The Handmaid's Tale (TV series)

The Handmaid's Tale
Genre
Created byBruce Miller
Based onThe Handmaid's Tale
by Margaret Atwood
Starring
ComposerAdam Taylor
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons6
No. of episodes66 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Producers
Production locations
Cinematography
Running time41–65 minutes
Production companies
  • Daniel Wilson Productions, Inc.
  • The Littlefield Company
  • White Oak Pictures
  • Toluca Pictures
  • MGM Television
Original release
NetworkHulu
ReleaseApril 26, 2017 (2017-04-26) 
May 27, 2025 (2025-05-27)

The Handmaid's Tale is an American dystopian television series created by Bruce Miller, based on the 1985 novel The Handmaid's Tale by Canadian author Margaret Atwood. The series was ordered by the streaming service Hulu as a straight-to-series order of ten episodes, for which production began in late 2016. The plot features a dystopia following a Second American Civil War wherein a theonomic, totalitarian society subjects fertile women, called "Handmaids", to child-bearing slavery.

The series premiered on April 26, 2017, and was renewed for five additional seasons, with the sixth and final season premiering on April 8, 2025. Its first season won eight Primetime Emmy Awards from 13 nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series. It was the first show produced by Hulu to win a major award and the first series on a streaming service to win an Emmy for Outstanding Series. It also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama. Elisabeth Moss was awarded the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series and the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Television Drama Series.

In September 2019, Hulu and MGM announced they were developing a sequel series based on Atwood's 2019 novel, The Testaments.