilead. You can catch the first episode of The Handmaid’s Tale season 5 exclusively on Hulu, starting September 14th.
What are your thoughts? What would you like to see in The Handmaid’s Tale season 6? Are you excited about The Testaments? Let us know below!
Hi! I'm Arvyn, and I'm an English teacher from the UK. I've been teaching English online for over 4 years to students from all across the world and all ages. Outside of work, I'm a huge fan of reading, video games, and playing with my adorable kitties. See ya!
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