The Testaments: Everything we know so far about The Handmaid’s Tale sequel

The Handmaid’s Tale is currently in its final season, but Gilead’s story is going to continue with The Testaments. The new show will serve as a sequel to the original and will be based on Margaret Atwood’s novel of the same name.

The Testaments brings back Aunt Lydia Clements from the predecessor and tells the story of three women from elite families. Though their social and financial status is far better than June Osborne's, the show depicts how even women of high social status have to struggle in an orthodox society.

The series comes from Bruce Miller, the creator of The Handmaid’s Tale. Ann Dowd is going to reprise her role as Aunt Lydia and will be joined by a fresh set of cast. If you are excited about the sequel, here are all the details you should have about The Testaments.

What will The Testaments be about?

The Testaments will revolve around three ladies: Aunt Lydia, a young Gilead woman named Agnes, and a young Canadian woman named Daisy. Their lives intersect as they try to unravel the secrets of Gilead. The story is set 15 years after the events of The Handmaid’s Tale.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, showrunner Bruce Miller revealed that while the show is a sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale, it will have its own identity with only some characters overlapping between the shows:

“I didn't want Testaments to dictate Handmaid's Tale, and I didn't want Handmaid's Tale to dictate Testaments. Some of the characters overlap, but it's about a different world.”

Speaking about the differences and similarities between the two projects, Miller said that while Handmaid’s explores the lives of the women at the lowest level in Gilead, Testaments is about the women at the topmost level, who still suffer due to the misogynistic mentality of the society:

“Handmaid's Tale is about the life of a handmaid. This woman, who was pulled from her life and pushed to the absolute bottom in Gilead, and told she was worthless. She wasn't even a woman anymore, she was just a uterus, and seeing her fight back and keep her humanity.”

“[The Testaments] is about someone on the top in Gilead. This is about Hannah or Agnes, who's the daughter of a high commander who is the top of the food chain for women in Gilead, and it's still awful. That's what we find out is that being on the top of a food chain in a misogynistic society doesn't make it any better. It just puts more of a target on your head.”

Who will star in The Testaments?

Ann Dowd returns as Aunt Lydia in the new show. She is joined by Presumed Innocent actress Chase Infiniti, who will play Agnes, and Blue Jean actress Lucy Halliday, who will portray Daisy. Mattea Conforti, who has previously been seen in The Many Saints of Newark, will star as Becka, a girl who attends a school in Gilead despite her humble background.

Rowan Blanchard, known for her role in Spy Kids: All the Time in the World, will play Shunammite, a teen girl from an influential family. The rest of the cast members include Brad Alexander, Isolde Ardies, Shechinah Mpumlwana, Mabel Li, Amy Seimetz, Birva Pandya, Eva Foote, Kira Guloien, and Zarrin Darnell-Martin.

When will The Testaments be released?

The release date of the series has not been announced yet. However, it is known that the show will premiere on Hulu like its predecessor. The production of the sequel began in April 2025.

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Apart from being the showrunner, Bruce Miller serves as an executive producer, along with Warren Littlefield and Mike Barker. The original show’s lead, Elisabeth Moss, is also executive producing the project.

For more news and updates about The Testaments, keep following Soap Central.

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