A seminal Trump-era drama series, “The Handmaid’s Tale,” will come to an end with its sixth and final season on April 6. Not to worry, the resistance will continue. Margaret Atwood‘s 2019 sequel, “The Testaments,” appears ready to fill the void with a very familiar face at the center of the series, Ann Dowd as Aunt Lydia Clements.
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Hulu is looking to greenlight “The Testaments” soon with the goal being to shoot almost immediately following the end of “Handmaid’s Tale” which is still in production in Toronto. The Playlist has heard for over a year that there has been a lot of back and forth over the budget for the sequel, a series that isn’t guaranteed to be as big a hit without Elisabeth Moss in the fold as June Osborne.
Occurring 15 years following the upcoming “Handmaid’s Tale” finale episode, Deadline reports that Chase Infiniti has been cast as one of the three young leads. Infiniti is best known for her role on Apple TV+’s hit series “Presumed Innocent” and an undisclosed part in the “Untitled Paul Thomas Anderson Event Film” arriving this August. Infiniti is rumored to play the older version of June’s daughter, Hannah (or Agnes), the child stolen by the Gilead regime. There is “hope” Moss will make an appearance (or two or three) as an older June throughout the first season. We wouldn’t bet on it, but if Moss directs a couple of episodes (her current creative passion), a cameo is possible.
One thing is for sure, if the series 100% goes forward, Dowd and Aunt Lydia will be a big part of it.
After taking a step back as showrunner of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” Bruce Miller is stepping into pole position once again for “Testaments.” The series creator will co-produce alongside Warren Littlefield. Amazon MGM Studios will once again produce alongside a ton of contractual executive producers from “Handmaid” which has made the process inherently messy.
Whether the viewing public still has an appetite for the dystopian future America depicted in both “Handmaid’s” and “The Testaments” remains to be seen. Current events may make the storylines a bit too close for comfort.
“The Handmaid’s Tale” season six drops with three episodes on April 6 on Hulu.