Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel The Handmaid’s Tale stood as a cornerstone of dystopian literature for decades before Hulu adapted it into one of the most celebrated television dramas of the streaming era. Premiering in 2017, the series charted the story of June Osborn (Elisabeth Moss) through six seasons and concluded in 2025, winning multiple Emmy Awards and maintaining an engaged fanbase through its run. The commercial and critical success of The Handmaid’s Tale was considerable enough to compel Atwood herself to return to Gilead with a follow-up novel, The Testaments, published in 2019 and awarded the Booker Prize that same year. Hulu moved quickly to develop a television adaptation, assembling a new cast centered on a younger generation of women navigating the Gilead regime, and launched the series in April 2026.
Hulu confirmed The Testaments has officially been renewed for a second season, one week before the ten-episode first season concludes with its finale on May 27. The renewal is supported by robust streaming performance, with the series accumulating over 45 million hours viewed globally across Hulu and Disney+, and episode viewership growing consistently from week to week. Season 1 follows Agnes (Chase Infiniti) and Daisy (Lucy Halliday), two young women navigating Gilead from opposing vantage points. Agnes is a pious teen being prepared for a life within the regime’s social hierarchy, while Daisy arrives from beyond Gilead’s borders. Ann Dowd anchors the ensemble as Aunt Lydia, with Handmaid’s Tale star Elisabeth Moss returning in a surprise guest appearance as June Osborn.
When The Handmaid’s Tale exhausted Atwood’s source material after its first season, creator Bruce Miller and his writers were forced to venture into entirely original territory, using the world of Gilead as a backdrop for stories the novelist never wrote. Atwood was actively consulted throughout this expansion and publicly endorsed the creative direction. However, the critical reception grew more divided as the seasons progressed, with reviewers noting that the show began to introduce new elements that undermined the meticulous worldbuilding set in the first season. Plus, critics also pointed out how the series became increasingly dependent on “misery porn,” as the suffering of the female characters was exploited for shock value without necessarily serving the story. The Handmaid’s Tale retained a loyal audience across all six seasons, but the prevailing consensus by its conclusion was that the show had extended well beyond the point where the story could sustain the dramatic momentum of its debut season.
The Testaments faces a similar problem. Atwood’s 2019 novel was written in coordination with the producers of The Handmaid’s Tale TV series, meaning it was always conceived with adaptation in mind. However, it remains a self-contained narrative with a clear resolution, and the first season’s ten-episode run has already consumed a significant portion of that available written material. Unlike the original Handmaid’s Tale series, which at least completed one full novel before departing into uncharted territory, The Testaments could exhaust its literary foundation within the early stretch of Season 2, at which point Miller and his team would be constructing new storylines again. The showrunner has indicated there is enough material to span multiple seasons, but that confidence will now be tested against a formal renewal.
The Testaments Season 1 finale streams on Hulu on May 27, 2026.
Do you think Hulu can successfully expand The Testaments beyond its source material, or is the series destined to repeat the later-season struggles of The Handmaid’s Tale? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
