‘The Testaments’ Officially a Go: ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ Sequel Announces Full Cast, Production Start
Praise be, the news is official: The Testaments has been picked up to series at Hulu and will go into production on April 7. The streamer announced the update with a photo from the table read (above) and some news: The Handmaid’s Tale star Ann Dowd, who plays Aunt Lydia, is confirmed to star in the follow-up, as had been expected, and Elisabeth Moss — star, director and executive producer of The Handmaid’s Tale — will be executive producing The Testaments.
Joining the previously announced leads Chase Infiniti, playing Agnes, and Lucy Halliday, playing Daisy, are new cast Mabel Li, Amy Seimetz and Brad Alexander, Zarrin Darnell-Martin, Eva Foote, Isolde Ardies, Shechinah Mpumlwana, Birva Pandya and Kira Guloien. Rowan Blanchard (Shunammite) and Mattea Conforti (Becka) had been previously announced.
The streamer’s follow-up series to The Handmaid’s Tale is adapted from Margaret Atwood’s 2019 novel with creator Bruce Miller as showrunner. Miller also created The Handmaid’s Tale, Hulu’s Emmy-winning saga adapted from Atwood’s best-selling 1985 dystopian novel.
The Testaments has been in active development at the streamer with MGM since Miller began working on the series in earnest back in 2022. The series was first announced in 2019 with Warren Littlefield executive producing. Miller, who has steered Handmaid’s Tale since its start, handed over day-to-day oversight of the sixth and final season of that series to executive producers Eric Tuchman and Yahlin Chang. They are co-showrunners on the final episodes that launch on April 8.
The Testaments will continue the world of Gilead and picks up years after the events of The Handmaid’s Tale. Agnes, as the Handmaid’s Tale viewers know, is the Gilead name for Hannah, the daughter of June Osborne (played by Moss), who is played by Jordana Blake in The Handmaid’s Tale. The current series has centered around June’s plight to reunite and free her daughter, and The Testaments is expected to continue Hannah/Agnes’ story from inside Gilead.
Moss recently spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the “visceral emotional experience” of becoming a mother herself when filming the final season of June’s story in The Handmaid’s Tale. “It was incredibly meaningful to be able to end this show as a mom, I got to tell you,” she said. “Because I’m playing this character who is this iconic mother figure. All mothers are heroines, and she’s definitely a heroine.”
The Testaments is described as a coming-of-age story that finds a new generation of young women in Gilead grappling with the bleak future that awaits them. For these young women, growing up in Gilead is all they have ever known, having no tangible memories of the outside world prior to their indoctrination into this life. Facing the prospect of being married off and living a life of servitude, they will be forced to search for allies, both new and old, to help in their fight for freedom and the life they deserve.
Here are the character descriptions from Hulu for all of the cast (minus Aunt Lydia and Agnes):
- Lucy Halliday plays Daisy, a young Canadian teen whose life is turned upside down when she learns of her connection to the Republic of Gilead.
- Rowan Blanchard plays as Shunammite, a pampered teen from a prominent Gilead family whose status affords her a certain level of respect and power amongst her peers.
- Mattea Conforti plays Becka, a girl from humble origins who attends school with Gilead’s elite. As she comes of age, she starts to question whether she wants the life she’s being groomed for.
- Mabel Li plays Aunt Vidala, a stern disciplinarian and the heir-apparent to the women’s sphere of Gilead.
- Amy Seimetz plays Paula. Her recent marriage to a high-ranking Commander has raised her social status, but her perfect life is complicated by her new step-daughter.
- Brad Alexander plays Garth, a young Commander who becomes involved in the personal lives of the girls he’s sworn to protect.
- Zarrin Darnell-Martin plays Aunt Gabbana, a firm proponent of Gilead values and right hand to Aunt Vidala, she is a strict and uncompromising educator.
- Eva Foote plays Aunt Estee, the youngest Aunt whose energy and kindness earn her “cool Aunt” status amongst her students.
- Isolde Ardies plays Hulda, a guileless girl, full of excitement at the prospect of womanhood. Her frank observations and optimism have earned her loyal friends.
- Shechinah Mpumlwana plays Jehosheba, a competitive classmate from a respected family who is relentless in her pursuit of a high-status marriage.
- Birva Pandya plays Miriam, a girl on the cusp of womanhood who struggles under the pressure of marriage season.
- Kira Guloien plays Rosa, a caring and dedicated Martha, Rosa is a maternal figure to Agnes and a much-needed source of love in an otherwise cold household.
The start date for The Testaments continues the successful partnership between Miller, Atwood and Littlefield with Hulu and MGM Television, having launched the The Handmaid’s Tale in 2017. Not only did The Handmaid’s Tale help to launch scripted originals at Hulu, it also put the streamer on the awards circuit map when the first season became the first streaming show to win best drama at the Emmys, besting rivals Netflix and Amazon to the coveted milestone. Dowd nabbed the best supporting actress Emmy that year, and two additional nominations for in 2018 and 2021.
The Testaments, produced by MGM Television, is created by showrunner and executive producer Miller, and is executive produced by Littlefield, who heads The Littlefield Company (Fargo, The Old Man, Dopesick), along with Moss, Steve Stark, Shana Stein, Maya Goldsmith, John Weber, Sheila Hockin, Daniel Wilson, Fran Sears and Mike Barker, the latter who will direct the first three episodes.
Source: Hollywoodreporter
