Hulu’s dystopian world is expanding. The streaming service has set a premiere date for The Testaments, the highly anticipated sequel series to the award-winning drama The Handmaid’s Tale. The new chapter will begin on April 8, 2026.
Created by original series showrunner Bruce Miller, The Testaments is a direct adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s 2019 novel. It continues the story of Gilead, picking up more than 15 years after the events of the flagship series. The show will premiere with its first three episodes available on launch day, followed by weekly releases.
Official Release And Streaming Details For Global Viewers
The series will be available on Hulu in the United States. For subscribers to the Hulu on Disney+ bundle, it will also be accessible through that platform. Internationally, the series will stream exclusively on Disney+.
For viewers in the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, The Testaments will premiere on April 8, 2026, on Disney+ as part of its Star content hub. The show is produced by MGM Television, the same studio behind The Handmaid’s Tale.
The Testaments Cast: Familiar Faces And New Heroes
The series features a blend of returning actors from the original show and exciting new talent. Ann Dowd reprises her iconic, Emmy-winning role as Aunt Lydia. In The Testaments, Aunt Lydia is the headmistress of an elite school in Gilead, a position that gives her a complex new perspective on the regime.
“Although I could not continue with the story of Offred, I could continue with three other people… and tell the story of the beginning of the end, because we know from The Handmaid’s Tale that Gilead vanishes,” Margaret Atwood has explained about her novel.
The story introduces two new young heroines. Chase Infiniti stars as Agnes, a pious teen being groomed within Gilead’s high society. Agnes was once known as Hannah, the daughter of June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss) who was taken from her in the original series. Lucy Halliday co-stars as Daisy, a Canadian teenager whose life is upended when she discovers a shocking connection to Gilead.
The supporting cast includes Rowan Blanchard as Shunammite, a privileged girl from a powerful Gilead family, and Mattea Conforti as Becka, a shy Supplicant at Aunt Lydia’s school. The ensemble is rounded out by Mabel Li, Amy Seimetz, Brad Alexander, Zarrin Darnell-Martin, Eva Foote, Isolde Ardies, Shechinah Mpumlwana, Birva Pandya, and Kira Guloien.
Elisabeth Moss, who led The Handmaid’s Tale as June, is not appearing in front of the camera for the sequel but serves as an executive producer.
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Plot And Setting: A New Generation In Gilead
The Testaments is described as a dramatic coming-of-age story focused on a new generation of young women. For them, the oppressive world of Gilead is the only reality they have ever known, with no memory of life before its rise.
The official story follows Agnes and Daisy as they navigate the treacherous environment of Aunt Lydia’s preparatory school for future wives. It is a place where brutal obedience is enforced in the name of divine purpose. The bond that forms between the two girls becomes a catalyst for change, threatening to upend their lives and the rigid structure of Gilead itself.
Bruce Miller, who created The Handmaid’s Tale for television, shifted his focus to developing this sequel. He stepped down as day-to-day showrunner of the original series’ final seasons to concentrate on adapting Atwood’s novel. Miller returns as showrunner and executive producer, joined by a team of veteran producers from the first series, including Warren Littlefield and director Mike Barker, who helmed the first three episodes.
Production on the first season officially began in April 2025 and wrapped filming in August 2025. The announcement of the April 2026 release date marks the next step for one of television’s most watched fictional universes.
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