'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The Testaments will continue the dystopian realm of Gilead, carrying on the narrative that held viewers captive on The Handmaid's Tale. Even as the mother ship series concluded its last season, the new Hulu series guarantees to keep audiences engaged within Margaret Atwood's terrifying realm.
Drawing on Atwood's 2019 Booker Prize-winning sequel, The Testaments flips the perspective to focus on a younger generation of women living in a disintegrating regime, and delivers a closer examination of the motivations behind one of the series' most divisive characters: Aunt Lydia.
There is no official announcement, but The Testaments might premiere in 2026. The series will follow the story of Gilead through the eyes of Aunt Lydia, Agnes, and Nicole in Hulu’s gripping sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale.
Trending
When does The Testaments come out?
According to a report by Cosmopolitan, Hulu began production on The Testaments in April 2025 in Toronto, the same location that served as the setting for The Handmaid's Tale. Although the streaming service hasn't offered an official release date, entertainment sources indicate that the series is set to premiere sometime in 2026.
Taking into account the production schedule and the magnitude of the adaptation, fans can probably anticipate a mid-to-late 2026 premiere. Hulu is framing The Testaments as a spiritual and storytelling continuation of The Handmaid's Tale, connecting the storylines from past repression to prospective revolution.
What is the story of The Testaments?
15 years after The Handmaid's Tale, the sequel takes place through three very different female voices: Agnes, Daisy, and Aunt Lydia. Their lives revolve between Gilead and Canada, with a changing power structure and increased resistance to the totalitarian government.
Agnes, brought up in Gilead under false pretenses of an elite existence, learns she is June's daughter, Hannah.
When threatened by an arranged wedding, she chooses instead to become an Aunt, a path that takes her to discover things about her family and her half-sister, Nicole.
Simultaneously, Daisy resides in Toronto with adoptive parents who are clandestine members of the Mayday resistance movement. Having her parents killed, she discovers she is Nicole, smuggled out of Gilead as a baby, and is recruited for an undercover operation back into the Republic.
Her journey later crosses Agnes's, and the sisters collaborate on a precarious mission to topple the regime that tore them apart.
Aunt Lydia, the pivotal character in both shows, comes into her own in the follow-up. A former school principal turned enforcer of Gilead's laws, Lydia secretly detests the regime she helped establish.
Behind the scenes, she's been quietly amassing information to undermine Gilead from within, and in the show, she at last makes her move. Her partnership with Agnes and Nicole is the emotional and political heart of the novel, leading to a mission that might bring down the regime for good.
Who is in the cast of the show?
In the report by Cosmopolitan, Ann Dowd will return in her Emmy-winning role as Aunt Lydia, a turn that has become iconic for its cold blend of authority and vulnerability. She is joined by Chase Infiniti as Agnes (also known as Hannah) and Lucy Halliday as Daisy (also known as Nicole).
These two young actresses will help to bear much of the emotional burden of The Testaments, playing sisters reunited under extraordinary circumstances.
Though it's unclear whether Elisabeth Moss will be back as June (or Offred, as she's referred to in the novels), she appears in the sequel via memory and legacy. Her daughters become the central focus of Atwood's novel in a brief cameo appearance.
Whether other main cast members besides Jennifer Robertson (Aunt Lydia) will be back in The Handmaid's Tale has not been officially confirmed, though there are rumored casting announcements pending as the show continues production.
The Testaments is expected to be available on Hulu just like The Handmaid's Tale.
