There are a lot of people talking about The Handmaid’s Tale right now, and this writer really can’t figure out why. It’s not like anything specific happened in the past week that would spike interest in a dystopian tale about a conservative government taking control of the United States on a platform of the complete subjugation of women, right? Right! It must be because season six of the Hulu show is coming out soon. That explains it!
In all honesty, this writer is of the camp where thinking about The Handmaid’s Tale in any concrete way right now feels akin to getting a root canal just for the fun of it. But many, many people are choosing instead to look head-on into our current crisis via art that deals with some of its possible manifestations. Sales of the classic Margaret Atwood novel soared last week, launching it 400 places to hit number three on the U.S. Amazon Best Sellers chart. (Books like Timothy Snyder’s On Tyranny, George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, Sami Sage and Emily Amick’s Democracy In Retrograde, and Rebecca Solnit’s Men Explain Things To Me saw their own massive boosts as well.)
If you’re in the face-it-directly group—and more power to you if you are—you can now engage with the story of June and her righteous rebellion even further. The sixth and final season of The Handmaid’s Tale just dropped some first look images from episodes one and two (directed by star and executive producer Elisabeth Moss) and three, which you can check out below:
Courtesy of Hulu
Courtesy of Hulu
Courtesy of Hulu
Courtesy of Hulu
Courtesy of Hulu
The Handmaid’s Tale also stars Yvonne Strahovski, Bradley Whitford, Max Minghella, Ann Dowd, O.T. Fagbenle, Samira Wiley, Madeline Brewer, Amanda Brugel, Sam Jaeger, Ever Carradine, and Josh Charles.
If you need a refresher (this show has been on since Trump’s last presidency, after all) here’s a series synopsis: “Adapted from the classic novel by Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale is the story of life in the dystopia of Gilead, a totalitarian society in what was formerly the United States. Offred (Elisabeth Moss), one of the few fertile women known as Handmaids in the oppressive Republic of Gilead, struggles to survive as a reproductive surrogate for a powerful Commander and his resentful wife.”
Season six premieres this spring.
English (US) ·