The Handmaid's Tale spoilers follow.
Gilead is a depressing, awful place to visit at the best of times, so we're happy to bring fans of The Handmaid's Tale some good news for a change: the show is officially coming back for a fifth season! Even before season four kicked off, the cast confirmed the show's renewal back in December 2020.
Chatting to The Hollywood Reporter, showrunner Bruce Miller said: "We are thrilled to be able to continue to tell these stories with our incredible cast and crew, and can't wait to be back on the air with season four next year."
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It's since been confirmed that a season six is also in progress – so there is more traumatic, bleak-futured life in the tale yet.
But that's a problem for *future us*. In the meantime, let's take a closer look at what's in store for The Handmaid's Tale season five.
The Handmaid's Tale season 5 release date: When will it air?
Blessed be! We have finally got an officially confirmed release date for season five.
The new season started on Hulu on September 14 2022, with a two-part premiere episode. That's the US release, obviously – no UK date has been announced yet, but it will follow shortly after on Channel 4, as with previous seasons.
Hulu also provided a short synposis of what to expect: "June faces consequences for killing Commander Waterford while struggling to redefine her identity and purpose.
"The widowed Serena attempts to raise her profile in Toronto as Gilead's influence creeps into Canada. Commander Lawrence works with Aunt Lydia as he tries to reform Gilead and rise in power. June, Luke and Moira fight Gilead from a distance as they continue their mission to save and reunite with Hannah."
The show filmed in its regular location of Ontario, Canada from February 2022.
A filming notice for the Brantford area noted a show with the title Ruby Road was shooting in the area from mid-February through to mid-March. It's believed that Ruby Road is the production name of The Handmaid's Tale (ruby red like the Handmaids' cloaks... get it?)
Brantford is one of the many locations around the Ontario area the show has used in the past, with a secondary notice adding filming would take place on a number of streets, as well as at a private residence. For the neighbours, they promised to keep the noise down (at least during the evenings).
The Handmaid's Tale season 5 cast: Who will be in it?
Gilead is not exactly the safest place to be, and even though June has now escaped to Canada, that doesn't mean every character is suddenly protected from harm.
But assuming that most of the major players do return, it looks like the following will all appear in The Handmaid's Tale season five:
• Elisabeth Moss as June Osborne
• Yvonne Strahovski as Serena Joy Waterford
• Madeline Brewer as Janine
• Ann Dowd as Aunt Lydia
• O-T Fagbenle as Luke
• Max Minghella as Nick
• Samira Wiley as Moira
• Bradley Whitford as Commander Lawrence
• Amanda Brugel as Rita
Added to the Handmaid roster is Hawaii Five-0 star Christine Ko.
Christine Ko – who also stars in the comedy series Dave – will be taking on the recurring role of Lily. No doubt Lily is set to add to the tension of the show as she's been described as "a gritty, resourceful Gilead refugee who is now a leader in the resistance movement."
New Amsterdam's Genevieve Angelson has also been cast in the recurring role, a villainous newcomer called Mrs Wheeler who is something of a Serena Joy Waterford acolyte. She's also being the driving force behind Gilead's rise in Toronto.
Angelson announced her involvement earlier this month, writing "Blessed be the project reveal" next to a shot of herself in costume.
"I am tempted to say that, in reality, there are no villains," Angelson later explained to TVLine. "And while Serena is 'the bad guy' on the show, Serena also is coming up with very painful solutions to a very painful problem. She's going to drastic ends.
Related: The Handmaid’s Tale star lands next movie role in The Exorcist legacy sequel
"In order to play Mrs Wheeler, I couldn't say 'I'm playing a bad guy.' I had to say, 'I'm playing someone who's willing to do anything to continue the human race, and that's what we're up against. So, do I want to be the person I am being? Maybe not. But I am accepting that is my reality, that is what I'm doing.' That was how I got by with that."
However, one Handmaid who sadly won't be returning is Alexis Bledel's Emily Malek (also known as Ofglen, Ofsteven, Ofroy and Ofjoseph across the series).
The actress issued a statement to Entertainment Weekly that read: "After much thought, I felt I had to step away from The Handmaid's Tale at this time. I am forever grateful to Bruce Miller for writing such truthful and resonant scenes for Emily, and to Hulu, MGM, the cast and crew for their support."
Beyond Bledel stating that she "felt [she] had to step away", no explanation was offered for her departure from the series. Her character's departure is addressed in the first episode of season five, however.
At the end of season four, June enlisted her fellow survivors to finally exact their revenge on Commander Fred Waterford (Joseph Fiennes) by beating him to death in the no man's land between Gilead and Canada.
Season five begins with June celebrating her victory with her fellow handmaids when she realises that Emily is nowhere to be seen. June visits Emily's wife, Sylvia (Clea DuVall), who doesn't come to the door. As June is about to leave, she emerges and tells June that Emily has returned to Gilead.
"She went back to fight, I think," Sylvia tells June. "To find Aunt Lydia if she can. It's what she needed to do."
Assuming we believe Sylvia, that does mean that Emily is – for now, at least – still alive, which means that she could potentially return if Alexis Bledel wished to come back for future episodes or even for The Testaments spin-off, based on Margaret Atwood's 2019 sequel novel.
Another major cast member who definitely won't be returning in the present is Joseph Fiennes as Fred Waterford.
However, given the trauma that Fred inflicted on June, we wouldn't be surprised if he does pop up every now and again in flashback form, or as visions in June's mind.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, showrunner Bruce Miller explained that we'll "certainly I think we'll see Fred again. I mean, I would die if I didn't see Joe [Fiennes] again. He's the most lovely man, generous actor, such a professional. He is the nicest man stuck playing the most horrible person."
Chatting to TVLine about whether Serena will suspect June was responsible for her husband's death, Strahovski said: "Yes. I feel like she'll know in her heart. They know each other so well, I can't imagine that not crossing her mind… I can imagine June purposely telling Serena about it because she wants Serena to live in absolute fear, if and when she gets out of the detention centre. I mean, could you imagine?
"If you knew that someone was out there, outside, capable of doing something like that to your husband or your partner, and then you're trying to live out in the real world, with a baby? I just think that is the most paranoid existence you could ever live, knowing that June has done what she's done."
Miller explored how Fiennes could return with The Hollywood Reporter, saying: "I think the stories of Serena and Fred that we haven't seen before, even in early Gilead, are fascinating. In the finale, we revisit Fred and June and what happened in the Waterford house in flashbacks. I would never take anything like that off the table. I love that we can access that stuff where the viewer and June are on the same page and thinking back to the same things.
"Before, there were a lot of flashbacks where June was leaving us to remember about Hannah. But now, we're with her. When she's walking to see Fred and she's remembering walking to the ceremony, I remember that. You're not just being carried by her, you're walking with her in that experience.
"It has the potential to push things in a ton of ways. It could push Serena to be a very sympathetic figure. It could push her into a rage that is inexplicable; it could push her into a level of freedom. For June, it could push her to infamy or it could push her to prison. She's a refugee who did this but, on the other hand, who is going to know? Who was there and who is going to tell them? The nice thing is that it can turn into a giant image and inspiration, or an image that besmirches the Handmaids.
"Anyone who looks at it can see a very different thing, which is what I was trying to do with the placement of the image at the end of the episode. Where you say, 'Oh, crap, she did this.' It's all sort of great and awful feelings at the same time; Fred doesn't have a head and it's this horrible thing, and yet she's standing there with the baby. The end is about how wonderful and terrible that is. Moving forward, that image of Fred is what June sees every time she closes her eyes."
Fiennes is certainly keen to continue the story (via Fortress of Solitude). "I would love to see an episode where we delve back into the early days to examine the headiness and support that Fred provided Serena," he said. "Following how it went wrong would show the corrosive effects of power especially, when you have a weaker character like Fred, who hides beneath double-breasted jackets, political positions and mahogany desks."
It looks like danger lies ahead for both Serena and her baby, though, as in a new set picture that emerged last month, Serena is shown carrying what is presumed to be her newborn while holding up her hand in front of a car.
And although she's only appeared in two episodes so far, we're almost certain that McKenna Grace will reprise the role of Mrs Keyes in season five. Esther will need all the help she can get now that Aunt Lydia has forced her to become a Handmaid. At least she has Janine for company...
Madeline Brewer, who plays Janine, told EW of the new season, "As per usual, Janine is a cat with nine lives… And if you've been watching the show, you know she used up several of them already. And I'm going to just say this season is no exception to that."
She promised too that viewers would "see a side of Janine this season that we haven't seen before." As for the season as a whole, she said, "The word wild is in my brain. It's wild. It's a little wild. I truly don't know how to describe it... I mean, we're so much out of Gilead. And everyone is experiencing things that they have not yet experienced. Everyone's going through a transformative period.
"You know, everybody's experiencing their Saturn return, okay? Right now all of these characters, their Saturn is returning."
The Handmaid's Tale season 5 plot: What will the second season be about?
When the series first launched, Margaret Atwood – the author who penned The Handmaid's Tale – explained:
"When it first came out it was viewed as being far-fetched. However, when I wrote it I was making sure I wasn't putting anything into it that humans had not already done somewhere at some time." (As reported by The Guardian).
Seasons 1-4 have given us a sneak peek into ruthless ways of man but what's in store for season five?
Plot specifics are hard to come by right now, although it's safe to say that The Handmaid's Tale will continue to explore June's trauma following her escape from Gilead to Canada.
Ann Dowd, who plays Aunt Lydia, has already promised something explosive in the opening episodes of the season.
"I've read the first couple of episodes and all I can say is they're so good. I just didn't see any of this stuff coming. To be able to get to season five and you're thinking, 'What?!'" she told The Independent.
She clarified: "Not in an outlandish way where you’re thinking, 'Wait a minute, how could that happen?' It’s like: '[gasps] that is fantastic.' It's really good.
Dowd added: "There's stuff that happens that's like, 'Woah, woah, woah.'"
Dowd is not the only one making promises of an exciting season five return. In an interview with TV Line the show's lead, Moss, has assured fans the next season will deliver on the action.
"I will say that the season itself is possibly one of the wilder rides that we've had," said June's Moss.
"We've definitely had some seasons [where], you know, a lot happens. Some seasons, not as much happens."
"I almost can't keep up with what happens in the upcoming episodes," she continued, "and it's not lip service. I truly mean I almost can't keep up with the amount of activity that's happening."
Moss confirmed (as reported by Stylist), that the cast have been putting in the hours to create this explosive new season. "It's been challenging of course, because it means we're working really hard, and we're on location a lot. But never a dull moment is the way I would say it."
Moss remained tight-lipped about the rest of the details but there has been more teasing from the cast.
Appearing on chat show The View in March 2022, Samira Wiley, who plays Moira, teased how the series will start off and said: "We're picking up, really exactly where we left off. Everyone who saw the season finale knows what happened with Commander Waterford. And so June, as always, is in a little bit of trouble."
Noting June's successful move to Canada, Samira teased trouble ahead and added: "She has resources around her now that she hasn't had before living in Gilead. So, we'll see how that will play out. How June can fight Gilead from within Canada and the help of her friends."
But will the often divisive torture-porn aesthetic remain?
Speaking to Digital Spy last year, Amanda Brugel, who plays Rita, addressed the controversy: "I really think the only way to make an impact is to make people uncomfortable. Not so uncomfortable that they turn away, but that it hits a nerve in order to make people stand up and pay attention."
And she also foreshadowed the intensity we might expect from the show in season five. "I think it's important to show that we're not even close to being done with our journey, especially towards violence against women, misogyny, and there being equity between the genders," she said.
But whether the show has time to explore everything it wants to depends on whether it even continues beyond season five. Miller has previously stated that The Handmaid's Tale will "keep going" as long as Elisabeth Moss remains involved.
"There's a lot of life in this story," he told Deadline. "I'm certainly fascinated by what happens in The Testaments and if that's going to be part of our future."
The Testaments is the sequel which takes place 10 years after the first book and explores the legacy that June leaves behind in Gilead and beyond through the eyes of three woman, one of whom is Aunt Lydia.
"That feels fantastic," said Dowd of her casting during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. "I'm just going to say it right now, I thought to myself I hope they're going to let me play her. The problem is that if they don't, the actress who would have been chosen should watch her back because I would hunt her until she gives it up."
She added: "I was thrilled – let's get real on that – by what Aunt Lydia does and how she does it, her understanding of Gilead to its core and what will bring it down. What surprised me – and didn't – is how [she] got involved in Gilead in the first place.
"When you play a role such as Lydia in The Handmaid's Tale, you search for a human connection that somehow explains why she would make the choices she makes. Now, you read The Testaments, and Lydia, being a family court judge, realised really quickly, 'If I want to live and survive this world, this is what you have to do. Not only am I going to do it, I'm going to do it better than anybody so I'm going to be ruling the other Aunts.'"
There's been no word on whether The Handmaid's Tale is allowed to explore this material because it's already been signed by MGM Television and Hulu for another TV adaptation.
Meanwhile, June's desire for revenge might have just cost her the family she always wanted to be reunited with. In the last moments of season four, she kills Fred and then goes home to Nicole, covered in blood. Knowing that she's crossed a line, June asks Luke if she can just have a few minutes with her child before leaving.
Moving forward, expect June to continue resisting Gilead but from Canada with the help of the other survivors. In fact, we can probably expect full out war and plenty more subterfuge if the direction of those final scenes is anything to go by.
Amanda Brugel spoke to Digital Spy about her vision of season five, for her own character Rita, and June. "My suspicion is that June will go on the run, or June will have to go into hiding. I think there'll be a target on her back. And I think that those of us in Canada will have to try to pick up the pieces.
"I also have a suspicion that my relationship – my ongoing relationship with Serena Joy – while complicated, will probably deepen because she is pregnant, and because Rita… She does care about Serena Joy, and the fact that there's a child there."
She concluded: "Especially for my character, her only real purpose in Gilead was to raise children.
"Now that she's fleeing Canada, it still doesn't take away from her instinct and impulse to raise a child, and take care of something, because she lost her son, as we know."
Miller also spoke to Entertainment Weekly about what we can expect from season five, which he describes as Sophie's Choice: The Series.
"It's the American story – can we snap back to normal, or do we have to move on into something new? And that's where June is right now," Miller said. "She's done this terrible thing, or what she feels like is irredeemable. Can she snap back? Or does she have to decide that sometimes you not only have to sacrifice part of your life, but you have to sacrifice your whole life to making the world better for the next generation?
"And I think it isn't just changing presidents. It isn't just passing one law, like what we're realising now, but some fights are just a fight you continue to have, a struggle you'll continue to make... So I think that for June, it's the integration of June the warrior and Offred the warrior into June the mother and Offred the mother."
The Handmaid's Tale season 5 trailer: When can we see a Netflix promo?
Praise be! The full length trailer dropped at the end of August and it is officially war between June/Offred and Serena Joy.
Seems Serena hasn't taken too kindly to June killing off her husband Commander Fred Waterford, and is now on a mission for revenge.
June has no regrets about what she did, delightedly saying: "He was a monster. The founding father of Gilead. He took away our country. He had to pay for what he did. I killed him, and I loved it so much."
At the end of the trailer, June appears to be re-entering Gilead through the woods she once escaped from, and she delivers an emotional speech about the future.
"I pray for our children," she says. "May they live a life without all of this hate. Dear God, may they do better than we did."
Game. On.
The Handmaid's Tale airs on Hulu in the US and Channel 4 in the UK.
Jonathan Cape The Handmaid's Tale: The Graphic Novel by Margaret Atwood, with art and adaptation by Renee Nault
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