The timely adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s classic dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale was perhaps the most talked about TV show of last year: no mean feat, considering the wealth of watercooler options we were presented with, from Big Little Lies to Game of Thrones. It was hardly a surprise, then, when US streaming service Hulu announced that a second season was in the works for Offred and co, one which would take the story beyond the ambiguous conclusion of Atwood’s book into new territory.
Following a wealth of awards nominations and wins for the show, we’ve now been granted a first look at what we can expect from this sophomore season. A handful of new photos released by Hulu show, among other things, a group of handmaids walking through a graveyard, Elisabeth Moss’s Offred covered in blood, and a glimpse at the ‘Colonies,’ the polluted countries to which rebels (like Samira Wiley’s Moira) are exiled. It’s a trio of images which points towards a season that will be just as haunting as the first.
A statement released by Hulu also gives us a better idea of what this second instalment might bring. ‘The Emmy-winning drama series returns with a second season shaped by Offred’s pregnancy and her ongoing fight to free her future child from the dystopian horrors of Gilead,’ it reads. ‘“Gilead is within you” is a favourite saying of Aunt Lydia. In Season Two, Offred and all our characters will fight against – or succumb to – this dark truth.’ Just another casual, easy watch, then...
While the new season will move on from Atwood’s original story, the author (who had a cameo as one of the terrifying ‘Aunts’ the first time around) will still be on board as a consulting producer; indeed, showrunner Bruce Miller told EW that he and Atwood ‘had started to talk about the shape of the second season halfway through the first.’
The Handmaid’s Tale is set to return to Hulu in the US in April, with a UK release yet to be announced. We’re crossing our fingers...