The Handmaid’s Tale’s Final Season: Everything We Know — Praise Be!
Blessed be the fruit… but not for much longer.
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Hulu’s Emmy-winning dystopian drama The Handmaid’s Tale is ending with its forthcoming sixth season. Which means we’ll get answers to all of the questions posed by Season 5. Will June and Serena form another temporary alliance whenever they get off that train? Will Luke and June ever reunite? Is Nick a (gulp) dead man?
We know you’ve got questions, too. So as production on Season 6 gets underway this summer, consider the information below to be your handy guide to all things Handmaid’s Tale. We’ll keep you up to date on castings, photos, trailers — all the good stuff. And we’ll update the list as new information becomes available, to make sure that you have the latest and best intel possible. Under His Eye!
Where did The Handmaid’s Tale Season 5 leave off?
After June was run over by a car (at Gilead’s behest), Luke found and beat the driver, who later died. Knowing that their status as refugees — a hated population in some Canadians’ eyes — meant Luke was unable to get a fair trial/evade vigilante justice, June decided that they had to run. Tuello helped get the family tickets on a refugee transport west, but when officials swarmed the train station looking for Luke, he turned himself over in order to give June and Nichole a chance to get away. Once aboard, a devastated June was shocked to find out that Serena — who’d spent the season essentially as a handmaid to a young Gilead couple — and her baby son, Noah, also were fleeing.
Elsewhere, Nick agreed to be an American spy in Gilead, but was taken into custody after he punched Commander Lawrence for his part in the attack on June. Lawrence married Naomi Putnam, and they planned to have Janine as their handmaid. But when Janine found out what happened to June, she screamed her hatred at Naomi and was summarily taken away by the Eyes — to the surprise of Aunt Lydia, whose protests on the younger woman’s behalf were ignored.
Read a full recap of the finale here, then make sure to check out Elisabeth Moss’ thoughts about directing the episode and executive producer Bruce Miller’s take on what transpired.
Will Season 6 be The Handmaid’s Tale‘s final season?
Yes, Season 6 will be the last season of The Handmaid’s Tale. Hulu announced the series’ culmination in September 2022.
However, Hulu isn’t completely out of the Gilead business yet. The streamer is “actively developing” a series based on Margaret Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale sequel, The Testaments. The stories in The Testaments pick up years after the events of the original book/show.
Which cast members are returning for The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6?
While the official, final-season cast list has not yet been released, Elisabeth Moss is definitely returning as June for Season 6. She’ll likely be joined by Yvonne Strahovski (Serena), Ann Dowd (Aunt Lydia), O-T Fagbenle (Luke), Madeline Brewer (Janine), Max Minghella (Nick), Bradley Whitford (Commander Lawrence), Amanda Brugel (Rita), Sam Jaeger (Mark Tuello), Carey Cox (Rose) and Ever Carradine (Naomi), who was promoted to series regular in May 2024.
Are any new actors joining The Handmaid’s Tale cast for Season 6?
Josh Charles (The Good Wife) has joined the show’s final season; no details are available yet about his character. We’ll update this list as soon as any other cast additions are confirmed.
When will Season 6 be released?
The Handmaid’s Tale won’t premiere until sometime in 2025. Production is slated to begin filming in summer 2024.
Where can I watch The Handmaid’s Tale?
The Handmaid’s Tale is available to stream on Hulu and Disney+ (with subscription) and on Prime Video (purchase required).
Who will be showrunner of The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6?
Executive producer Bruce Miller, who has overseen the Hulu drama since its first season, is stepping away for Season 6. Executive producers/writers Yahlin Chang and Eric Tuchman will serve as co-showrunners in his stead.
Miller isn’t going far, though; he wrote two episodes of Handmaid’s final season and is overseeing The Testaments, an in-development Handmaid’s sequel based on Margaret Atwood’s 2019 novel.
Who is directing The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6?
While the full roster of directors is not yet public, Elisabeth Moss told TVLine in May 2024 that she will helm four Season 6 episodes: the premiere and Episode 2, as well as the penultimate episode and the series finale. Moss previously directed three Season 4 episodes and three in Season 5, including the finale.
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