The Handmaid’s Tale
drama / 9.00pm / C4
a series in which characters wear bonnets and swap greetings such as ‘Under God’s eye’ and ‘Praise be’ sounds like prime Sunday-night TV but this adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s novel set in a dystopian near-future is about as far as you can get from cosy feelgood drama. Elisabeth Moss is Offred, one of the handmaids of the title, forced to bear the children of the ruling class in a society where civil war has left the majority of the population infertile. There’s a sense of creeping dread throughout but what keeps you – and Offred – going is the hope that she’ll break free and find the daughter who was snatched away from her.