A look at the series finale of The Handmaid’s Tale has arrived!
On Wednesday, Feb. 12, the teaser and premiere date for the sixth and final season of the hit series was released. Coming to Hulu on April 8, the conclusion proves to be the most intense yet as Elisabeth Moss returns to her starring role as June to lead the revolution against the totalitarian regime of Gilead.
“They believed that these garments that they put on our bodies told the world who we are,” June says at the beginning of the trailer. “To mark us, they put us in red, the color of blood. They forgot that it’s also the color of rage. The dress became our uniform, and we became an army.”
“Something big is about to happen,” Yvonne Strahovski’s Serena then declares as the handmaids get into formation after returning to Gilead.
As the teaser comes to an end, June says: “Though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we will fear no evil.”
Per the official synopsis, season 6 will highlight the June’s conviction for freedom.
“June’s unyielding spirit and determination pull her back into the fight to take down Gilead. Luke and Moira join the resistance. Serena tries to reform Gilead while Commander Lawrence and Aunt Lydia reckon with what they have wrought, and Nick faces challenging tests of character. This final chapter of June’s journey highlights the importance of hope, courage, solidarity, and resilience in the pursuit of justice and freedom.”
The preview comes just days after series stars O.T. Fagbenle, who plays Luke, and Amanda Brugel, who plays Rita, announced that the final season had wrapped production. In an Instagram carousel posted on Monday, Feb. 10, Fagbenle shared pictures with his costars Moss, Strahovski, Bradley Whitford, Max Minghella, Ann Dowd, Samira Wiley, Madeline Brewer and Brugel.
“THATS A WRAP on the final season of Handmaids! It’s coming soon! Any predictions,” he captioned the post.
The previous week, on Tuesday, Feb. 4, Brugel posted an Instagram Reel with a series of photos and clips from the set, putting the cast and crew’s fun behind the scenes moments on display.
“Decades from now, should you ask me what I remember of you, I will recount my very own liberation from a life that did not serve me. And the laughter. And holding hands with Margaret,” she wrote, referring to the source novel’s author, Margaret Atwood.
“But most of all, without fail, I shall remember the dancing,” she continued. “That’s how love goes. #serieswrap.”
Bruce Miller, the creator and showrunner of The Handmaid’s Tale, revealed that season 6 would be the last in September 2022, ahead of the premiere of the fifth season.
“It has been a true honor to tell the story of Margaret Atwood’s groundbreaking novel and chillingly relevant world, and we are thrilled to bring viewers a sixth and final season of The Handmaid’s Tale,” he said.
The final season promised it would be “big and wild” as production began in mid-2024. “It definitely has final-season energy,” Moss told TVLine in May of that year. “[It] goes to many different places, and it is very, very surprising all the way through.”
The cast includes Moss (June Osborne), Strahovski (Serena Joy Waterford), Bradley Whitford (Commander Lawrence), Max Minghella (Nick), Ann Dowd (Aunt Lydia), O.T. Fagbenle (Luke), Samira Wiley (Moira), Madeline Brewer (Janine), Amanda Brugel (Rita), Sam Jaeger (Mark Tuello) and Ever Carradine (Naomi Putnam).
In July 2024, it was announced that Josh Charles would be joining the series for the final season.
While keeping the details of the plot for season 6 quiet, Miller teased what fans could expect from the finale, telling DigitalSpy in November 2022 that he was frustrated with the book’s abrupt ending.
“Everybody’s like, ‘Who do you think you are, writing more?’ I’m like, ‘Oh my God, it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do, to write the rest.’ Because it’s like: what the hell happened?! Oh my God — it’s the most infuriating ending,” he told the outlet.
He added that the series’ conclusion would be on its “own terms.”
“It’s something we never get with just the way the business is set up,” he explained. “And also, more importantly, not something everyone would give to the audience.”
Moss also teased character dynamics in the past, hinting that the relationship between June and Serena would grow more complex.
“I’m the first person to be like, ‘Forget June, let’s focus on Serena for this episode.’ Yvonne [Strahovski] said it so well when she said, ‘There’s no Serena without June, and there’s no June without Serena,’ and that’s so true,” she said on the Happy Sad Confused podcast in May 2024. “And so to me, the parallel stories, I love that part of the show so much. So I totally agree with the fans on this one.”
She also shared that the final season was crafted with fans in mind more than ever before.
“I feel like this season, we’re giving it back to the audience,” she told TVLine. “We definitely really have our eye on that, making sure that it does feel rewarding and satisfying for the fans and like what we would want to watch, you know, as fans of the show.”
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The first three episodes of season 6 of The Handmaid’s Tale premiere on April 8, followed by one episode weekly until the series finale on May 27. Seasons 1-5 of The Handmaid’s Tale are available to stream on Hulu.
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