Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Story and The Testaments spinoff is ready within the Republic of Gilead — however is it an actual place?
Primarily based on Margaret Atwood’s novel of the identical title, The Handmaid’s Story, which aired from 2017 to 2025, passed off in a dystopian future the place low fertility charges led ladies to be assigned to males for bearing kids.
The collection starred Elisabeth Moss, Yvonne Strahovski, Madeline Brewer, Ann Dowd, O-T Fagbenle, Max Minghella, Samira Wiley and Amanda Brugel. On display screen, the present defined Gilead as an space shaped following a Second American Civil Battle.
The Republic of Gilead coated components of what was once the U.S. with full occupation going down in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
Different areas are thought-about disputed territory whereas the remaining American authorities fled to Canada with some American refugees.
Off display screen, filming on the collection largely passed off in Toronto, Mississauga, Brantford, Hamilton, Burlington, Oakville and Cambridge, Ontario. The second season featured lots of the identical areas whereas season 3 included scenes in Washington, D.C.
The Handmaid’s Story is increasing its TV universe with The Testaments, which is narrated by Ann Dowd’s Aunt Lydia as viewers are thrust again into the dystopian future with characters comparable to Agnes from Gilead and Daisy from Canada — as they secretly collect and smuggle incriminating details about Gilead’s regime overseas. Agnes and Daisy pose as “Pearl Ladies” to infiltrate Canada, whereas Aunt Lydia acts as a covert supply inside Gilead.
“We’re making The Testaments, and it’s not going to trace exactly,” creator Bruce Miller advised TVLine in 2022. “Margaret writes these completely deliciously particular characters. We needed to go away from that in Handmaid’s, and we’re going to should go away from that in Testaments. Testaments is actually going to be a sequel to the present.”
Hulu Hulu’s extremely anticipated The Handmaid’s Story spinoff The Testaments is within the works — however what’s there to know in regards to the present to this point? Margaret Atwood’s dystopian universe was initially dropped at life with The Handmaid’s Story, which relies on the novel of the identical title a couple of future the place low fertility […]
Extra just lately, The Handmaid’s Story showrunner Yahlin Chang teased how the present arrange spinoff The Testaments, telling TV Insider in March 2025, “For positive, there will likely be cliffhangers for The Testaments, so it doesn’t conclude every thing.”
The sixth season of The Handmaid’s Story wrapped up sure plot factors “in some very satisfying methods.”
“Any followers which might be left wanting extra are going to get extra in The Testaments, which will likely be nice for them,” Chang continued. “But it surely does conclude in some very satisfying methods lots of the story traces, however not each single one.”
The Testaments premieres April 8 on Hulu.
