The Handmaid's Tale is an American dystopian drama television series created by Bruce Miller, based on the 1985 novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood. The plot features a dystopian future following a Second American Civil War wherein a theonomic, totalitarian society subjects fertile women, called "Handmaids", to child-bearing slavery.[1][2][3] The series features an ensemble cast, led by Elisabeth Moss, and also stars Joseph Fiennes, Yvonne Strahovski, Alexis Bledel, Madeline Brewer, Ann Dowd, O-T Fagbenle, Max Minghella, Samira Wiley, Amanda Brugel, and Bradley Whitford.
The series premiered on April 26, 2017, on Hulu. The second season premiered on April 25, 2018.[4] The third season premiered on June 5, 2019.[5] The fourth season premiered on April 27, 2021.[6] In December 2020, ahead of the fourth season premiere, Hulu renewed the series for a fifth season,[7] which premiered on September 14, 2022.[8] In September 2022, ahead of the fifth season premiere, the series was renewed for a sixth and final season.[9]
As of November 9, 2022,[update] 56 episodes of The Handmaid's Tale have been released, concluding the fifth season.
- ^ Bradley, Laura (May 2, 2018). "The Handmaid's Tale: Why Offred's Latest Heartbreak Is the Most Devastating Yet". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on September 18, 2019. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
In its third installment, however, the drama digs even deeper into the emotional toll Gilead has taken on everyone—both those left in what was once the United States and those who've made it out. The lives and dreams that each character lost to this totalitarian regime have been laid out in excruciating detail before—but this week, the show lays those losses bare with more subtlety than perhaps any other episode. ... (In richer households, handmaids do the childbearing, Wives raise the children, and Marthas do the housework. Econowives, in contrast, "have to do everything; if they can.")
- ^ Williams, Layton E. (April 25, 2017). "Margaret Atwood on Christianity, 'The Handmaid's Tale,' and What Faithful Activism Looks Like Today". Sojourners. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved June 18, 2017.
- ^ Segovia, José de (June 22, 2017). Daniel Wickham (ed.). "There is no balm in Atwood's Gilead". Evangelical Focus. Archived from the original on October 13, 2018. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
A clear example of Atwood's focus on the Reconstructionism of theonomy is his way of representing the death penalty.
- ^ Vilkomerson, Sara (January 14, 2018). "The Handmaid's Tale: Here's the first trailer for season 2 (and a premiere date!)". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 25, 2018. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
- ^ Roots, Kimberly (February 11, 2019). "The Handmaid's Tale Sets Season 3 Premiere Date at Hulu". TVLine. Archived from the original on February 12, 2019. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
- ^ Shafer, Ellise (April 27, 2021). "'The Handmaid's Tale' Drops First Three Episodes of Season 4 Early on Hulu". Variety. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
- ^ Petski, Denise (December 10, 2020). "'The Handmaid's Tale' Renewed For Season 5 By Hulu". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 10, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
- ^ Roots, Kimberly (June 13, 2022). "The Handmaid's Tale Gets Season 5 Premiere Date at Hulu — Serena Grieves, June Seethes in First Photos". TVLine. Archived from the original on June 13, 2022. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
- ^ Strause, Jackie (September 8, 2022). "'The Handmaid's Tale' Sets Final Season as Bruce Miller Plots Next Chapter With 'The Testaments' at Hulu". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 3, 2023. Retrieved September 8, 2022.