The Handmaid’s Tale is back and we’ve got all the details
Few dramas in recent years have had as immediate and powerful an impact as this one. Adapted from the classic dystopian novel by feminist author Margaret Atwood, it’s set in a hellish near-future version of the US – known as Gilead – which is ruled by a totalitarian religious regime. Fertility is a prized commodity, leading child-bearing women to be forced into sexual and maternal service for the powers that be. Season one won awards, achieved high ratings (it’s shown on Netflix rival Hulu in America), and became a proper cultural phenomenon, with Elisabeth Moss delivering a mesmerising performance as June, who becomes known as Offred after she’s forced to become the “handmaid” to Commander Waterford and his wife, in the hope she can provide them with a baby.
NEW SEASON, NEW STORIES
The first series of The Handmaid’s Tale followed the original novel fairly closely and ended at pretty much the point where the novel finished, so showrunner Bruce Miller has had to come up with new storylines for this second season (he says he wants the show to go for ten series in total). With Margaret Atwood acting as a consultant, the new season will build on the first series’ unflinchingly raw depiction of this horrendously violent, oppressive world where women are ritually abused and punished, while also flashing back to the recent past of its main characters, showing what their lives were like before the fascists of Gilead took over.
INTO THE COLONIES
Not only will we see the past fleshed out, but the new episodes will also show the oft-mentioned “Colonies”, where poor convicts are sent for concentration camp-style punishment. As for Offred herself, life is about to change significantly now she is pregnant, with even the nasty enforcer Aunt Lydia having to treat her more carefully, while her secret lover Nick tries to do the right thing for the woman whose baby might well be his. If you can cope with all the grimness, The Handmaid’s Tale will be required viewing again for the next 12 weeks.