The Handmaid's Tale (TV series)

The Handmaid's Tale
Genre
Created byBruce Miller
Based onThe Handmaid's Tale
by Margaret Atwood
Starring
ComposerAdam Taylor
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons5
No. of episodes56 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Producers
Production locations
Cinematography
Running time41–65 minutes
Production companies
  • Daniel Wilson Productions, Inc.
  • The Littlefield Company
  • White Oak Pictures
  • Toluca Pictures
  • MGM Television
Original release
NetworkHulu
ReleaseApril 26, 2017 (2017-04-26) –
present (present)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

The Handmaid's Tale is an American dystopian television series created by Bruce Miller, based on the 1985 novel of the same name by Canadian author Margaret Atwood. The series was ordered by the streaming service Hulu as a straight-to-series order of ten episodes, for which production began in late 2016. The plot features a dystopia following a Second American Civil War wherein a theonomic, totalitarian society subjects fertile women, called "Handmaids", to child-bearing slavery.[3][4]

The first three episodes of the series premiered on April 26, 2017; the subsequent seven episodes were released every Wednesday. In July 2019, the series was renewed for a fourth season,[5] which premiered on April 27, 2021.[6] In September 2019, it was announced that Hulu and MGM were developing a sequel series, to be based on Atwood's 2019 novel The Testaments.[7] In December 2020, ahead of the fourth season premiere, the series was renewed for a fifth season,[8] which premiered on September 14, 2022.[9] In September 2022, ahead of the fifth-season premiere, the series was renewed for a sixth and final season, which is set to air in 2025.[10]

The Handmaid's Tale's first season won eight Primetime Emmy Awards from 13 nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series. It is the first show produced by Hulu to win a major award and the first series on a streaming service to win an Emmy for Outstanding Series. It also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama. Elisabeth Moss was also awarded the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series and the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Television Drama Series.

  1. ^ Craven, TinaMarie (August 27, 2019). "The Handmaid's Tale' returns with a ruthless third season". The Ridgefield Press. Archived from the original on February 28, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2020. The Handmaid's Tale certainly amped up the tragedy porn aspect of the series, episode after episode beats down the viewer, leaving them gutted and disheartened.
  2. ^ Charlton-Dailey, Rachel (July 17, 2017). "The Handmaid's Tale is supposed to be about silenced women – so why are the men suddenly driving the story?". Metro. Archived from the original on February 28, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2020. The TV adaptation of Margaret Atwood's dystopian tragedy The Handmaid's Tale was long awaited, and it has delivered to fans old and new.
  3. ^ Patten, Dominic (July 2, 2020). "'The Handmaid's Tale's Elisabeth Moss, Yvonne Strahovski, Other Cast & EPs On Dystopian Leadership & Change". Deadline. Archived from the original on May 7, 2022. Retrieved May 7, 2022. Moss notes of her June character and the pivotal role she has taken this past season in the Mayday resistance movement against totalitarian and theonomic government of Gilead.
  4. ^ 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.")
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference S4Renewal was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ Petski, Denise (September 4, 2019). "Margaret Atwood's 'Handmaid's Tale' Book Sequel 'The Testaments' In The Works By MGM TV & Hulu". Deadline. Archived from the original on September 4, 2019. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference S5Renewal was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference S6Production was invoked but never defined (see the help page).