Last season of The Handmaid’s Tale started and ended with a look from star Elisabeth Moss.
The fifth season of Hulu’s hit dystopian series began with the smirk seen ’round the globe that pit June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss) against Serena Joy Waterford (Yvonne Strahovski), and the season came surprisingly full circle when it ended with the same telling expression between the pair as they unexpectedly found themselves alone, yet together, on the same train of Gilead refugees hoping to make it to Vancouver and, eventually, Hawaii.
At the time of that November 2022 finale, Moss, also an executive producer and director on the Emmy-winning tale, told The Hollywood Reporter, “It’s actually a pretty positive ending for the show and the season, which we don’t usually do. It’s a cliffhanger, … but there’s something positive about it. Of course, of all the people that would be on the train is this person who is her other half, the other half of this experience.”
Only showrunner Bruce Miller and his creative team, which includes Moss, knew where June and Serena were headed as their final destination for the hit Hulu series. And now, two years later, the first images from season six have arrived for fans to see where the show is going.
The images (below) are from the first two episodes, which were directed by Moss, and the third episode, directed by David Lester.
Yvonne Strahovski as Serena.
Hulu
Max Minghella as Nick.
Hulu
Ann Dowd as Aunt Lydia.
Hulu
Amanda Brugel as Rita, O-T Fagbenle as Luke and Samira Wiley as Moira.
Samira Wiley as Moira.
Hulu
At the same time, Disney released a 2025 video teasing its upcoming series and among the clips was a hopeful snippet of The Handmaid’s Tale season six. “Something big is about to happen,” says a peaceful looking Serena, from a new location, at the 1:35 minute mark. “Let’s bring them home,” echoes June.
Season six returns in spring 2025, with a specific date yet to be announced.
The Handmaid’s Tale is a dystopian story about the erosion of bodily autonomy that has had been eerily prescient about real-life events ever since it first premiered in 2017. With the final season coming out amid the start of Donald Trump’s second presidential term, the season could be its timeliest yet.
But Miller has been working toward his last stop from the beginning. When speaking after season five, he reiterated that to THR, saying, “When I talked to Lizzie [Moss] and Margaret [Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale author] at the end of season four about the future, I started to think there’s a very, very nice little piece that comes at the end that I’ve been working toward. Season five is so much about June and her feelings about revenge, and how to exact revenge in a way that feels good and that feels like you’ve corrected some of the balance in the world. So much of that is about moving closer to June being someone who can do something again: Someone who isn’t just out of Gilead and in a ball but who has the ability to act. And then it’s a question next season of: What the hell is she going to do? You know you have to do something, because you know the world isn’t going to change unless you do something. What do you do?”
He continued, “You’re looking at a world these two women made and look how powerful they are. When they’re on top, they’re really, really making a difference. And when they’re on the bottom, they’re still making a difference. They’re taking care of their kids and getting them out of danger. If you look at June as a cowboy, she isn’t doing very well. If you look at June as a farmer, she’s doing spectacularly well. Look at those fields, they’re all overflowing with rebels and smart people and Hannah [her older daughter] writing her name — who knows who else she taught to write her name at that school? She’s June Appleseed.”
Adapted from the classic novel by Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale is the story of life in the dystopia of Gilead, a totalitarian society in what was formerly the United States. Offred (Moss), one of the few fertile women known as Handmaids in the oppressive Republic of Gilead, struggles to survive as a reproductive surrogate for a powerful Commander and his resentful wife.
The cast also includes Bradley Whitford, Max Minghella, Ann Dowd, O.T. Fagbenle, Samira Wiley, Madeline Brewer, Amanda Brugel, Sam Jaeger, Ever Carradine and Josh Charles.
The Handmaid’s Tale is produced by MGM Television. Season six is executive produced by Miller, Warren Littlefield, Eric Tuchman, Yahlin Chang, Moss, Sheila Hockin, John Weber, Frank Siracusa, Steve Stark, Kim Todd, Daniel Wilson and Fran Sears. The series is internationally distributed by Amazon MGM Studios Distribution.