The Handmaid's Tale (TV series)

The Handmaid's Tale
Genre	Drama Dystopian fiction
Created by	Bruce Miller
Based on	The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Starring	Elisabeth Moss Joseph Fiennes Yvonne Strahovski Alexis Bledel Madeline Brewer Ann Dowd O. T. Fagbenle Max Minghella Samira Wiley Amanda Brugel Bradley Whitford
Composer	Adam Taylor
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	33 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Bruce Miller Warren Littlefield Reed Morano Daniel Wilson Fran Sears Ilene Chaiken Elisabeth Moss Mike Barker Eric Tuchman Sheila Hockin John Weber Frank Siracusa
Producer	Margaret Atwood (consulting producer)
Production locations	Toronto, Ontario Hamilton, Ontario Cambridge, Ontario Vaughan, Ontario Washington, D.C.
Running time	45–64 minutes
Production companies	Daniel Wilson Productions, Inc. The Littlefield Company White Oak Pictures MGM Television
Original release
Network	Hulu
Release	April 26, 2017 (2017-04-26) – present (present)

The Handmaid's Tale is an American dystopian drama web television series created by Bruce Miller, based on the 1985 novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood. It was ordered by the streaming service Hulu as a straight-to-series order of 10 episodes, for which production began in late 2016. The plot features a dystopian future following a Second American Civil War wherein a totalitarian society subjects fertile women, called "Handmaids", into child-bearing servitude.

The first three episodes of the series premiered on April 26, 2017; the subsequent seven episodes were released every Wednesday. In May 2017, the series was renewed for a second season which premiered on April 25, 2018. In May 2018, Hulu renewed the series for a third season, which premiered on June 5, 2019.

The Handmaid's Tale has received critical acclaim and its first season won eight Primetime Emmy Awards from thirteen nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series. It is the first show produced by Hulu to win a major award as well as 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 Golden Globe for Best Actress.

Plot

In the near future, fertility rates collapse as a result of sexually transmitted diseases and environmental pollution. With this chaos, the totalitarian, theonomic government of Gilead establishes rule in the former United States in the aftermath of a civil war. Society is organized by power-hungry leaders along with a new, militarized, hierarchical regime of fanaticism and newly-created social classes, in which women are brutally subjugated, and by law are allowed to work only in very limited roles – and not allowed to own property, handle money, or read.

Worldwide infertility has led to the conscription of the few remaining fertile women in Gilead, citing an extremist interpretation of the Biblical account of Bilhah. These women, called Handmaids, are assigned to the homes of the ruling elite, where they must submit to ritualized rape by their male masters in order to become pregnant and bear children for those men and their wives. They assume a name created by the addition of the prefix Of- to the first name of the man who owns them. When they are transferred, their names are changed.

Along with the Handmaids, much of society is now grouped into classes that dictate their freedoms and duties. Women are divided into a small range of social categories, each one signified by a plain dress in a specific color: Handmaids wear long red dresses, heavy boots and white coifs, with a larger white coif to be worn outside, concealing them from public view and restricting their own vision. Marthas (who are housekeepers and cooks, named after the biblical figure) wear long, loose-fitting dull green garments and cover their hair with headwraps. Upperclass Wives (who are expected to run their households beautifully) wear elegant, tailored dresses in blue and turquoise, cut in styles evoking the 1950s. They wear high heels, their hair is carefully coiffed, and they wear gloves and hats when out of doors.

Econowives, the lower-class women who still have minimal agency, are a sort of mixture of all these categories, and they wear shades of gray (a departure from the book in which Econowives wear clothing striped with the aforementioned colors). Women prisoners are called Unwomen and, wearing rags, are worked to death clearing toxic waste in the Colonies.

Another class of women, Aunts (who train, oversee and discipline the Handmaids), wear brown. Jezebels are sex workers in secret brothels catering to the elite ruling class. They wear otherwise forbidden evening clothes, costumes and lingerie from “before”.

Among the men of Gilead, the Eyes are a secret police watching over the general populace for signs of rebellion, Hunters track down people attempting to flee the country.

June Osborne, renamed Offred (Elisabeth Moss), is the Handmaid assigned to the home of the Gileadan Commander Fred Waterford (Joseph Fiennes) and his wife Serena Joy (Yvonne Strahovski). The Waterfords, key players in the rise of Gilead, struggle with the realities of the society they helped create.

Offred, from "time before", was married and had a daughter. At the beginning of the story, while attempting to flee Gilead with her husband and daughter, Offred was captured and forced to become a Handmaid because of the adultery she and her husband committed. Her daughter was taken and given to an upper class family to raise, and her husband escaped into Canada. Much of the plot revolves around Offred's desire to be reunited with her husband and daughter.

Cast and characters

Main article: List of The Handmaid's Tale characters

Main

• Elisabeth Moss as June Osborne / Offred / Ofjoseph #2, a woman who was captured while attempting to escape to Canada with her husband, Luke, and daughter, Hannah. Due to her fertility, she is made a Handmaid to Commander Fred Waterford and his wife, Serena Joy as "Offred". Now she is with Commander Joseph Lawrence as "Ofjoseph".
• Joseph Fiennes as Commander Fred Waterford, a high-ranking government official and June's master. Both he and his wife were instrumental in Gilead's founding. He wishes to have more contact with June outside of what is lawful between a Handmaid and her master, and starts inviting her to play nightly games of Scrabble.
• Yvonne Strahovski as Serena Joy Waterford, Fred's wife and a former conservative cultural activist. She appears to have accepted her new role in a society that she helped create. She is poised and deeply religious, but capable of great cruelty and is often callous to June. She is desperate to become a mother.
• Alexis Bledel as Dr. Emily Malek Ph.D. / Ofglen #1 / Ofsteven / Ofroy / Ofjoseph #1, June's shopping partner. Although June is initially wary of her, it is revealed she is not as pious as she seems, and the two become friends. Emily has a wife and son living in Canada, and was a university lecturer in cellular biology. Being homosexual is punishable by death in Gilead, and while most intellectuals and "gender traitors" are worked to their deaths in the Colonies or "salvaged" and later on the Wall, Emily, as "Ofglen", was spared and later converted into a Handmaid, due to her having "two viable ovaries". She was later captured and cruelly punished for her lesbian relationship with a Martha, and is sent to another household where she becomes "Ofsteven". She is involved with a resistance movement called "Mayday". She was in the process of being worked to death in the toxic fields of the Colonies until the attack on the Red Center had her, Janine, and several others returned to handmaiden duty. After attacking Aunt Lydia at the Lawrence household, she as "Ofjoseph" fears execution, until Commander Lawrence sends her away in a truck with the baby Nichole, whom June hands to her before ditching them to free her other daughter Hannah. Both Emily and Nichole manage to flee to Canada, where she is soon reunited with her wife and son.
• Madeline Brewer as Janine Lindo / Ofwarren / Ofdaniel / Ofhoward, a Handmaid who entered the Red Center for training at the same time as June, and considers June a friend due to her kind treatment. Initially non-compliant, Janine has her right eye removed as a punishment. She becomes mentally unstable due to her treatment, and often behaves in temperamental or childlike ways. She gives birth to a child for Warren and Naomi Putnam, whom they name "Angela", but Janine insists the baby's name is "Charlotte". Janine is later reassigned and becomes "Ofdaniel". She was temporarily assigned to the Colonies until a bombing leveled the new Rachel and Leah Center on the day of its christening.
• Ann Dowd as Aunt Lydia / Miss Clements, a woman in charge of overseeing the Handmaids in their sexual reeducation and duties. She is brutal and subjects insubordinate Handmaids to harsh physical punishment, but she also cares for her charges and believes deeply in the Gileadean mission and doctrine. She appears to have a soft spot for Janine, and even goes so far as to address her by her given name on occasion. Before Gilead, she was a religious elementary school teacher named Miss Clements.
• O. T. Fagbenle as Lucas "Luke" Bankole, June's husband from before Gilead. Because he is divorced (he and June began their relationship before his divorce from his first wife), their union is considered invalid in the new society. June is considered an adulteress and their daughter, Hannah, is considered illegitimate. Initially, June believes he was killed, but it is later revealed Luke managed to escape to Canada.
• Max Minghella as Commander Nick Blaine, Commander Waterford's driver and a former drifter from Michigan who has feelings for June. June and Nick develop an intimate relationship and she eventually discovers that he is an Eye, a spy for Gilead. In season 3, he is promoted to Commander.
• Samira Wiley as Moira, June's best friend since college. She is already at the Red Center when June enters Handmaid training but escapes before being assigned to a home. She is recaptured and becomes "Ruby", a Jezebel. She seems to have given up hope of ever being free, but on meeting June again regains the conviction to escape. She is now living her life in Canada as a refugee.
• Amanda Brugel as Rita (recurring season 1, main season 2–present), a Martha at the Waterford house. She had a son named Matthew, who died fighting in the civil war when he was 19 years old.
• Bradley Whitford as Commander Joseph Lawrence (recurring season 2, main season 3), the founder of the Colonies and architect behind Gilead's economy.

Recurring

• Stephen Kunken as Commander Warren Putnam. He's the first known Commander of Janine. He had his left hand amputated by the Council after being found guilty of adultery.
• Ever Carradine as Naomi Putnam, Commander Warren Putnam's wife.
• Tattiawna Jones as Lillie Fuller / Ofglen #2 (season 1–2), who replaces Emily in the position after Emily is captured by the Eyes. She initially follows the rules and does not wish to upset the status quo, but this is because she believes her life as a Handmaid is better than the difficult, impoverished life she led prior to Gilead, rather than out of religious piety. After refusing to stone Janine, she was clubbed with a rifle by a guardian, and her tongue was cut out according to Alma. After that, she sacrifices herself to bomb a new Red Center on the day of its christening. 26 Commanders and 31 Handmaids were killed as a result.
• Nina Kiri as Alma / Ofrobert, another Handmaid who trained at the Red Center with June, Moira, and Janine. She is frank and chatty, and often trades gossip and news with June. She is also involved with Mayday and becomes June's first contact with the resistance group.
• Jenessa Grant as Dolores / Ofsamuel, a local Handmaid with a friendly and talkative nature.
• Bahia Watson as Brianna / Oferic, another local Handmaid who is friends with June.
• Jordana Blake as Hannah Bankole / Agnes MacKenzie, June and Luke's daughter. She is later renamed Agnes.
• Edie Inksetter as Aunt Elizabeth, a fellow Aunt who works closely with Aunt Lydia at the Red Center.
• Kristen Gutoskie as Beth (season 1, 3), formerly a Martha at Jezebel's. She had an arrangement with Nick whereby she traded illegal alcohol and other contraband for drugs, which the Jezebels use. She has a casual sexual relationship with him and is aware that he is an Eye. She later becomes a Martha in Joseph Lawrence's household.
• Erin Way as Erin, a young, apparently mute, woman who was being trained to become a Handmaid but managed to escape to Canada.
• Clea DuVall as Sylvia (season 2–present), Emily's wife.
• Cherry Jones as Holly Maddox (season 2–present), June's mother, an outspoken feminist.
• Sydney Sweeney as Eden Spencer (season 2), a pious and obedient girl who was married off to Nick during a ceremony in episode 5 of season 2. She and Guardian Isaac were drowned to death in a swimming pool for "infidelity".
• Sam Jaeger as Mark Tuello (season 2–present), a mysterious stranger who Serena encounters in Canada.
• Greg Bryk as Commander Ray Cushing (season 2)
• Rohan Mead as Isaac (season 2), a Guardian assigned to the Waterford home.
• Julie Dretzin as Eleanor Lawrence (season 2–present), Joseph's wife.
• Ordena Stephens-Thompson as Frances (season 2–3), the Martha who was assigned to the McKenzie household. She was executed plus a few others for "endangering a sacred child".
• Ashleigh LaThrop as Natalie / Ofmatthew (season 3), a devoted Handmaid whose loyalty to Gilead causes divisive tensions amongst her peers.
• Sugenja Sri as Sienna (season 3), a new Martha in the Lawrence household.
• Jonathan Watton as Commander Matthew Calhoun (season 3), the assigned Commander of Ofmatthew.
• Christopher Meloni as High Commander George Winslow (season 3), a High Commander stationed in Washington, D.C.
• Elizabeth Reaser as Olivia Winslow (season 3), the wife of High Commander Winslow.
• Sarah McVie as Lena (season 3), a Swiss Diplomat negotiating the hostile conflict between Gilead and Canada over Nichole.

Guest

• Zabryna Guevara as Mrs. Castillo (season 1), an ambassador from Mexico who visits Gilead to see the effectiveness of the regime.
• Christian Barillas as Mr. Flores (season 1), Mrs. Castillo's assistant.
• Rosa Gilmore as Zoe (season 1), the daughter of a US army soldier and the leader of the group of survivors whom Luke encounters after being separated from June and Hannah.
• Tim Ransom as Mr. Whitford (season 1), a friend of June's mother who helps June, Luke, and Hannah attempt to cross the border.
• Marisa Tomei as Mrs. O'Conner (season 2), a Commander's wife who is exiled to the Colonies as punishment for committing a sin to the flesh.
• Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Omar (season 2), a man who helps June attempt to escape.
• John Carroll Lynch as Dan (season 2), Emily's boss at the university where she worked.
• Kelly Jenrette as Annie (season 2), Luke's ex-wife who was after June for cutting her out of her marriage to Luke prior to Gilead's rise.
• Rebecca Rittenhouse as Odette (season 2), a doctor and Moira's deceased fiancée.
• Oprah Winfrey (uncredited) as Newsreader (season 2) on a car radio.
• Amy Landecker as Mrs. MacKenzie (season 3), Hannah's placement mother in Gilead.
• Laila Robins as Pamela Joy (season 3), Serena Joy's mother.
• Emily Althaus as Noelle (season 3), a young single mother whose son Aunt Lydia taught before the rise of Gilead.

Episodes

Season	Episodes		Originally released
			First released	Last released
1	10		April 26, 2017 (2017-04-26)	June 14, 2017 (2017-06-14)
2	13		April 25, 2018 (2018-04-25)	July 11, 2018 (2018-07-11)
3	13		June 5, 2019 (2019-06-05)	August 14, 2019 (2019-08-14)

Season 1 (2017)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Teleplay by	Original release date
1	1	"Offred"	Reed Morano	Bruce Miller	April 26, 2017 (2017-04-26)
A family is pursued by a group of armed men. The woman is caught, and separated from her young daughter and husband as shots are fired in the distance. She is now known as Offred, the handmaid to Commander Fred Waterford. While walking, she and another handmaid, Ofglen, pass by a wall on which men have been hanged for crimes such as being gay, working in an abortion clinic, and being a Catholic priest. In a flashback, women are indoctrinated into their new role by Aunt Lydia, and Offred sees her best friend Moira among them. Another woman, Janine is rude to Aunt Lydia and is shocked with a cattle prod; later, her right eye is removed as punishment. In the present, Commander Waterford tries to impregnate Offred during "the Ceremony". The next day, the handmaids are encouraged to beat a man to death for allegedly raping a pregnant handmaid and killing her baby. On the way home, Ofglen warns her there is an Eye in the Waterford house. Offred affirms to herself that her name is June and she intends to survive to find her daughter.
2	2	"Birth Day"	Reed Morano	Bruce Miller	April 26, 2017 (2017-04-26)
June and Ofglen go shopping, and they reveal more personal information about themselves to each other. While they are walking, they see St. Paul Catholic Church, their local church, being destroyed by the new régime. Ofglen tells Offred that the régime also bulldozed St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan to try to "erase" the fact that it ever existed. When June asks how Ofglen knows this information, Ofglen reveals that she is part of a resistance movement against the government, but June declines to join. Commander Waterford's driver, Nick, tells June that the Commander wants to see her alone later that night, which is forbidden, and warns her that Ofglen is dangerous. June and the other handmaids witness the birth of Janine/Ofwarren’s child, named Angela by the Putnams but Charlotte by Janine. In flashbacks, June remembers the birth of her daughter, Hannah. At that time healthy births were already rare, and a woman tried to kidnap baby Hannah and was arrested. In the present, June warily goes to the Commander's office, but he just wants to play Scrabble, to her relief. The next day, a different woman introduces herself as Ofglen.
3	3	"Late"	Reed Morano	Bruce Miller	April 26, 2017 (2017-04-26)
In flashbacks, the rise of Gilead is detailed through June's eyes: June and her female colleagues were fired and the government froze women's bank accounts and ruled they could no longer own property. In the present, Serena takes June to see Janine and the baby, and June fears Janine is delusional. Back home, June is interrogated by an Eye and Aunt Lydia about her knowledge of Ofglen. Aunt Lydia shocks June with a cattle prod for being disrespectful and quoting from the Bible but before Aunt Lydia can hit June again, Serena intervenes, believing June is pregnant. When June later tells Serena that she's not, Serena angrily locks her in her room. In a flashback, June and Moira attend a protest against the new laws amidst automatic gunfire and explosives. In the present, Ofglen and the Martha she's in a relationship with are charged with "gender treachery". The fertile Ofglen is reassigned but the Martha is hanged. Later, Ofglen (referred to by her "old" name, Emily) awakes to find, to her grief and anger, that she has undergone female genital mutilation surgery, as explained by Aunt Lydia.
4	4	"Nolite Te Bastardes Carborundorum"	Mike Barker	Leila Gerstein	May 3, 2017 (2017-05-03)
Banished to her room, June retreats to her closet where she finds a Latin phrase, Nolite Te Bastardes Carborundorum, scratched discreetly into the wall. When Rita, the Martha assigned as the Commander's housekeeper, finds June lying on the floor, June tells her that she fainted so Serena sends her to the hospital for a check-up. During the examination the physician remarks that the Commander is most likely sterile and offers to impregnate June, but she declines. In flashbacks, Aunt Lydia teaches the handmaids about The Ceremony in which a commander endeavors to fertilize a handmaid. Later, June and Moira assault Aunt Elizabeth, and Moira takes her outfit. June and Moira plan to go to Boston, which has safe houses. Moira catches the train but June is detained by a soldier and returned to the Red Centre. In the present, Commander Waterford has an unsuccessful Ceremony night, but later that night, they play Scrabble again. She asks him about the Latin phrase, and he tells her it means, Don't let the bastards grind you down. She learns that the previous Offred killed herself because life was unbearable and releases June from her confinement.
5	5	"Faithful"	Mike Barker	Dorothy Fortenberry	May 10, 2017 (2017-05-10)
Serena suggests to June that she have sex with Nick in case Commander Waterford is sterile. Later that day, Serena leads June up to Nick's room and waits by the door while June and Nick have detached sex. Flashbacks detail June and Luke's first meeting and courtship. During a Ceremony night, the Commander touches June's thigh, which she later tells him never to do again, and confronts him about Emily. He admits that while they thought they were building a better world, they knew that "better never means better for everyone." June also confronts Nick, who reveals that he is indeed an Eye. At an open-air market, June questions Emily about the resistance group (which is called Mayday). Emily jumps behind the steering wheel of a security car and drives erratically around the plaza. She hits a guard, and is caught and put into a black van. June returns to Nick's coach house alone, and they have passionate sex.
6	6	"A Woman's Place"	Floria Sigismondi	Wendy Straker Hauser	May 17, 2017 (2017-05-17)
When Mexican trade delegates visit the Waterfords' home to evaluate the effects of the Gilead cultural movement, June is asked about her experience in which she lies, saying that she is happy. The handmaids are taken to a function to demonstrate Gilead's success, illustrated by a parade of Commanders' children to whom the handmaids had given birth. The next day, June tells Mexico's ambassador the truth about Gilead and asks for her help, but the ambassador is unable to. However, June is told that Luke is alive and a message can be sent to him. A flashback details Serena and Fred's life at the beginnings of the Gilead movement, when Serena was a conservative cultural activist with passion and intelligence equal to her husband's. It is revealed that she wrote a book about her beliefs, titled A Woman's Place. The Waterfords are shown to have been involved with the movement since the beginning, and Fred later finds out that the movement will attack the U.S. government. After the takeover, Serena is completely shut out and accepts her new role in the society she helped create. A copy of her book is seen being thrown out with the trash.
7	7	"The Other Side"	Floria Sigismondi	Lynn Renee Maxcy	May 24, 2017 (2017-05-24)
A flashback chronicles Luke's story after he was separated from June and Hannah. Luke is shot and injured but escapes when the ambulance crashes. He passes out from his wounds and is rescued by a resistance group traveling to Canada with many survivors, including Erin, a mute escaped handmaid and Zoe, the daughter of a US Army soldier. Initially reluctant, Luke joins them after Zoe shows him that Gileadan authorities hanged people from the rafters of their church for resisting. As they board a boat, Gileadan guards kill several members of the group, but Luke and Erin manage to survive. A further flashback shows Luke, June, and Hannah before they were separated. June and Luke are helped by Mr. Whitford, a man who knew June's mother. He leaves them at a secluded cabin in the woods while he arranges documentation for them to escape to Canada. However, he is caught and hung, and a local hunter attempts to help them instead. Three years later, in the present, Luke and Erin live safely in "Little America", based in Toronto. While in the main administrative office, Luke receives the letter from June which reads, "I love you so much. Save Hannah."
8	8	"Jezebels"	Kate Dennis	Kira Snyder	May 31, 2017 (2017-05-31)
Commander Waterford gifts June with makeup and a dress and takes her out for the night. Nick drives them to Boston to an underground brothel, where sex workers (known as "Jezebels") work. June spots Moira and they briefly reunite. Nick trades drugs and pregnancy tests for alcohol with Beth, one of the brothel's Marthas. June goes to see Moira again, and she explains to June how Quakers tried to help her escape but were caught. Moira had the choice of being sent either to the Colonies or one of the brothels. Moira tells June to forget about escaping but June tells Moira that Luke got out. Flashbacks detail how Nick, struggling with unemployment and a troubled family, got involved with the Sons of Jacob and subsequently the Gilead movement, and how he became an Eye after reporting a Commander for breaking protocol with his handmaids. The suicide of the previous Offred is shown. In the present, after Nick drives Waterford and June home, he ends his relationship with June, which upsets and angers her. The episode closes with June etching the words "You are not alone" into the closet wall.
9	9	"The Bridge"	Kate Dennis	Eric Tuchman	June 7, 2017 (2017-06-07)
Janine's daughter is handed over to Commander Putnam and his wife, then transferred to another couple and renamed Ofdaniel. During the first Ceremony night with her new Commander, Janine forcefully stops the proceedings. At the market, Alma tells June that she is involved with Mayday, and requests that June retrieve a package from the bar at Jezebel's. June convinces Waterford to take her to Jezebel's again that night. Waterford presents June with Moira and June privately asks Moira to retrieve the package, but she refuses. The next day June is taken to a bridge where Janine is standing on the edge with baby Charlotte, while many, including the Putnams, stand fearfully by. Janine shouts that Commander Putnam promised to leave his wife for her. June convinces Janine to give her Charlotte, but Janine then jumps into the icy water. Later, while Janine lies comatose in the hospital, Commander Putnam is led away by guards. Mrs. Putnam causes Serena to doubt her husband's loyalty. At the market, June is given a package by the butcher, sent by Moira from Jezebel's. At the brothel, Moira kills a client and takes his clothes, then drives off in his car.
10	10	"Night"	Kari Skogland	Bruce Miller	June 14, 2017 (2017-06-14)
A flashback shows June's capture and indoctrination by Aunt Lydia at the Red Center. In the present, after discovering Fred's trips to Jezebels, June is forced to take a pregnancy test, which ends up being positive. Serena angrily accuses Fred, telling him the child is not his. After learning the news, Nick and June have a tender moment. Serena takes June to see Hannah, but leaves her in the car. Serena warns June that Hannah will be safe as long as June's unborn child is. Following his trial, Commander Putnam's left arm is amputated below the elbow. The package from Jezebel's contains letters from women who lost family members and have been enslaved in the Gilead takeover. Later, an emotional Aunt Lydia gathers the handmaids and instructs them to stone Janine. The handmaids hesitate and eventually June and the others refuse, dropping their stones. Following this, a black van comes for June, something the Waterfords were unaware of. Nick urges her to trust him and go with them. As June leaves, she whispers to Rita where to find the hidden letters. Meanwhile, Moira reaches Canada, is granted asylum and is reunited with Luke.

Season 2 (2018)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Teleplay by	Original release date
11	1	"June"	Mike Barker	Bruce Miller	April 25, 2018 (2018-04-25)
The handmaids are taken to Fenway Park, where they are made to believe they will be hanged. When June rejects a meal Lydia gives her, she is shown Ofwyatt chained in a prison room due to her attempted suicide. June agrees to eat and the handmaids are punished through burning with a gas flame. June is taken to a doctor for a pregnancy check-up, where she is visited by the Waterfords. Afterward, she finds a key in one of her boots, which she uses to escape to a van parked underneath the hospital. The van drops her off at a safe house in Back Bay, where she meets Nick, while Fred authorizes a search party. Nick tells June to change out of her clothes and to cut her hair. In flashbacks throughout the episode, Hannah is admitted to the hospital for having a fever while in school, and June is questioned by one of the hospital workers about giving Hannah medication to bypass the school's fever policy. When June and Luke arrive home, they watch the Capitol Building and White House being attacked on television.
12	2	"Unwomen"	Mike Barker	Bruce Miller	April 25, 2018 (2018-04-25)
June has been transported to the abandoned headquarters of The Boston Globe. Emily has been taken to the Colonies, where "unwomen" dig on toxic land. Emily befriends a former commander's wife and finds that she committed a "sin of the flesh" that landed her in the Colonies. Emily murders her with poisoned tablets as she blames her for what she perceives to be "holding a woman down while her husband rapes her". Janine arrives at the Colonies and Nick visits June. In a flashback, Emily is told by her boss, Dan, that she will not be teaching the following semester at the university, giving her a lower profile to avoid attracting criticism for her sexual orientation. Dan is later seen hanged with the word "faggot" painted underneath him. When Emily, along with her wife Sylvia and son Oliver, attempt to emigrate to Canada, she is unable to leave the country because same-sex marriage is no longer recognized, and it becomes known that she is Oliver's biological mother. In the present, June makes a news-clipping memorial for The Boston Globe employees who were executed at the newspaper's former headquarters, and prays to God to send an angel to watch over it.
13	3	"Baggage"	Kari Skogland	Dorothy Fortenberry	May 2, 2018 (2018-05-02)
June learned about the emergence of the Sons of Jacob in newspaper archives and is moved to a place where she meets Omar, who tells her he is bringing her to a safe house. When he learns the safe house has been compromised, he tries to leave without her. June makes him bring her with him to his apartment, where she meets his wife Heather and their son Adam. When the family goes to church, June finds a hidden Qur'an. June dons Heather's Econowife outfit and leaves. After a train ride, June advances to the airstrip that Omar had told her about; the airplane is intercepted, the pilot is executed, and June and another fugitive are apprehended by the Guardians. Moira, now living with Luke and Erin, gives a tour to a new co-worker, but he has a breakdown, traumatized his acts as a Guardian. In a flashback, June is taken to a Take Back the Night rally by her mother, Holly. Holly was later disappointed at June's career and plan to marry, having hoped June would become an activist. Moira and June learned at the Red Center that Holly was sent to the Colonies.
14	4	"Other Women"	Kari Skogland	Yahlin Chang	May 9, 2018 (2018-05-09)
June is recaptured and Lydia explains that June must choose between imprisonment, followed by execution after childbirth, or return as a handmaid. The Waterfords treat June's disappearance as a kidnapping, but privately Serena is furious. Rita returns the letters she found and tells June that she will no longer be involved. A baby shower is held for Serena, incorporating prayer and a binding of June to Serena. June learns from Alma that Ofglen No. 2's tongue was removed for speaking up for Janine, and that Mayday is silent. Lydia takes June out to show her Omar hanging, telling June that Omar's wife Heather is now a handmaid, their son Adam was given away, and this was June's fault. Lydia encourages her to distinguish between Offred's identity and June's, saying June is to blame, not Offred. In a flashback, June is harassed by Luke's first wife Annie, who tells her that she and Luke made wedding vows before God, and June should back off, but Luke rejects Annie's plea. Years later, Annie sees Luke and June in a restaurant with Hannah. June has collapsed emotionally under the knowledge of Omar's family's fate and prays that Hannah will forget her.
15	5	"Seeds"	Mike Barker	Kira Snyder	May 16, 2018 (2018-05-16)
June burns some letters she had been keeping for Mayday. She notices vaginal bleeding but does not inform anyone. Nick notices June's apparent depression and informs Serena. Serena, alarmed at Nick's interest in June, apprises Fred, who arranges for him to be married at a Prayvaganza where loyal Guardians receive a wife. Nick's new bride, Eden, moves into his room. Nick later finds June bloody and unconscious and she is hospitalized. June awakens in the hospital and promises her baby that they both will escape Gilead. In the Colonies, Janine assures Emily that God is protecting them through their struggles in Gilead, and helps to arrange a small wedding for a dying worker, officiated by another unwoman who is a rabbi. Emily, who has begun to lose her teeth, argues with Janine for attempting to bring brightness to a place that otherwise seems so bleak. When the newlywed unwoman dies, the rabbi officiates at the burial as the deceased is lowered into her grave in a cemetery adorned with crosses.
16	6	"First Blood"	Mike Barker	Eric Tuchman	May 23, 2018 (2018-05-23)
Advised by a doctor that a harmonious household would benefit the child, Serena shows care for June, giving her the sitting room as a bedroom and inviting her friends for brunch. When Serena shows June the nursery for the baby, June asks to see Hannah. In retaliation, Serena moves June back to her previous room. Eden reveals to June that she fears Nick may be a "gender traitor" due to his reluctance for intimacy, so June warns him. Nick elopes with Eden, but only after he tells June that he loves her. Fred visits June and gives her a photograph of Hannah. At the opening of the Rachel and Leah Center, Nick asks Commander Pryce to reassign him and ensure June's protection. Ofglen No. 2 detonates a bomb. Flashbacks show the beginning of the Gilead movement with Serena being attacked while promoting her book A Woman's Place. After being booed, Fred forces Serena to finish her speech, which is met by jeers and clapping, escalating when a protester shoots Serena. Fred oversees executions of those students involved in his wife's shooting.
17	7	"After"	Kari Skogland	Lynn Renee Maxcy	May 30, 2018 (2018-05-30)
31 handmaids, 26 commanders (including Commander Pryce), and many civilians were killed in the attack and Fred was injured. Commander Cushing takes Commander Pryce's role, increases checkpoints, and orders numerous people executed. He questions June, asking who aided her in fleeing the country. June responds that she was kidnapped. Serena is alarmed at her household being targeted and Cushing's response, so she forges orders to have Commander Cushing arrested. Because many handmaids were killed, some women from the Colonies are made to serve as handmaids again, including Janine and Emily. Both reunite with June in the grocery store, where Janine happily tells June that it was God's plan that she be rescued. June tells Emily her name and several of the handmaids whisper their names to one another. Serena enlists June's help in performing Fred's work for him while he is hospitalized. At the refugee center, Moira looks through records to try to find out what happened to her fiancée, Odette; Moira is revealed to have been a surrogate birth mother for a couple, meeting Odette, an obstetrician. In the present, Moira eventually finds photographs showing Odette was killed.
18	8	"Women's Work"	Kari Skogland	Nina Fiore & John Herrera	June 6, 2018 (2018-06-06)
Serena gives June a music box and flower for June's help in completing Fred's work while he is in the hospital. Serena tells June that the Putnams' child is ill. June advocates for Janine to be able to see the baby, and Serena agrees to ask about it. Naomi Putnam dislikes the idea, but she is overruled by her husband. Serena petitions Fred to allow the child to be seen by a Martha who, prior to the Sons of Jacob coup, was a top neonatologist. Fred denies the request so Serena forges Fred's signature on an order that temporarily transfers the Martha to the hospital. Lydia tells June that she will hold her responsible if anything goes wrong with Janine's visit to the hospital. The neonatologist can find no physical explanation for the child's deterioration and recommends no further treatment other than supportive care. When Fred discovers that Serena forged his signature on an order to temporarily transfer the Martha, he belts Serena. After Eden rearranges Nick's garret and uncovers the bundle of handmaids' letters, he demands that Eden never touch his belongings. Janine holds Angela/Charlotte, singing "I Only Want to Be with You" and the baby's health improves.
19	9	"Smart Power"	Jeremy Podeswa	Dorothy Fortenberry	June 13, 2018 (2018-06-13)
The Waterfords and Nick travel to Canada on a diplomatic mission. Serena is approached by Mark Tuello, who works for the remnant of the U.S. government in Hawaii and offers to help her defect from Gilead if she will publicly denounce the regime, but Serena declines. At the Waterford residence, June tells Rita that when Hannah was baptized, she and Luke chose godparents for her, and that she wants Rita to be the godmother of her expected child as soon as it is born. Rita states that she will try her best, although the government of Gilead has prohibited baptisms and severely restricts Marthas. June makes a similar request to Aunt Lydia, prompting Lydia to reveal she was previously the godmother to her sister's baby, who died in infancy. Nick finds Luke, tells him June is pregnant by Fred and gives him the bundle of letters. Luke, Moira, and Erin make the letters public, which prompts the Canadians to cancel the summit. Nick gives June news of Luke and Moira, adding that the letters were instrumental in curtailing the talks. June reveals that Moira is Hannah's godmother.
20	10	"The Last Ceremony"	Jeremy Podeswa	Yahlin Chang	June 20, 2018 (2018-06-20)
The commander to whom Emily is newly assigned as handmaid collapses and dies during the Ceremony. June suffers contractions while shopping, forcing her to go home and to endure a "birthing ceremony" as everyone awaits the birth of the child. However, it turns out to be a false alarm. June pleads to Fred to be positioned closer to her daughter Hannah after the eventual birth. After Fred denies this request, June implies that the child she is carrying is not his and that he will never have a child of his own. Fred rapes June with Serena holding her down, under the guise of inducing the labor. Eden finds herself attracted to Isaac and meets with him at night. They kiss, but she stops once she sees Nick. She begs Nick's forgiveness, which he gives with a detachment that infuriates her. She accuses Nick of liking June. Fred arranges for Nick to take June to a remote house for a visit with Hannah, now renamed Agnes. Hannah is initially detached, but then embraces June, and the two have a brief reunion. After they are separated, Guardians take Nick captive, and June is left behind, having hidden in the house.
21	11	"Holly"	Daina Reid	Bruce Miller & Kira Snyder	June 27, 2018 (2018-06-27)
After Nick is taken away from the house, June finds a 1975 Chevrolet Camaro in the garage and car keys, and is able to start the car. She returns to the house and gets a man's coat. Flashbacks throughout the episode show her first pregnancy, and Hannah's birth and childhood. Fred and Serena arrive at the house in a panic, looking for June, and end up arguing, with Serena telling Fred she gave up everything for him and the cause, and only ever wanted a child in return. June finds a gun and prepares to shoot them, but desists. The Waterfords are unable to find June and decide to leave, feeling both angry and concerned. After she's certain they're gone, June, having contractions, gets back into the car but cannot get it out of the garage, which is frozen shut. June is exhausted and in pain, lies down in front of the fire, and finally goes into labor and passes out. When she awakens she's covered in blood, but the baby still hasn't come. She crawls outside and discharges the gun to attract attention, then ends up delivering the baby by herself. She whispers that the baby's name is Holly, after June's mother. Light comes in through the windows, indicating that a car has arrived at the house.
22	12	"Postpartum"	Daina Reid	Eric Tuchman	July 4, 2018 (2018-07-04)
June is unable to pump enough milk and is brought to her baby in order to induce lactation. As June's lactation increases during the meeting, Lydia convinces Fred to allow June back in the house for the baby's health. Nick, who is back in the Waterford household and presented as having been key to the rescue of June and the baby, suggests that he, June, and the baby should flee, and Fred attempts to renew elements of his relationship with June. Emily is reassigned to the Lawrence household as a handmaid after being rejected by four couples. His unstable wife, Eleanor, reveals to Emily that Lawrence was the creator of the Colonies. Lawrence reveals that he knows much about her past. Eden and Isaac elope but are caught. Eden and Nick admit their faults and ask each other's forgiveness. Eden and Isaac are brought to a diving board above a swimming pool for infidelity; each of them is attached to chains and weights. Both refuse to repent, and Eden instead begins to recite a biblical paean to love. They are both pushed off and drown to death. Made distraught by the events, Serena allows June to nurse the baby herself.
23	13	"The Word"	Mike Barker	Bruce Miller	July 11, 2018 (2018-07-11)
It is revealed that Eden's father turned Eden and Isaac in. While searching through Eden's belongings, June discovers a Bible that Eden read from and annotated, despite it being illegal for women to read in Gilead. June argues about Nichole's future in Gilead, stating that Nichole won't be able to know God unless she is able to read his word. Serena proposes that girls be taught to read the Bible, and Serena reads from the Bible to make her point. She is punished by having a finger removed. Emily is dismissed by Lawrence, who does not undergo the ceremony. Emily is visited by Lydia and as Lydia leaves, Emily stabs her. Fred suggests to June that he could arrange for her to remain his handmaid, offering meetings with Hannah; June rejects the proposal. As a fire consumes a neighboring house, Rita tells June that she and Holly have this chance to get out. Nick prevents Fred from arranging their capture. Serena catches June, but allows June to take Nichole, assisted by Marthas. June is reunited with Emily, who is dropped off at the escape truck by Lawrence; June delivers the baby to Emily, telling her to call her Nichole.

Season 3 (2019)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
24	1	"Night"	Mike Barker	Bruce Miller	June 5, 2019 (2019-06-05)
June prays for the safety of Emily and Nichole, using words from Psalm 23. Meanwhile, Emily escapes with June's baby Nichole into Canada after heavy currents in a river crossing, where they are granted asylum. Nichole is taken into the care of Luke and Moira. Back in Gilead, June visits her older daughter Hannah before being recaptured by the Guardians and returned to the Waterfords, but not before Hannah's placement mother, Mrs. McKenzie warns June that future visits could result in her execution in front of Hannah. In order to hide June's involvement in Nichole's "kidnapping", Fred pins the blame on Emily, but Serena defiantly pins it all on herself by telling him and an agent of the Eyes that she was the one who gave away Nichole to a "murderer", meaning Emily. She then tries to commit suicide by burning down the house, but she is rescued by June and Rita. After being punished at the Red Center, June is reassigned to Commander Lawrence, who had facilitated Emily and Nichole's escape to Canada.
25	2	"Mary and Martha"	Mike Barker	Kira Snyder	June 5, 2019 (2019-06-05)
June, who is now Ofjoseph, meets her new shopping partner, Ofmatthew, who is deeply devoted to Gilead. At the Lawrence household, June joins an underground resistance cell consisting of the Marthas Beth, Cora, and Alison. The latter is a former chemistry teacher who joins the resistance in order to make bombs to destroy Gilead. It is also revealed that she made the bomb that blew up the new Rachel and Leah center. June and the Marthas help a Martha from another district escape. However, this woman is later shot by the Guardians and Alison returns with her to the Lawrence household. Commander Lawrence reluctantly harbors the fugitive from the Guardians. Commander Lawrence's wife, Eleanor, who previously seemed unstable, helps June and the Marthas hide the wounded woman. The Martha succumbs to her injury and June digs a grave for her in the backyard and then prays for her soul to rest in peace. Commander Lawrence dismisses Cora for lying while June is burying the Martha. Eleanor plants flowers over the grave. In Canada, Emily is staying with Luke, Moira, and Erin, who successfully convince Emily to re-establish contact with her wife Sylvia.
26	3	"Useful"	Amma Asante	Yahlin Chang	June 5, 2019 (2019-06-05)
June resolves to search for "allies with power", in order to survive Gilead. The Commanders meet at Commander Lawrence's house to discuss the fighting in Chicago including an incoming shipment of female captives. June encounters Nick, who has been promoted to Commander, and the two share a tender moment. Commander Lawrence conscripts June to select five Chicago women to serve as "Marthas"; the remainders will be shipped to the Colonies, which is ultimately a death sentence. While unwilling to be complicit in Lawrence's crimes, June eventually chooses five Marthas who would make good recruits for her resistance cell: an engineer, an IT technician, a journalist, a lawyer, and a thief. Meanwhile, a despondent Serena goes to stay with her mother Pamela, who chastises her for losing her child and for not realizing without Fred, Serena has no place in Gileadean society. At the end, she tries to kill herself via drowning in the ocean, but changes her mind and walks by Fred.
27	4	"God Bless the Child"	Amma Asante	Eric Tuchman	June 12, 2019 (2019-06-12)
June and some other handmaids attend a reception at the Putnam household. There, June convinces Fred to give his wife Serena a "voice behind the scenes" in Gilead. Flashbacks throughout the episode show June and Luke's baptism of Hannah by Christian priest before the hostile takeover by the Sons of Jacob, who now dedicate children, rather than baptize infants. June learns that Ofmatthew has given birth to three babies. Janine, serving as Ofhoward, pleads with the Putnams to invite her back into the house so that she can produce a sibling for baby Angela. Aunt Lydia furiously rejects her plea, and then beats her until June throws herself between Janine and Lydia. Aunt Lydia then apologizes for what happened. She later privately breaks down in tears. Serena tells June that Hannah is at a school in Brookline, MA. June and the Waterfords later receive video footage of Nichole with Luke in Canada, during a demonstration condemning Gilead's hostile assault on Chicago. June is forced to confirm her husband's identity, which she does. In Canada, Emily reunites with her partner Sylvia and their son Oliver. Luke and Moira request a Christian priest to baptize Nichole, which they do in a church.
28	5	"Unknown Caller"	Colin Watkinson	Marissa Jo Cerar	June 19, 2019 (2019-06-19)
At Serena's request, June phones her husband Luke in order to arrange a meeting between the Waterfords and Nichole. Luke agrees to the meeting on the condition that only Serena attend the meeting and not Fred. During their tense meeting at Toronto Pearson International Airport, Serena reassures Luke that June is safe and that both she and June gave up Nichole to give Nichole a better life in Canada. Serena passes Luke a locket for Nichole, as well as a cassette tape containing a recorded message from June, revealing the name she gave to Nichole (Holly) and biological father (Nick). Later, June is picked up by Guardians and forced to participate in a televised broadcast in which the Waterfords state that they are a family mourning the kidnapping of Nichole and urge the Canadian government to return their daughter to Gilead.
29	6	"Household"	Dearbhla Walsh	Dorothy Fortenberry	June 26, 2019 (2019-06-26)
The Waterfords, June, and Aunt Lydia travel to Washington, D.C. to stay with the family of High Commander George Winslow. There, they meet with a delegation of Swiss diplomats who are seeking to negotiate between Gilead and Canada and to take part in internationally broadcast mass prayers being held at the former Washington Monument that has now been turned into a giant cross, asking for the return of baby Nichole from Canada. Once there, June and Lydia are shocked and appalled at how in Washington, the leadership caste there have taken the rules of Gilead to shocking extremes: forcing all handmaids to be muzzled at all times to cover up small ring piercings used to permanently keep their mouths closed. The two bond, as Lydia tells June she believes that Handmaids should not be denied the right of speech. Commander Winslow offers Fred position for him and Serena in DC. June reunites with Nick, who as a Commander is now prepping military forces for the Chicago frontline with the rebels. June makes a deal with the Swiss to convince Nick to provide information on Gilead's power structure, however they reject talking to Nick upon obtaining information about unstated war crimes committed by him in the early days of the Gilead takeover. June and Serena have an argument inside what used to be the Lincoln Memorial over Serena's change of heart regarding baby Nichole. Afterwards, the Waterfords force June to lead tens of thousands of Handmaids massed along what use to be the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in a televised prayer for Nichole's return.
30	7	"Under His Eye"	Mike Barker	Nina Fiore & John Herrera	July 3, 2019 (2019-07-03)
While visiting a supermarket, June arranges with Frances to visit Hannah at the school in Brookline that Serena told her about. Emily and Sylvia meet with a Swiss diplomat, who questions Emily about crimes she has been accused of committing in Gilead. Emily acknowledges them but does not regret the actions she took to survive in Gilead. Emily later befriends Moira and the two join a group of protesters who confront the Canadian Immigration Minister over his negotiations with Gilead and are arrested. Olivia Winslow admonishes Serena to settle in Washington, D.C., showing her that she could move into the former house of a Baptist family that was executed following the Sons of Jacob takeover. Fred and Serena renew their love for each other while negotiations take place to secure Nichole's return and an extradition treaty with Canada. June convinces Eleanor to accompany her on a visit to Brookline. The two women are not permitted entry into the school. June takes part in a particicution where Frances and several others are hanged for "endangering a sacred child." June realizes that Ofmatthew was the one spying on her and reported Frances to Lydia. June angrily attacks Ofmatthew, but is restrained by the other Handmaids.
31	8	"Unfit"	Mike Barker	Kira Snyder	July 10, 2019 (2019-07-10)
After the particicution, Ofmatthew is ostracized by the other Handmaids. In a ritual in which handmaids are admonished to "testify" for their sins, June is singled out for being responsible for the death of Frances, which would negatively affect Hannah. June also outs Ofmatthew's doubts about wanting to carry another child to term. In the night, a handmaid named Ofandy gives birth to a stillborn girl. Ofmatthew snaps when she next encounters June at a grocery store and she grabs a gun from a dead Guardian and prepares to shoot Aunt Lydia, before another Guardian wounds the pregnant handmaid. When asked by June about their whereabouts, Commander Lawrence informs her that he does not know where Hannah and her new family have relocated to. Flashbacks meanwhile show Aunt Lydia's past: she was a caring Christian teacher named Miss Clements who was rejected by her school's principal when, at the urging of a neglectful single mother who she had befriended, she made a pass at him during their first date. Seeing that the mother was dating several men, did not attend church, and that her child wore dirty clothes, Lydia reported her to child protective services and her son was placed in a foster home.
32	9	"Heroic"	Daina Reid	Lynn Renee Maxcy	July 17, 2019 (2019-07-17)
Ofmatthew is rendered brain dead after the shooting and is placed on life support until her baby is born. As punishment for her role in engineering Ofmatthew's humiliation and death, June is kept in the hospital room under Aunt Lydia's orders. June struggles with her mental state as well as her culpability in Ofmatthew's death. June makes two mercy killing attempts on Ofmatthew, but is stopped by Janine, who has fallen out with June and tells her that Ofmatthew is one of them, and that June has become selfish. June attacks Serena Joy but suffers cuts to her hand. A sympathetic doctor stitches her wounds, complimenting her for her bravery. As Ofmatthew's condition deteriorates, the doctors are forced to deliver her premature son by Caesarean section. After being allowed to return to the Lawrences, June encounters a young girl named Rose, who has reached menarche and wants to bear children. Later, June gets permission to spend time with Ofmatthew in her final moments. June apologizes to the brain-dead Ofmatthew for losing her way and tells her that her son is a fighter. She vows to rescue as many children from Gilead as she can. Meanwhile, Aunt Lydia shows a softer side when she gifts Janine with an eye-patch to conceal her disfigured socket.
33	10	"Bear Witness"	Daina Reid	Jacey Heldrich	July 24, 2019 (2019-07-24)
High Commander George Winslow visits Boston, where he reveals plans to import physical forced silencing of handmaids to other districts starting with Boston. Embolden by the High Commander's favor towards him, and a desire to further deal with June's insolence, Fred orders that other commanders and Aunt Lydia be present during Commander Lawrence's next "ceremony" with June in order to out Lawrence's refusal to bed his Handmaids and eliminate him as a protector of June. June forces Lawrence and his wife to go through with the ceremony, citing the fact that Fred would kill not just Lawrence and his wife but also their entire household. Afterwords, June informs Lawrence of her plans to smuggle children out of Gilead and offers to have Lawrence take credit for the rescue so that he and his wife can defect to Canada without fear of reprisals for Lawrence's role in the government of Gilead. Serena confronts Fred over allowing Winslow's influence over the district, having realized that he has no intention on helping the Waterfords regain Nichole.
34	11	"Liars"	Unknown	Unknown	July 31, 2019 (2019-07-31)

Production

Hulu's straight-to-series order of The Handmaid's Tale was announced in April 2016, with Elisabeth Moss set to star. Based on the 1985 novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood, the series was created by Bruce Miller, who is also an executive producer with Daniel Wilson, Fran Sears, and Warren Littlefield. Atwood serves as consulting producer, giving feedback on some of the areas where the series expands upon or modernizes the book. She also played a small cameo role in the first episode. Moss is also a producer. In June 2016, Reed Morano was announced as director of the series. Samira Wiley, Max Minghella, and Ann Dowd joined the cast in July 2016. Joseph Fiennes, Madeline Brewer, and Yvonne Strahovski were cast in August 2016, followed by O. T. Fagbenle and Amanda Brugel in September 2016. In October 2016, Ever Carradine joined the cast, and Alexis Bledel was added in January 2017.

Filming on the series took place in Toronto, Mississauga, Hamilton, Burlington, Oakville, and Cambridge, Ontario, from September 2016 to February 2017. Hulu released the first full trailer of the TV series on YouTube, on March 23, 2017. The series premiered on April 26, 2017.

On May 3, 2017, The Handmaid's Tale was renewed for a second season to premiere in 2018. Moss told the news media that the subsequent episodes would cover further developments in the story, filling in some of the unanswered questions and continuing the narrative already "finished" in the book. The second season consists of 13 episodes and began filming in fall 2017. Alexis Bledel returned as a series regular. Showrunner Bruce Miller stated that he envisioned 10 seasons of the show, stating, "Well, you know, honestly, when I started, I tried to game out in my head what would ten seasons be like? If you hit a home run, you want energy to go around the bases, you want enough story to keep going, if you can hook the audience to care about these people enough that they're actually crying at the finale."

Season 2 was filmed in Ontario, primarily in Toronto, but some scenes were shot in Hamilton and Cambridge.

Season 3 started production in Toronto in October 2018. Scenes for season 3 were also filmed in Cambridge and Hamilton, Ontario as well as in Washington, D.C. Season 3 saw the show's long-serving Director of Photography, Colin Watkinson, make his directorial debut with the episode "Unknown Caller".

Broadcast and release

The first three episodes of the series premiered on April 26, 2017; the subsequent seven episodes were released on a weekly basis. In Canada, the series is broadcast weekly by Bravo and the streaming service CraveTV; the first two episodes premiered on April 30, 2017. In Scandinavia, the series is available on HBO Nordic. In the United Kingdom, the series premiered on May 28, 2017, on Channel 4. In Ireland, the series premiered on February 5, 2018 on RTÉ2, with a showing of the first two episodes. RTÉ also became the first broadcaster in Europe to debut Season 2 and Season 3 following its broadcast in the US and Canada. In Brazil, the series premiered on March 7, 2018, on Paramount Channel.

In New Zealand, the series was released on the subscription video on demand service Lightbox on June 8, 2017. In Australia, the series premiered on the TV channel SBS's video streaming service SBS on Demand, on July 6, 2017.

The first season was released on Blu-ray and DVD on March 13, 2018. The second season was released on Blu-ray and DVD on December 4, 2018.

Reception

Critical response

Season		Critical response
		Rotten Tomatoes	Metacritic
	1	94% (121 reviews)	92 (41 reviews)
	2	89% (98 reviews)	86 (28 reviews)
	3	79% (49 reviews)	67 (13 reviews)

Season 1

On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has an approval rating of 94% based on 121 reviews, with an average rating of 8.72/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Haunting and vivid, The Handmaid's Tale is an endlessly engrossing adaptation of Margaret Atwood's dystopian novel that's anchored by a terrific central performance from Elisabeth Moss." On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 92 out of 100 based on 41 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter called it "probably the spring's best new show". Jen Chaney of Vulture gave it a highly positive review, and wrote that it is "A faithful adaptation of the book that also brings new layers to Atwood's totalitarian, sexist world of forced surrogate motherhood" and that "this series is meticulously paced, brutal, visually stunning, and so suspenseful from moment to moment that only at the end of each hour will you feel fully at liberty to exhale".

There was much debate on whether parallels could be drawn between the series (and by extension, the book it is based on) and American society during the Presidency of Donald Trump. A comparison has also been made to the Salafi/Wahabbi extremism of ISIL, under which enslaved women of religious minorities are passed around and utilized as sex objects and vessels to bear new jihadis.

Season 2

On Rotten Tomatoes, the second season has an approval rating of 89% based on 98 reviews, with an average rating of 8.33/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Beautifully shot but dishearteningly relevant, The Handmaid's Tale centers its sophomore season tightly around its compelling cast of characters, making room for broader social commentary through more intimate lenses." On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 86 out of 100 based on 28 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

However, other critics perceived the second season's depictions of violence as excessive. Sophie Gilbert wrote: "There came a point during the first episode where, for me, it became too much." Lisa Miller of The Cut wrote: "I have pressed mute and fast forward so often this season, I am forced to wonder: 'Why am I watching this'? It all feels so gratuitous, like a beating that never ends." And The Daily Telegraph's Rebecca Reid admitted she had an anxiety attack watching an episode of the show.

Season 3

On Rotten Tomatoes, the third season has an approval rating of 79% based on 49 reviews, with an average rating of 6.7/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The Handmaid's Tale's third season reins in its horrors and inspires hope that revolution really is possible – if only the story would stop spinning its wheels and get to it already." On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 67 out of 100 based on 13 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Kelly Lawler of USA Today gave it a positive review, scoring it three out of four stars. She claimed it is an improvement over the second season, "that rights many – though definitely not all – of Season 2's wrongs." Overall, she wrote, "The new season is more propulsive and watchable, although it doesn't quite reach the heights of that first moving season. But Handmaid's regains its footing by setting off on a new path."

Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter wrote a generally positive review, praising Elisabeth Moss' performance and the cinematography, but criticized the plot "that has become frustratingly repetitive." Overall, he wrote, "Still occasionally powerful, but rarely as provocative."

Awards

Year	Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
Season 1
2017	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Drama Series	Bruce Miller, Warren Littlefield, Daniel Wilson, Fran Sears, Ilene Chaiken, Sheila Hockin, Eric Tuchman, Frank Siracusa, John Weber, Kira Snyder, Elisabeth Moss, Joseph Boccia, and Leila Gerstein	Won
		Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series	Elisabeth Moss (for "Night")	Won
		Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	Ann Dowd (for "Offred")	Won
			Samira Wiley (for "Night")	Nominated
		Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series	Reed Morano (for "Offred")	Won
			Kate Dennis (for "The Bridge")	Nominated
		Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series	Bruce Miller (for "Offred")	Won
	Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards	Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series	Alexis Bledel (for "Late")	Won
		Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series	Russell Scott, Sharon Bialy, and Sherry Thomas	Nominated
		Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series (One Hour)	Colin Watkinson (for "Offred")	Won
		Outstanding Period/Fantasy Costumes for a Series, Limited Series, or Movie	Ane Crabtree and Sheena Wichary (for "Offred")	Nominated
		Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary or Fantasy Program (One Hour or More)	Julie Berghoff, Evan Webber, and Sophie Neudorfer (for "Offred")	Won
		Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Supporting Role	Brendan Taylor, Stephen Lebed, Leo Bovell, Martin O'Brien, Winston Lee, Kelly Knauff, Zach Dembinski, Mike Suta, and Cameron Kerr (for "Birth Day")	Nominated
	Gold Derby TV Awards	Drama Series	The Handmaid's Tale	Nominated
		Drama Actress	Elisabeth Moss	Won
		Drama Guest Actress	Alexis Bledel	Won
	Television Critics Association Awards	Program of the Year	The Handmaid's Tale	Won
		Outstanding Achievement in Drama		Won
		Outstanding New Program		Nominated
		Individual Achievement in Drama	Elisabeth Moss	Nominated
	American Film Institute Awards	Top 10 TV Programs of the Year	The Handmaid's Tale	Won
2018	American Cinema Editors Awards	Best Edited Drama Series for Non-Commercial Television	Julian Clarke and Wendy Hallam Martin (for "Offred")	Won
	Art Directors Guild Awards	One-Hour Contemporary Single-Camera Television Series	Julie Berghoff (for "Offred", "Birth Day", "Nolite Te Bastardes Carborundorum")	Won
			Andrew Stearn (for "The Bridge")	Nominated
	Casting Society of America	Television Pilot and First Season – Drama	Sharon Bialy, Sherry Thomas, Russell Scott, Robin D. Cook, and Jonathan Oliveira	Won
	Cinema Audio Society Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Television Series – One Hour	John J. Thomson, Lou Solakofski, Joe Morrow, and Don White (for "Offred")	Nominated
	Costume Designers Guild Awards	Excellence in Contemporary Television Series	Ane Crabtree	Won
	Critics' Choice Television Awards	Best Drama Series	The Handmaid's Tale	Won
		Best Actress in a Drama Series	Elisabeth Moss	Won
		Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	Ann Dowd	Won
	Directors Guild of America Awards	Outstanding Directorial Achievement for a Drama Series	Reed Morano (for "Offred")	Won
	Golden Globe Awards	Best Television Series – Drama	The Handmaid's Tale	Won
		Best Actress – Television Series Drama	Elisabeth Moss	Won
		Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film	Ann Dowd	Nominated
	Location Managers Guild Awards	Outstanding Locations in Contemporary Television	John Musikka and Geoffrey Smither	Nominated
	Peabody Award	Entertainment, children's and youth honoree	The Handmaid's Tale	Won
	Producers Guild of America Awards	Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama	The Handmaid's Tale	Won
	Satellite Awards	Best Drama Series	The Handmaid's Tale	Nominated
		Best Actress in a Drama / Genre Series	Elisabeth Moss	Won
		Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries or TV Film	Ann Dowd	Won
	Saturn Awards	Best New Media Television Series	The Handmaid's Tale	Nominated
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	Madeline Brewer, Amanda Brugel, Ann Dowd, O. T. Fagbenle, Joseph Fiennes, Tattiawna Jones, Max Minghella, Elisabeth Moss, Yvonne Strahovski, and Samira Wiley	Nominated
		Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series	Elisabeth Moss	Nominated
	USC Scripter Awards	Best Adapted TV Screenplay	Bruce Miller and Margaret Atwood (for "Offred")	Won
	Writers Guild of America Awards	Dramatic Series	Ilene Chaiken, Nina Fiore, Dorothy Fortenberry, Leila Gerstein, John Herrera, Lynn Maxcy, Bruce Miller, Kira Snyder, Wendy Straker Hauser, and Eric Tuchman	Won
		New Series		Won
	BAFTA Television Awards	Best International Programme	The Handmaid's Tale	Won
Season 2
2018	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Drama Series	Bruce Miller, Warren Littlefield, Elisabeth Moss, Daniel Wilson, Fran Sears, Mike Barker, Sheila Hockin, Eric Tuchman, Kira Snyder, Yahlin Chang, Frank Siracusa, John Weber, Dorothy Fortenberry, and Joseph Boccia	Nominated
		Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series	Elisabeth Moss (for "The Last Ceremony")	Nominated
		Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series	Joseph Fiennes (for "First Blood")	Nominated
		Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	Alexis Bledel (for "Unwomen")	Nominated
			Ann Dowd (for "June")	Nominated
			Yvonne Strahovski (for "Women's Work")	Nominated
		Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series	Kari Skogland (for "After")	Nominated
		Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series	Bruce Miller (for "June")	Nominated
	Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards	Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series	Kelly Jenrette (for "Other Women")	Nominated
			Cherry Jones (for "Baggage")	Nominated
			Samira Wiley (for "After")	Won
		Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series	Sharon Bialy, Sherry Thomas, Russell Scott and Robin D. Cook	Nominated
		Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series (One Hour)	Colin Watkinson (for "June")	Nominated
		Outstanding Fantasy/Sci-Fi Costumes	Ane Crabtree and Natalie Bronfman (for "Seeds")	Nominated
		Outstanding Makeup for a Single-Camera Series (Non-Prosthetic)	Burton LeBlanc, Talia Reingold and Erika Caceres (for "Unwomen")	Nominated
		Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary Program (One Hour or More)	Mark White, Elisabeth Williams, Martha Sparrow, and Caroline Gee (for "June")	Won
			Elisabeth Williams, Martha Sparrow, and Rob Hepburn (for "Seeds", "First Blood", "After")	Nominated
		Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series	Wendy Hallam Martin (for "June")	Won
		Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One-Hour)	Joe Morrow, Lou Solakofski, and Sylvain Arseneault (for "June")	Nominated
		Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Supporting Role	Stephen Lebed, Brendan Taylor, Kelly Knauff, Kelly Weisz, Kevin McGeagh, Anderson Leo Bovell, Winston Lee, Xi Luo, and Cameron Kerr (for "June")	Nominated
2019	Satellite Awards	Best Drama Series	The Handmaid's Tale	Nominated
		Best Actress in a Drama / Genre Series	Elisabeth Moss	Nominated
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	Alexis Bledel, Madeline Brewer, Amanda Brugel, Ann Dowd, O. T. Fagbenle, Joseph Fiennes, Nina Kiri, Max Minghella, Elisabeth Moss, Yvonne Strahovski, Sydney Sweeney, and Bahia Watson	Nominated
		Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series	Joseph Fiennes	Nominated
		Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series	Elisabeth Moss	Nominated
	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actress – Television Series Drama	Elisabeth Moss	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film	Yvonne Strahovski	Nominated
	Visual Effects Society Awards	Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode	Brendan Taylor, Stephen Lebed, Winston Lee, Leo Bovell for "June"	Nominated
		Outstanding Created Environment in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project	Patrick Zentis, Kevin McGeagh, Leo Bovell, Zachary Dembinski for "June" – Fenway Park	Nominated
		Outstanding Compositing in a Photoreal Episode	Winston Lee, Gwen Zhang, Xi Luo, Kevin Quatman for "June"	Nominated
	Writers Guild of America Awards	Dramatic Series	Yahlin Chang, Nina Fiore, Dorothy Fortenberry, John Herrera, Lynn Renee Maxcy, Bruce Miller, Kira Snyder, and Eric Tuchman	Nominated
		Episodic Drama	Eric Tuchman (for "First Blood")	Nominated
	GLAAD Media Awards	Outstanding Drama Series	The Handmaid's Tale	Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series	Daina Reid (for "Holly")	Pending
		Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series	Bruce Miller & Kira Snyder (for "Holly")	Pending
	Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards	Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series	Bradley Whitford	Pending
		Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series	Cherry Jones	Pending
		Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series (One Hour)	Colin Watkinson for ("The Word")	Pending
			Zoë White (for "Holly")	Pending
		Outstanding Fantasy/Sci-Fi Costumes	Ane Crabtree and Natalie Bronfman (for "The Word")	Pending
		Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score)	Adam Taylor (for "The Word")	Pending
		Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series	Wendy Hallam Martin (for "The Word")	Pending
		Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary Program (One Hour or More)	Elisabeth Williams, Martha Sparrow and Robert Hepburn (for "Holly")	Pending
		Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour)	Joe Morrow, Lou Solakofski and Sylvain Arseneault (for "Holly")	Pending
	Saturn Awards	Best Streaming Horror & Thriller Series	The Handmaid's Tale	Pending

See also

• List of original programs distributed by Hulu

External links

• Official website
• The Handmaid's Tale at IMDb