How Long Is The Handmaid’s Tale’s 6th and Final Season? Why Hulu Is Dropping 3 Episodes at Once

The Handmaid’s Tale is ending for good — but how many episodes does the Hulu show have to wrap up the story?

Season 6 is wrapping up with 10 episodes, which start premiering on Tuesday, April 8. Hulu is releasing three episodes at once before transitioning to weekly drops leading up to the Tuesday, May 27, series finale.

According to creator Bruce Miller, The Handmaid’s Tale ending sets up for a new beginning. (The hit show is expanding with The Testaments spinoff, which is based on Margaret Atwood’s novel of the same name.)

“There are people who return and the same thing in the Testaments. We’re gonna bring characters from The Handmaid’s Tale to that world as well,” Miller exclusively told Us Weekly in April. “So there are people who show up — but to tell you who they are will take away all the fun.”

Miller went on to tease that the ending doesn’t mean every question will be answered, adding, “I hope [viewers] have questions when the show ends. When I read the book I had a million questions at the end. So I hope if we’re doing justice to the story told in the book, certainly you’ll have questions at the end.”

The Handmaid’s Tale takes place in a dystopian future where low fertility rates have resulted in women being forcefully assigned to men for the sole purpose of bearing children. Since the show premiered in 2017, Elisabeth Moss, Yvonne Strahovski, Madeline Brewer, Ann Dowd, O-T Fagbenle, Max Minghella, Samira Wiley and Amanda Brugel have led the cast.

After Hulu officially picked up The Testaments to series in April, several cast members revealed whether they planned to make the move.

“Probably not. I feel like I’ve had enough of Margaret Atwood’s trauma for a while,” Wiley, who played Moira, said while noting she was “looking at another direction” when it came to future projects.

“It’s bittersweet. I have never had the pleasure of playing a character for eight years and never had a character whose journey that I’ve been able to tell this story from the beginning all the way to the end,” she continued. “I’ll miss my cast mates very, very much. But I’ll also miss her [Moira]. I’ll miss the fictional character of Moira that I was able to create.”

Fagbenle, 44, who plays June’s husband Luke, joked to Us he would consider it “if they ask really nicely.” Meanwhile, Sam Jaeger also showed support for more scenes with Mark on the spinoff.

“It was so funny when I learned how they were creating The Testaments. Originally in the book, it was so much further in the future,” he noted. “I just assumed that it was different, and they would have a different actor come in. But it doesn’t seem they’ve shifted things in a way.”

Jaeger continued: “So if they want me back, I would probably willingly do that. It’s such a great group of people. And to see the next iteration — I’m excited to see it as just a fan.”

The Handmaid’s Tale returns on Tuesday, April 8, and new episodes will be streaming on Hulu.