The Handmaid's Tale is set to end with season 6, as Hulu starts work on sequel series The Testaments

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Showrunner Bruce Miller says it's "heartbreaking" to "leave the actors behind" – but he's excited to expand the dystopian drama's focus

June gears up for a fight with Serena in The Handmaid's Tale season 5
(Image credit: Hulu)

The Handmaid's Tale has been renewed for a sixth and final season. It won't be the last time Hulu finds inspiration from Margaret Atwood's Gilead-centric novels, though.

With The Handmaid's Tale season 5 releasing in just days, Hulu announced that the Emmy-winning dystopian drama – which stars Elisabeth Moss, O-T Fagbenle, Samira Wiley, and Yvonne Strahovski – will be coming to an end, but development is starting on The Testaments, an adaptation of Atwood's sequel to The Handmaid's Tale.

"It's been a very, very, very luxurious time that I've had to think about what happens at the end of this story and exactly how we'd like to get there as a company," creator, showrunner and executive producer Bruce Miller told The Hollywood Reporter. 

"I'm very glad we're being able to do it on our own terms because I know how lucky that makes us – all the actors and creative people who put their hearts and souls into it – to close up the play the way you want. Dropping the curtain the way you want is such a huge privilege."

It was first announced back in 2019 that Hulu was working on an adaptation of The Testaments, which is set 15 years after the events of The Handmaid's Tale. Narrated by Aunt Lydia, who is played by Ann Dowd in the show, it centers on Agnes, a young woman living in Gilead, and Daisy, another who has made a life for herself in Canada.

"Very fortunately, we get to go into The Testaments, which June's story is a part of but not central to," Miller explained. "It's a perfect creative situation that we get to peel off but maintain our connection with all of our characters that we've built and loved, and all of the actors. The part that is heartbreaking and terrifying is to leave the actors behind."

Season 5 will premiere on Hulu in the US on Wednesday, September 14. While we wait for more news on season 6, check out the most exciting new TV shows coming our way soon.

Amy West
Amy West
Entertainment Writer

I am an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things TV and film across our Total Film and SFX sections. Elsewhere, my words have been published by the likes of Digital Spy, SciFiNow, PinkNews, FANDOM, Radio Times, and Total Film magazine.