It’s almost time to head back into Gilead for one last battle. The Handmaid’s Tale will conclude with its sixth and final season, and fans of the Hulu favorite are surely in for some more twists and epic clashes along the way to the finish line.
Details about the decorated drama’s return are starting to come together, so here’s a look at everything we know about it so far.
When will The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6 premiere?
Season 6 is expected to debut sometime in spring 2025, though an official release date has not yet been revealed. Hulu announced on September 6 that production on the celebrated drama’s final bow has begun.
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Who will star in The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6?
Returning castmembers include Elisabeth Moss as June Osborne, Yvonne Strahovski as Serena Joy Waterford, Ann Dowd as Aunt Lydia, O-T Fagbenle as Luke Bankole, Max Minghella as Nick Blaine, Bradley Whitford as Joseph Lawrence, Sam Jaeger as Mark Tuello, Amanda Brugel as Rita Blue, and Samira Wiley as Moira Strand, all of whom appeared in a teaser video teasing the final season.
In the social media teaser, they say, “In Season 1, we bore no more. In Season 2, we reclaimed our name. In Season 3, we set ourselves free. In Season 4, we prayed together. In Season 5, you’ll see that some sins can’t be washed away. And as to Season 6… well, you’ll just have to wait and see.”
Actress Ever Carradine, who plays Naomi Lawrence, is returning as a season regular, rather than a guest star. Her character previously married Commander Lawrence after her former husband was executed in front of her. It’s unknown at this time if Madeline Brewer will return as Janine Lindo after being taken away by Eyes. And Emmy winner Alexis Bledel is not expected to return after stepping away in Season 5. Her character Emily was written out as returning to Gilead.
New to the show this season is Josh Charles, who previously shared the screen with Moss on The Veil. His character name and description are currently under wraps.
Behind the scenes, creator Bruce Miller decided to step down as showrunner to focus on his adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale sequel The Testaments. He is remaining as a writer and executive producer. Taking over for him are Eric Tuchman and Yahlin Chang.
Where did Season 5 leave off?
The Season 5 finale of The Handmaid’s Tale saw June and Nichole heading off on a Vancouver-bound train with plans of reaching Hawaii, while her husband Luke was arrested after violently protecting her from a hired assassin. Also onboard, in a surprise twist, is Serena Joy and her baby Noah. Meanwhile, June’s former boyfriend-ish Nick also put himself in danger to protect June and Nichole by making a deal with the U.S. government to share details about the inner workings of Gilead. And Janine was carted off by two Eyes for an unknown fate after being banished from the Lawrence home for lashing out at Naomi.
What will happen in Season 6?
Elisabeth Moss told Elle, “June is going to figure out who she is and who she’s going to be for the rest of her life…. the fight is not just about one individual.”
Meanwhile, don’t expect June and Serena to become besties just because Serena’s now gotten a taste of her own wretched medicine. Bruce Miller told TV Insider, “The interesting thing is they found an honest way to talk… but that doesn’t necessarily mean that June is going to move Serena to her side of the ideological spectrum or the other way around. They conclude they’re not going to share their ideals. They can’t really be that close as genuine friends. They’re still very much on opposite sides of things. It’s such an inevitable dynamic because of the situation they were put in as handmaid and wife that it seems like it would take the rest of their lives to sort it out.”
Miller also hinted that June and Luke might reconcile in the final season as well, saying, “That force is the force we’re going to reckon with in the next season: them being drawn back together, for better or worse, for safety or not safety. But I don’t think that June is going to be so keen on leaving him behind after she knows what it’s like to be left behind.”
Will the finale follow the events of The Testaments?
Released in 2019, Margaret Atwood’s literary sequel is set 15 years after the events of The Handmaid’s Tale and is narrated by Aunt Lydia. It features first-person accounts of Agnes and Becka, who are both daughters of June — which finally concludes the written story of “Offred” after the first book left her fate unknown. Don’t expect the show to follow that story to the letter, though.
Show creator Bruce Miller told Deadline, “I don’t feel an allegiance to wrap her up the way she’s wrapped up in The Testaments novel. I just want to follow the story and make sure it makes sense.”
“This story is June’s story. It’s not called Gilead, it’s The Handmaid’s Tale,” he continued. “I certainly have been thinking of the show as a memoir of part of June’s life, not the part where she would consider herself a handmaid. I think that in the end, just like before we started the show, they had lives. She’s gonna go on and continue on in whatever way she continues on, and we’re not going to see it. And because we got to see this part so intimately, I feel like you care about what happens to her next, but that’s not this tale.”