Posted in: Hulu, TV | Tagged: the handmaid's tale

The Handmaid's Tale Final Season "Is So Much About Choice": Moss

The Handmaid's Tale star/EP Elisabeth Moss, co-stars Yvonne Strahovski and Bradley Whitford, and writer/EP Yahlin Chang on the final season.

With only days to go until the sixth and final season of series creator Bruce Miller's Elisabeth Moss and Yvonne Strahovski-starring The Handmaid's Tale kicks off a three-episode return, Moss, Strahovski, co-star Bradley Whitford, and writer/executive producer Yahlin Chang stopped by Deadline's Contenders TV event on Saturday to offer some insights into what viewers can expect from the hit streaming series' final run. During the final run, June's (Moss) unyielding spirit and determination pull her back into the fight to take down Gilead. Luke (O-T Fagbenle) and Moira (Samira Wiley) join the resistance. Serena (Strahovski) tries to reform Gilead while Commander Lawrence (Whitford) and Aunt Lydia (Maureen Dowd) reckon with what they have wrought, and Nick (Max Minghella) faces challenging tests of character.

In terms of June Osborne, the director and executive producer sees her character as one living two lives: leading a societal rebellion while also forcing those in power to take a long, hard look in the mirror. "She's always believed in the good of people, to her detriment sometimes," Moss explained. "Sometimes people aren't good and don't do the right thing. This season is so much about choice — choice whether to go towards the light or go towards the dark. The choices they make are sometimes surprising, and you won't see them coming for sure."

One of those choices might involve how June deals with Strahovski's Serena and her baby, Noah, whom June helped deliver. As the actress sees it, Serena has been impacted by "the beacon of hope that June has always held for Serena, that Serena can change and can open her narrowminded narcissistic viewpoint and see what her actions have done, how they have affected people, the greater scale of the whole thing. June's faith in Serena's change has worn off [on Serena]. In Season 6, we will see a little bit more of that – but let's not hold our breath." Change added, "In Season 6, June has so much power over Serena. They're enemies and friends, and there's so much love and hate between them. It's such a privilege as a writer to delve into that."

The Handmaid's Tale Final Season "Pretty Chilling But Also Exciting"

"A lot of people won't make it to the end of 'Handmaid's Tale.' It's pretty chilling but also exciting. I feel that Eric Tuchman & Yahlin Chang, who are the showrunners this year — Bruce, of course, remains an executive producer — they really, really thought a lot about what the audience wants and needs. And I think we will satisfy those who have been with us through six seasons; I think they'll feel powerfully rewarded. Also, Lizzie has arrived as a directing force — that all happened over the course of 'Handmaid's Tale' — and it's really appropriate that she is the director that takes us home," television industry trailblazer and producer Warren Littlefield (The Littlefield Company) shared during a December 2024 profile interview with Deadline Hollywood.

In terms of the franchise's future, Miller has been focusing on a series adaptation of author Margaret Atwood's book sequel, The Testaments. Though nothing was official in terms of an official pick-up at the time of the interview (that has since changed), Littlefield noted that the spinoff series was "a priority project" that "we're spending a lot of time on" since it's set within a "really important franchise." As Littlefield sees it, the spinoff/sequel series should prove as relevant today as The Handmaid's Tale still is heading into 2025. "While [Handmaid's Tale] was developed in an Obama administration, when we were shooting, I think, Episode 4 of Season 1, Trump came to office and, while we thought and hoped and prayed that we would be less relevant a series, the longer we were on, the more relevant we became. Our thematics only got stronger, sadly, and today, as we think and discuss plans for 'Testaments.' It feels like there's a reason to keep this world alive," he explained.

Based on Margaret Atwood's book, Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale is produced by MGM Television and executive produced by Bruce Miller, Warren Littlefield, Eric Tuchman, Yahlin Chang, Elisabeth Moss, Sheila Hockin, John Weber, Frank Siracusa, Steve Stark, Kim Todd, Daniel Wilson, and Fran Sears. The series is distributed internationally by Amazon MGM Studios Distribution.

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