The world of Gilead is coming back, but this time the story belongs to a new generation. Lucy Halliday, the 21 year old Scottish actress from Paisley, takes on the lead role of Daisy in The Testaments, the follow up series to the hit show The Handmaid’s Tale. She steps into this dark world with a mix of excitement and a strong sense of duty to the fans who love the original.
The new show had its world premiere at the Series Mania festival in Lille, France. Halliday walked the purple carpet with her co star Chase Infiniti, who plays Agnes. At the event, she finally broke her silence about what it feels like to join such a famous franchise and how her character has grown.
A New Chapter 15 Years After Gilead’s Rise
The Testaments arrives on Hulu on April 8, 2026. The platform will drop the first three episodes at once, followed by one new episode each week. The show takes place 15 years after the events of The Handmaid’s Tale. This time jump means the young women at the center of the story have no memory of life before the oppressive regime.
Unlike the original show which followed June Osborne (played by Elisabeth Moss), this sequel focuses on teenagers growing up inside Gilead’s elite schools. They are the daughters of commanders, raised to become wives. The story follows three women—Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd), Agnes, and Daisy—whose lives come together as they uncover secrets about Gilead and the resistance fighting against it.
Showrunner Bruce Miller explained that this series is a direct sequel to the TV show, not just a copy of Margaret Atwood‘s book. He wants to focus on the young women finding their voices.
“Handmaid’s Tale covered people who were at the bottom of Gilead and this show is about young women who are at the top of Gilead. This is a story about that awakening and that rebellion among the younger women of Gilead – the ones who had grown up there.”
— Bruce Miller, Showrunner
Lucy Halliday on Stepping Into Daisy’s Shoes
For Halliday, playing Daisy is a big deal. Daisy is a young Canadian teen whose life turns upside down when she learns about her connection to the Republic of Gilead. She is a new convert, an outsider allowed into the Aunts’ domain. Speaking at the Series Mania festival, Halliday talked about the pressure she feels.
“You felt a responsibility stepping into this world that already exists and is so loved,” Halliday said. She explained that she and Infiniti have been fans of The Handmaid’s Tale for years. They both read the books and watched the show. But they did not have to figure everything out alone. The original team was right there to help them.
Halliday said she leaned on the experience of the production team, including Elisabeth Moss, who serves as an executive producer on the new show. “We had so much to lean on to inform us of who our characters were,” she added. “Bruce is so open and willing to have a conversation and would sit down with you and let you brainstorm what you thought the character should be.”
The actress feels reassured because the people who created the original world trust her. “I feel like we can do a good job because we’ve got so many people behind us,” she stated.
How Costumes Help Bring the Characters to Life
One of the most striking parts of The Handmaid’s Tale was the visual look. The red cloaks and white bonnets became symbols of resistance. The Testaments changes the color palette. The older girls wear purple, while the Pearls (like Daisy) wear white. Chase Infiniti, who plays Agnes, explained that the costumes are not just for looks. They actually help the actors understand how to move and behave.
“It’s your first piece of armor in a way,” Infiniti said. “All of our costumes were made to fit us perfectly, but they can even be restrictive at times, which I think helped to get into the physicality of our roles.”
She noted that for her character Agnes, the robe helped her figure out how Agnes would walk with her nobility in this world. Halliday also agreed that her outfit changed how she moved. The clothes are the first step in finding who the characters really are.
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Ann Dowd Returns and Loves Aunt Lydia
Fans will be happy to see Ann Dowd back as Aunt Lydia. This character is one of the most complicated on television. She is strict, sometimes cruel, but also deeply human. Dowd surprised the crowd in Lille by admitting she loves playing this terrifying figure.
“I don’t judge her and she’s come to be a very dear friend of mine,” Dowd shared. “I’ve come to know her, she’s come to know me and I couldn’t be more grateful.” She added that knowing a character for this many years is a rare gift for any actor.
Producer Warren Littlefield called The Testaments a “companion piece” to the original. He said viewers do not need to have watched The Handmaid’s Tale to understand this new story. “It’s its own original experience,” he explained. While the original show was about survival at the bottom, this one is about awakening at the top. The young women start to see the horrors of their world, and they decide to fight back.
The Testaments will be available to stream on Hulu in the US and Disney+ in the UK starting April 8, 2026.
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