Handmaid s tale season 6 potential release date cast and more


The Handmaid s Tale season 6 potential release date, cast, and everything you need to know
No explanation was given for this sudden departure, so for now, it's safe to assume Bledel won't return before the show ends.
The Handmaid's Tale season 6 potential release date, cast, and everything you need to know

All tales must come to an end, and unfortunately, that's true even for The Handmaid's Tale.
Ahead of season five's arrival last year, it was announced that June and co will be returning for a sixth and final season, which will hopefully wrap up her story in a satisfying way for long-time fans.
"It has been a true honour to tell the story of Margaret Atwood’s groundbreaking novel and the chillingly relevant world, and we are thrilled to bring viewers a sixth and final season of The Handmaid’s Tale," said creator, showrunner and executive producer Bruce Miller in a statement at the time.
"We are grateful to Hulu and MGM for allowing us to tell this story, which unfortunately has remained as relevant as ever throughout its run, and are in awe of our incredible fans for their unwavering support, and without whom we never would have gotten to this point."
So what's in store for The Handmaid's Tale season six? And how will this final run set up The Testaments spin-off, (which is based on Margaret Atwood's recent sequel to the source material)? Join us here at Digital Spy as we reveal everything you need to know about the final season of The Handmaid's Tale.

The Handmaid's Tale season 6 potential release date: When will it air?
The Handmaid's Tale used to release one new season each year, but the pandemic threw that schedule off balance, creating a two-year gap between seasons three and four.
Once production was back on track, we were looking at a season-six release around the end of 2023, one year on from season five, but the ongoing industrial action in Hollywood has thrown that into doubt.
The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) have now joined the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike on the picket lines after failing to reach a deal with the studios.
This has brought much of film and TV production in the US to a halt. The actors and writers are striking for fairer pay and guarantees that AI will not be used to replace them, but there is no sense yet when an agreement will be reached.
So, when could we expect a season six? Madeline Brewer, who plays Janine appeared on the 2022 New Year's Eve special of The Graham Norton Show and told the host: "We have one more season, and that'll be coming 2024".
It's unlikely we will get a firmed up release date during the strikes, so you'll have to watch this space for now.
The Handmaid's Tale season 6 cast: Who's in it?

The Handmaid's Tale just wouldn't be The Handmaid's Tale without any of the following cast members, so expect to see them all return in some capacity for season six:
• Elisabeth Moss as June Osborne
• Yvonne Strahovski as Serena Joy Waterford
• Madeline Brewer as Janine
• Ann Dowd as Aunt Lydia
• O-T Fagbenle as Luke
• Max Minghella as Nick
• Samira Wiley as Moira
• Bradley Whitford as Commander Lawrence
• Amanda Brugel as Rita
Unfortunately for longtime fans of the show, Alexis Bledel won't be joining any of them for this final outing. After Emily's screen time was reduced somewhat in season four, the character was written out completely in the season-five premiere where it was revealed that she went back to Gilead.
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Alexis issued a statement to Entertainment Weekly at the time that said: "After much thought, I felt I had to step away from The Handmaid's Tale at this time. I am forever grateful to Bruce Miller for writing such truthful and resonant scenes for Emily, and to Hulu, MGM, the cast and crew for their support."
No explanation was given for this sudden departure, so for now, it's safe to assume Bledel won't return before the show ends.
Hopefully, Rita and Moira's roles will be expanded again. Across the first three seasons in particular, they both played a key part in this show, but their presence was reduced dramatically for season five in particular. And it turns out that the reason why actually has a lot to do with Bledel's exit.

Sophie Giraud/Hulu
During his exclusive chat with Digital Spy, showrunner Bruce Miller shed some more light on this unfortunate development: "Honestly, Moira's story and Rita's story, which were tied up with Emily's story, they really did suffer this season.
"I love all of our characters. I could do a series. The Moira Show, I would watch. I would write it deliciously. Oh my God, I could do it. And Rita's show."
"So we always have huge amounts of story that we're not allowed to do," Miller added. "Huge flashbacks that we just don't have real estate for. The network would give us an extra episode or two or three. But it's the stories – we have to make this distilled."
The Handmaid's Tale season 6 plot: What will happen?

Sophie Giraud/Hulu
Fans of the show may be surprised to learn that The Handmaid's Tale is saying goodbye to its showrunner Bruce Miller for the final sixth season.
Despite having worked on the series from the beginning, Bruce is hanging up his cloak as he turns his attention towards the spin-off series Testaments.
If you find yourself worried about the direction of the show as it nears the end, you can breathe easy. Miller has left the final series in the capable hands of Eric Tuchman and Yahlin Chang, who are the current writers and executive producers of the dystopian drama.
If that's not enough assurance for you, Miller spoke to Digital Spy about the plans for a possible endgame though he states that initial outlines will likely evolve as the writing continues.
"We're going to wrap it up on our own terms," said Miller. "It's something we never get with just the way the business is set up. And also, more importantly, not something everyone would give to the audience.
"The book is so frustrating at the end, because the book just ends. And everybody's like, 'How could you, Bruce Miller… Who do you think you are, writing more?' I'm like, 'Oh my God, it's all I've ever wanted to do, to write the rest.' Because it's like: what the hell happened?! Oh my God – it's the most infuriating ending."

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Focusing on June's end specifically, Miller said: "We have so many women through history who didn't have names, who were never identified. They were there for a while. They told their story, and this is The Handmaid's Tale – she told it.
"And then they disappear, faceless, into the mist of history. And that's what the problem is: there are too many women out there who are just Offred and are just the Handmaid.
"But that's the story we're telling. In order to make it really this story, it starts when that kid is taken from her. And that's when she turns into a Handmaid. And it ends when she disappears off of our radar. But she doesn't disappear from the world. She's a real human woman. Just because she's not on our radar, doesn't mean she doesn't exist."
It also looks like June and Nick still have some unfinished business to explore in season six, with Miller saying that towards the end of season five they were unable to "think about anything" other than their love for one another.
"I feel like this is the most romantic Nick/June season ever because they spend the whole time trying to convince themselves that they don't need to be together," he told Entertainment Weekly.
"And by the end, they are not successful at all, they fail entirely. They don't even see each other in the last episode, and they're so in love they can't think about anything else," he added.
Further teasing what we can expect to see from June in the final season, Moss told Elle: "I think that it's going to be a season where June is going to figure out who she is and who she's going to be for the rest of her life.
"The fight is not just about one individual; it's much larger than that. And I think she is, in season five, getting to that place where she's realising that. And then season six is going to be very much about that, and then about all the characters figuring out whose side they're on and what their next move is."
And looking ahead beyond season six even, Handmaid's Tale fans still have The Testaments spinoff to look forward to. Without spoiling too much here, Aunt Lydia plays a huge central role in that book, so it's possible Ann Dowd may return to reprise the role in this new show.

Hulu // Channel 4
When the book was first published in 2019, Dowd had this to say about Lydia's surprising actions in the sequel:
"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', she continued.
"'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'."
But will Ann Dowd reprise the role of Aunt Lydia in this upcoming sequel? It's hard to imagine anyone else in the role at this point, and Dowd absolutely agrees on that front.

Hulu/Sophie Giraud
Joining The Ellen DeGeneres Show back in June 2021, the Emmy Award winner joked about her job security with the part moving forward, saying: "And the other thing I have, and 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."
Clearly, she's joking, but also, maybe not?
"I have done the audiobook of The Testaments," Dowd told EW. "So I am familiar with it. It's brilliantly written, as is everything Margaret Atwood does – it's quite extraordinary. To speak broadly, she's moving into far more awareness of her own complicitness, if that is a word, and actually what's going on underneath all of the pretend stuff at Gilead.
"Pretend meaning, what commanders say is going on, what the values of Gilead are supposed to be, but aren't. The blinders are coming down, the walls are coming down."
Dowd continued: "She's a very smart woman, she knows men have the power at the moment. And so what she needs to do is be alert, aware, keep track, and keep it hidden. And just to make her moves slowly.
"She has tremendous patience. It's just a wonderful progression into herself, and also into what she wants to now do with what she knows. And I find her very inspiring as time goes on."
Series creator Bruce Miller isn't wasting time – he's already hard at work on the spin-off show.
"I'm working on The Testaments while I'm working on season six of The Handmaid’s Tale," Miller told Deadline. "It's so lovely to have another book to go to.
"I think the people [who] watch the TV show have to be comfortable with the fact that just like Handmaid's didn't follow the book, The Testaments is a sequel to this TV show.
"So I'm not necessarily shooting for those things the way that they are in The Testaments but everybody is growing in those directions.
"Margaret [Atwood] and I had lots of conversations about the character [of June]. She watched some of the show before she even started to write The Testaments. I think that the characters have a lot of similarities, which is wonderful – and they are definitely falling into place for The Testaments."
The Handmaid's Tale season 6 trailer: When can I watch it?

Now the strikes are over – and when The Handmaid's Tale cast and crew start promoting season six – Digital Spy will have you covered with all the latest teasers and trailers for the final season.
The Handmaid's Tale streams on Hulu in the US and both Channel 4 and Prime Video in the UK.