Hulu Orders "The Handmaid's Tale" Sequel "The Testaments" to Series

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"The Handmaid’s Tale" Sequel Series "The Testaments": Ann Dowd to Reprise Aunt Lydia, "Presumed Innocent's" Chase Infiniti to Co-Star
by Nellie Andreeva
February 13, 2025


As Hulu kicked off the sendoff of its flagship drama series "The Handmaid’s Tale" this week by announcing the premiere date for its sixth and final season, the streamer also is stepping up preparations for its successor, "The Testaments".

The sequel is nearing a series greenlight and has cast "Presumed Innocent‘s" Chase Infiniti as one of the three leads, joining "The Handmaid’s Tale‘s" Ann Dowd, who had been expected to reprise her Emmy-winning role as Lydia, sources tell Deadline.



"The Testaments" takes place in the dystopian theocracy of Gilead more than 15 years after the events of "The Handmaid’s Tale". The story follows the lives of three women, Aunt Lydia (Dowd), Agnes (Infiniti) and Daisy, whose fates become intertwined as they uncover the secrets of Gilead and the resistance against its regime.

The hope has been for Elisabeth Moss to guest star on the sequel, reprising her June character, but as of now, it is uncertain whether that would happen, I hear.

https://deadline.com/2025/02/the-tes...el-1236287626/

[JamesG]

"The Testaments" Casts Lucy Halliday as Co-Lead Daisy
by Nellie Andreeva
March 3, 2025


Lucy Halliday (Blue Jean) has been tapped as a lead opposite Chase Infiniti and Ann Dowd in "The Testaments" for Hulu.

Daisy is a young Canadian teen, whose life is turned upside down when she learns of her connection to the Republic of Gilead.

https://deadline.com/2025/03/the-han...sy-1236309596/

[TMC]

Rowan Blanchard joins Hulu’s The Handmaid's Tale sequel series The Testaments

The former Girl Meets World and Snowpiercer star will play Shunammite, "a pampered teen from a prominent Gilead family whose status affords her a certain level of respect and power amongst her peers." Blanchard joins the previously announced leads, Chase Infiniti, Lucy Halliday and Ann Dowd, who reprises her Handmaid's Tale Aunt Lydia role.

[JamesG]

Mattea Conforti Joins Hulu’s "The Testaments"
by Rosy Cordero
March 25, 2025


Hulu‘s "The Testaments" has added Mattea Conforti (The Many Saints of Newark, Power) to its cast.

Conforti will play ‘Becka,’ a girl of humble origins who attends school with Gilead’s elite. As she comes of age, she starts to question whether she wants the life she’s being groomed for.

https://deadline.com/2025/03/mattea-...ts-1236350564/

[JamesG]

"The Handmaid’s Tale" Sequel Series "The Testaments" Officially Greenlit at Hulu as 9 Round Out Cast
by Rosy Cordero
April 1, 2025


Hulu has officially ordered "The Handmaid’s Tale" follow-up "The Testaments" to series with production set to begin on April 7.

From executive producers Bruce Miller and Warren Littlefield, the drama is based on the 2019 Margaret Atwood novel of the same name set in the dystopian theocracy of Gilead more than 15 years after the events of The Handmaid’s Tale.

Elisabeth Moss will also executive produce the project.





"The Testaments" also rounds out its cast with 9 new actors:

- Mabel Li (New Gold Mountain) will play Aunt Vidala, a stern disciplinarian and the heir-apparent to the women’s sphere of Gilead.


- Amy Seimetz (The Girlfriend Experience) will play Paula, whose recent marriage to a high-ranking Commander has raised her social status. But her perfect life is complicated by her new step-daughter.


- Brad Alexander (You) will play Garth, a young Commander, who becomes involved in the personal lives of the girls he’s sworn to protect.


- Zarrin Darnell-Martin (Ginny & Georgia) will play Aunt Gabbana, a firm proponent of Gilead values and right-hand to Aunt Vidala. She is a strict and uncompromising educator.


- Eva Foote (Murdoch Mysteries) will play Aunt Estee, the youngest Aunt, whose energy and kindness earn her “cool Aunt” status amongst her students.


- Isolde Ardies (Murdoch Mysteries) will play Hulda, a guileless girl, full of excitement at the prospect of womanhood. Her frank observations and optimism have earned her loyal friends.


- Shechinah Mpumlwana (Lyla in the Loop) will play Jehosheba, a competitive classmate from a respected family who is relentless in her pursuit of a high-status marriage.


- Birva Pandya (The Umbrella Academy) will play Miriam, a girl on the cusp of womanhood who struggles under the pressure of marriage season.


- Kira Guloien (Robyn Hood) will play Rosa, a caring and dedicated Martha, a maternal figure to Agnes and a much-needed source of love in an otherwise cold household.

https://deadline.com/2025/04/the-tes...ss-1236355564/

[JamesG]

"The Testaments" First-Look Photos Drop as Hulu Sets Premiere Month
by Rosy Cordero
December 6, 2025


Hulu’s "The Handmaid’s Tale" follow-up, "The Testaments", will premiere in April, starring Ann Dowd, reprising her original role of Aunt Lydia, Chase Infiniti as Agnes, Lucy Halliday as Daisy, Rowan Blanchard as Shunammite, Mattea Conforti as Becka, as well as Isolde Ardies, Shechinah Mpumlwana, and Birva Pandya.

First-look photos revealed at CCXP25 Brazil can be viewed here.

https://deadline.com/2025/12/the-tes...re-1236637949/

[JamesG]

Hulu has set April 8th for the premiere of "The Testaments" with the first three episodes, followed by one new episode weekly thereafter.

The series will be available on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ for bundle subscribers in the U.S. and on Disney+ internationally.

https://deadline.com/2026/01/the-tes...lu-1236696879/

[JamesG]

[TMC]

The Testaments creator on casting Stephen Colbert as the voice of Radio Free Boston: “We had a list that was one person long”

“Both actors asked me that question: Whether they’re playing themselves or playing a DJ,” says creator and showrunner Bruce Miller. “My sense is that if you had Radio Free America, you would pick Oprah (on The Handmaid’s Tale). So I think she is Oprah. And I think Stephen Colbert, because of who he is — they’ve hired Stephen Colbert to be the voice of Radio Free Boston. I think he’s a good choice as a voice of American freedom for a lot of reasons — we had a list that was one person long.”

[TMC]

The Testaments is a worthy and relevant follow-up to The Handmaid’s Tale.

The Testaments, Margaret Atwood's 2019 novel and its 2026 Hulu adaptation, is widely regarded as a worthy, relevant, and necessary sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale, shifting focus to the next generation and the inner workings of Gilead. It provides fresh, darker, coming-of-age perspectives through the "Plums"—daughters of Commanders—while expanding the story's world-building.

[TMC]

The Testaments Cast Guide & Handmaid's Tale Character Connections

The sequel to the harrowing Hulu original TV show, The Handmaid’s Tale, The Testaments includes both familiar and new faces in its cast.

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The Testaments has an Aunt Lydia problem

The Testaments faces an "Aunt Lydia problem" due to tonal and continuity issues between The Handmaid’s Tale and the spin-off, as the series tries to refashion Lydia from a brutal, zealous villain into a calculating, reluctant resistance leader, a shift viewers find inconsistent. The adaptation often paints her as a victim-turned-survivor, which clashes with the sadistic character previously established.

[TMC]

'The Testaments' Season 1 Finale Explained: Ready to Rebel

By Chris Revelle | TV | May 29, 2026

For all the revolutionary espionage, retributive justice, and institutionalized misogyny, The Testaments was not a very dynamic show in its first season, at least not in terms of action. Don’t get me wrong; the Hulu series was gripping and tense in its depiction of girlhood under a crushing theocracy where young women are raised to be submissive child-brides. It’s just that the show had a more internal journey: the slow-burn political awakening of Agnes (Chase Infiniti), Daisy (Lucy Halliday) Shu (Rowan Blanchard), and Becka (Mattea Conforti). It was a messy, if slow-moving, road to revolution. Though the finale (“Secateurs”) is as talky as any other episode of the series, it ends by promising a more energetic show to come.

Going into the finale, the most urgent storyline was Becka’s. Essentially, a relay race of conversations between Agnes, Vidala (Mabel Li), Daisy, Weston (Reed Diamond), and Lydia (Ann Dowd) ends with Becka’s mother taking the fall for the murder of Becka’s father, Dr. Grove. In the process, Agnes admits she was one of Grove’s victims. She also goes to Garth (Brad Alexander) and insists that he honor his engagement to Becka because only his protection as a Commander can save her from disgrace. It’s a two-tiered sacrifice Agnes makes: knowledge of Grove’s assault mars her prospects enough that Weston calls off their engagement and her secret romance with Garth is now over. These aren’t easy things for anyone to give up, especially when Agnes was raised to see marriage and the protection men offer as paramount.

As painful as that sacrifice may be, Agnes made it because she found something more important to her: the love, support, and agency of her friends. These are practically high crimes in a place like Gilead where a woman’s entire world is about her connection to a man. Agnes’ growth from pious devotee to willing rebel appropriately mirrors her mother June’s (Elizabeth Moss) journey to revolution. In a letter to June, Daisy lays out a plan to gather an army of teens within Gilead to break it down from the inside. Daisy is like June in their angry sense of justice and their sharp tongues, but Agnes is her mother’s real successor. Agnes learns of her true parentage from Daisy and it all snaps into place for her. She’s sought sisterhood, friendship, and the freedom to think for herself throughout the season; these drives mark her as June’s daughter through and through.

The ending moment of the finale feels a little trite, but the image of Daisy, Shu, and Agnes walking together with pinkies linked in solidarity is a potent one. The Testaments took its time getting to this point, but it’s thrilling to see these characters finally ready to burn it all down. The series gradually nudged the characters along this path and now they’re finally ready to fight back. That said, any thrills could easily deflate depending on what the series does in its second season. I admire how thoroughly The Testaments established the struggles and emotions of the lead characters, but I wish that the series had more of this fiery spirit over the course of the season instead of saving so much of it for the finale. The kids aren’t alright in Gilead, but hopefully they’ll start the revolution they deserve next season.