Season 2 of The Handmaid's Tale will go beyond the book

Elisabeth Moss plays a still-fertile woman separated from her family and forced to become a breeder in the show
Elisabeth Moss plays lead in 'The Handmaid's Tale' (Getty Images)
Elisabeth Moss plays lead in 'The Handmaid's Tale' (Getty Images)

Season 2 of The Handmaid’s Tale, which is set to return to your TV screens on Wednesday, may be moving past the narrative of the book on which it is based, especially since the show has technically reached the end of its source material, Margaret Atwood's 1985 novel of the same name.

The second season of the dystopian show premiered last Thursday, April 19, at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. Hulu's critically acclaimed series — the first show produced by a streaming site to take home best drama Emmy — tells the story of a woman enslaved under a patriarchal, theocratic dictatorship called Gilead that has replaced the United States of America.

Elisabeth Moss plays the the lead role of Offred in 'The Handmaid's Tale' (Getty Images)

The show, which stars Elisabeth Moss in the lead, has been in the limelight for how much relevant the story is in Donald Trump’s America than it was when first published in 1985.

A still from 'The Handmaid’s Tale' (Hulu)

The 35-year-old actress plays Offred, a former book editor who is one of the few fertile women left. She is forced into becoming a handmaid — a sex slave — for The Commander, played by Joseph Fiennes, and his wife Serena Joy, played by Yvonne Strahovski. The story follows Offred’s struggle for survival and her quest to find her lost daughter.

Cast and crew of 'The Handmaid's Tale', winners of Outstanding Drama Series, pose in the press room during the 69th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on September 17, 2017 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Alberto E Rodriguez/Getty Images)

The show won the Golden Globe this year for Best Drama television series and Moss herself bagged the award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Drama Series. Last year, The Handmaid’s Tale swept the Primetime Emmys with eight awards and four other nominations.

The series is an Original production by Hulu, the premium streaming service that is home to such hits as Future Man, Marvel’s Runaways, The Path and 11.22.63.

Check out the teaser of Season 2 here:

GET THE BIGGEST ENTERTAINMENT STORIES
STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX.

MORE STORIES

Emilia Clarke set the record straight on the salary rumors, one of the show's perennial talking points since the 2011 premiere
5 hours ago
With 'Star City' premiering on May 29, and two episodes streaming, the timeline and connection to 'For All Mankind' has been a talking point
7 hours ago
Kelly Baldwin’s groundbreaking discovery on Titan comes with a devastating cost as the Season 5 finale leaves her stranded with no way home
11 hours ago
Adam Rodriguez confirmed that production is already active for the historic season of 'Criminal Minds: Evolution'
12 hours ago
‘The Pitt’ leads the way with twelve nominations, while ‘Shrinking’ has emerged as the top contender in the comedy category with ten nominations.
13 hours ago
The new ‘House of the Dragon’ Season 3 trailer teases the devastating war fans expected last season, with dragons and rival claims colliding.
17 hours ago
Thirty-nine years to the day that the original ‘A Different World’ premiered in 1987, its Netflix sequel series of the same name will also premiere in 2026
1 day ago
The show will follow the duo and SailGP’s Australian team across a global racing season
1 day ago
BBC drama A Good Girl's Guide to Murder has returned with a moving tribute to Danielle Scott-Haughton at the end of the first new episode
1 day ago
'Big Little Lies' creator David E. Kelley will adapt Michael Connelly's 2024 novel into a gripping detective procedural for the streamer
1 day ago