What Channel Does Handmaid's Tale Come on

The Handmaid's Tale spoilers follow.

Gilead is a depressing, awful place to visit, so we're happy to bring fans of The Handmaid's Tale some good news for a change: the show is officially coming back for a fifth season! Even before season four kicked off, the cast confirmed the show's renewal back in December 2020.

Chatting to The Hollywood Reporter, showrunner Bruce Miller said: "We are thrilled to be able to continue to tell these stories with our incredible cast and crew, and can't wait to be back on the air with season four next year."

Hulu/ Sophie Giraud

But will this be the last season? In another interview with THR, Miller admitted that he "doesn't know" if season five will be its final outing:

"We talked about it, and [Elisabeth Moss] and I have talked about it, and the writing staff and I have talked about it extensively, about where we're going precisely, but I do feel like after this year, it's a good time to reassess."

In an interview for Deadline's Contenders TV virtual event, he expanded on that: "I'm never looking to end it... The team made an incredible TV show, so I'm not so quick to say, 'Oh, you know, let's just walk away.'

"I know what the end is and I'm not going to overstay my welcome, but I'm also not going to rush off if I don't have to because as long as I am writing for Elisabeth Moss, it really doesn't get much better."

Jordan Helman, Head of Scripted Originals at Hulu, told Deadline that closing out the show in "creative fashion that feels organic" is of the utmost importance.

"We haven't landed on an answer," he added. "I imagine we're going to be able to answer that question in the coming months."

And it sounds like the answer might involve a spin-off series focused on Margaret Atwood's recent source material.

Rich Fury / Contributor Getty Images

"The birth of The Testaments on Hulu and the eventual end of The Handmaid's Tale are related," Helman added. "We're figuring out that as we speak."

But that's a problem for *future us*. In the meantime, let's take a closer look at what's in store for The Handmaid's Tale season five.

The Handmaid's Tale season 5 release date: When will it air?

Hulu

Season four of The Handmaid's Tale suffered some major setbacks due to COVID-related delays, but this shouldn't be an issue moving forward (we hope). Bearing that in mind, we're probably looking at a summer 2022 premiere at the earliest, but our money's on the autumn.

The Handmaid's Tale season 5 cast: Who will be in it?

Hulu

Gilead is not exactly the safest place to be, and even though June has now escaped to Canada, that doesn't mean every character is suddenly protected from harm.

But assuming that most of the major players do return, it looks like the following will all appear in The Handmaid's Tale season 5:

• Elisabeth Moss as June Osborne
• Yvonne Strahovski as Serena Joy Waterford
• Alexis Bledel as Emily
• Madeline Brewer as Janine
• Ann Dowd as Aunt Lydia
• OT Fagbenle as Luke
• Max Minghella as Nick
• Samira Wiley as Moira
• Bradley Whitford as Commander Lawrence
• Amanda Brugel as Rita

One major cast member who definitely won't be returning is Joseph Fiennes as Fred Waterford. At the end of season four, June enlisted her fellow survivors to finally exact their revenge on the Commander by beating him to death in the no man's land between Gilead and Canada. However, given the trauma that Fred inflicted on June, we wouldn't be surprised if he does pop up every now and again in flashback form, or as visions in June's mind.

Chatting to TVLine about whether Serena will suspect June was responsible for her husband's death, Strahovski said: "Yes. I feel like she'll know in her heart. They know each other so well, I can't imagine that not crossing her mind… I can imagine June purposely telling Serena about it because she wants Serena to live in absolute fear, if and when she gets out of the detention centre. I mean, could you imagine?

"If you knew that someone was out there, outside, capable of doing something like that to your husband or your partner, and then you're trying to live out in the real world, with a baby? I just think that is the most paranoid existence you could ever live, knowing that June has done what she's done."

A new addition to the Waterford family and the cast at large will be Serena's unnamed baby, but we doubt anyone famous will be playing them in season five!

And although she's only appeared in two episodes so far, we're almost certain that McKenna Grace will reprise the role of Mrs Keyes in season five. Esther will need all the help she can get now that Aunt Lydia has forced her to become a Handmaid. At least she has Janine for company...

The Handmaid's Tale season 5 plot: What will the second season be about?

Hulu/Sophie Giraud

Plot specifics are hard to come by right now, although it's safe to say that The Handmaid's Tale will continue to explore June's trauma following her escape from Gilead. But will the often divisive torture-porn aesthetic remain?

That might depend on whether the show even continues beyond season five. Showrunner Bruce Miller has previously stated that The Handmaid's Tale will "keep going" as long as Elisabeth Moss remains involved.

"There's a lot of life in this story," he told Deadline. "I'm certainly fascinated by what happens in The Testaments and if that's going to be part of our future."

The Testaments is a sequel which takes place ten years after the first book and explores the legacy that June leaves behind in Gilead and beyond through the eyes of three woman, one of whom is Aunt Lydia.

"That feels fantastic," said Dowd of her casting during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. "I'm just going to say it right now, I thought to myself I hope they're going to let me play her. The problem is that if they don't, the actress who would have been chosen should watch her back because I would hunt her until she gives it up."

She added: "I was thrilled – let's get real on that – by what Aunt Lydia does and how she does it, her understanding of Gilead to its core and what will bring it down. What surprised me – and didn't – is how [she] got involved in Gilead in the first place.

"When you play a role such as Lydia in The Handmaid's Tale, you search for a human connection that somehow explains why she would make the choices she makes. Now, you read The Testaments, and Lydia, being a family court judge, realised really quickly, 'If I want to live and survive this world, this is what you have to do. Not only am I going to do it, I'm going to do it better than anybody so I'm going to be ruling the other Aunts.'"

Hulu

There's been no word on whether The Handmaid's Tale is allowed to explore this material because it's already been signed by MGM Television and Hulu for another TV adaptation.

Meanwhile, June's desire for revenge might have just cost her the family she always wanted to be reunited with. In the last moments of season four, she kills Fred and then goes home to Nicole, covered in blood. Knowing that she's crossed a line, June asks Luke if she can just have a few minutes with her child before leaving.

Moving forward, expect June to continue resisting Gilead but from Canada with the help of Emily and other survivors. In fact, we can probably expect full out war and plenty more subterfuge if the direction of those final scenes is anything to go by.

Miller also spoke to Entertainment Weekly about what we can expect from season five, which he describes as Sophie's Choice: The Series:

"It's the American story – can we snap back to normal, or do we have to move on into something new? And that's where June is right now. She's done this terrible thing, or what she feels like is irredeemable. Can she snap back? Or does she have to decide that sometimes you not only have to sacrifice part of your life, but you have to sacrifice your whole life to making the world better for the next generation?

"And I think it isn't just changing presidents. It isn't just passing one law, like what we're realising now, but some fights are just a fight you continue to have, a struggle you'll continue to make... So I think that for June, it's the integration of June the warrior and Offred the warrior into June the mother and Offred the mother."

The Handmaid's Tale season 5 trailer: When can we see a Netflix promo?

Unless production on season five is ramped up ASAP, we won't be able to smuggle any new footage through Gilead's borders until 2022 at the very earliest.

The Handmaid's Tale airs on Hulu in the US and Channel 4 in the UK.

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Vintage Classics amazon.co.uk

£7.19

The Handmaid's Tale: The Graphic Novel by Margaret Atwood, with art and adaptation by Renee Nault

Jonathan Cape amazon.co.uk

£15.45

The Handmaid's Tale Season 1-2 box set [DVD]

The Handmaid's Tale season 2 boxset [DVD]

The Handmaid's Tale Season 3 [DVD] [2019]

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

Chatto & Windus amazon.co.uk

£14.90

The Handmaid's Tale (Original Series Soundtrack)

INVADA Records amazon.co.uk

The Art and Making of The Handmaid's Tale

Titan Books amazon.co.uk

£11.79

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What Channel Does Handmaid's Tale Come on

Source: https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/a36594959/handmaids-tale-season-5-release-date/

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