'The Handmaid's Tale' Has Been Renewed For Season 2 And Honestly, Thank God
Good news: the horrifying dystopian tortures are going to just keep on coming! Hulu has just announced that its picking up "The Handmaid's Tale" for a second season, and just one week after the show premiered.
At Hulu's 2017 Upfronts on Wednesday, the streaming service announced it's ordering season two of its buzzy new series, which is set to premiere in 2018. The pickup comes just one week after the first three episodes of "The Handmaid's Tale" debuted, which Hulu revealed has been the service's most watched series premiere ever.
An adaptation of Margaret Atwood's 1985 novel of the same name, "The Handmaid's Tale" stars Elisabeth Moss as Offred, a woman forced to serve and have sex with a high-class man after a Christian fundamentalist group takes over the government. It also sees Alexis Bledel in a brilliant turn as a fellow handmaid, who undergoes specific horrors in the premiere episodes.
Not only has the series picked up scores of fans for its compelling cast and gripping storytelling, but many viewers also point to its increased relevance in our current political climate. Bledel herself pointed out that she found the scariest aspect of the series to be that the form of sex slavery it depicts occurs in the real world.
The show premiered shortly after President Trump stated his intention to defund Planned Parenthood, another incredibly timely issue of government regulation of women's bodies that "The Handmaid's Tale" dramatizes. In fact, Hillary Clinton herself pointed out the similarity between the Hulu breakout and Trump's attack on Planned Parenthood at Planned Parenthood's 100th anniversary on Tuesday night.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Clinton said,
What a time it is to be holding this centennial. Just ask those who've been watching 'The Handmaid's Tale,' a book I read and was captivated by years ago. I am not suggesting this dystopian future is around the corner, but this show has prompted important conversations about women's rights and autonomy. In 'The Handmaid's Tale,' women's rights are gradually, slowly stripped away. As one character says, 'We didn't look up from our phones until it was too late.' It is not too late for us, but we have to encourage the millions of women and men who support Planned Parenthood's mission to keep fighting.
With all this buzz and relevance, it's no wonder that Hulu is immediately on board to make a second season!
