The Handmaid's Tale Season 6: Cast, Story & Everything We Know

Summary The Handmaid's Tale season 6 will explore the fallout from season 5's dramatic finale, with major changes coming for June, Luke, and Serena Joy Waterford.

The release of The Handmaid's Tale season 6 has been delayed due to the strikes by the Screen Actors Union and the Writers Guild of America.

Season 6 of The Handmaid's Tale has been confirmed as the last season, with two new showrunners taking over and plans for a sequel series, Testaments.

The Handmaid's Tale season 6 news is starting to arrive. The Handmaid's Tale season 5's ending threw massive curveballs at several of the show's ongoing storylines, with twists for most major characters. After a season-and-a-half back in Canada, June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss) is once again separated from Luke Bankole (O-T Fangbenle) and on the run, with Gilead increasingly making its presence felt north of the US border. This is also where the Hulu series has begun to stray from the ideas in the source novel by Margaret Atwood.

After June's escape from Gilead (or now Canada, rather) The Handmaid's Tale season 6 has a lot of disparate plot threads to bring together. The show's story has become bigger and more sprawling than before, not least now it looks to expand even beyond Canada and has several key characters on both sides of the border. With major changes coming for June, Luke, Serena Joy Waterford (Yvonne Strahovski), The Handmaid's Tale season 6 is highly anticipated, and here's everything known about the next season.

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The Latest The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6 News

A Supporting Star Is Promoted To A Series Regular

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Months after a filming start date for the upcoming final season was announced, the latest news sees a supporting star promoted to a series regular for The Handmaid's Tale season 6. As details begin to solidify around the sixth and final season, Ever Carradine will now become a series regular after playing a supporting role throughout the entire series. Carradine's Naomi Putnam first appeared in season 1 as the wife of Gilead leader Commander Putnam, but her role has since evolved. It's unclear how Carradine will fit into season 6's storyline.

The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6 Is Confirmed

The Final Season Is Coming Soon

Shortly before season 5's premiere, Hulu officially confirmed The Handmaid's Tale season 6 was renewed. The show has been one of the streaming service's biggest hits since it debuted back in 2017, so a renewal isn't surprising. The Handmaid's Tale season 5's ending makes it clear the show has more stories to tell, so a cancelation would've been a major shock.

The Handmaid's Tale season 5 concluded on November 9, 2022.

The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6 Production Status

Even if the show keeps to its production plan, there's little chance that season 6 will premiere before 2025.

Since the Hollywood strikes of 2023, any initial plans for The Handmaid's Tale season 6 have been altered and no new timeline has been provided. It is known that production is slated to begin in summer 2024, but nothing beyond that has been announced. Even if the show keeps to its production plan, there's little chance that season 6 will premiere before 2025.

The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6 Cast

Elisabeth Moss Returns For The Final Season

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The Handmaid's Tale season 6's cast should largely look the same as season 5's. The cast has been pretty consistent, except for the exit of Alexis Bledel's Emily Malek (though given she went back to Gilead, a return may not be entirely out of the question). The Handmaid's Tale season 6 cast will once again be led by Elisabeth Moss as June Osborne, who earned an Emmy nomination for her work in season 5. With Ever Carradine promoted to a series regular for season 6, it's also been confirmed that she'll be returning as Naomi Putnam.

the cast of The Handmaid's Tale season 6 is expected to include:

Actor The Handmaid's Tale Role Elisabeth Moss June Osborne Image via FX/Hulu Yvonne Strahovski Serena Joy Waterford O-T Fagbenle Luke Bankole Max Minghella Commander Nick Blaine Samira Wiley Moira Strand Bradley Whitford Commander Joseph Lawrence Image via amc Ever Carradine Noami Putnam Ann Dowd Aunt Lydia Sam Jaeger Mark Tuello Amanda Brugel Rita Blue Image via Apple TV+ Madeline Brewer Janine Lindo

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The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6 Story Details

Season 5 Ended On A Massive Cliffhanger

Season 5's ending saw June run into Serena on the train leaving Toronto, a fateful reunion that seems likely to drive season 6's plot. Their initial thoughts may be on freedom, but it seems likely that June and Serena's uneasy relationship will be restarted in The Handmaid's Tale season 6, and that the two women could work together to help bring Gilead (and its growing support in Canada) down.

Luke's arrest in The Handmaid's Tale season 5 finale means that season 6 will begin with a reversal of season 1. It's hard to imagine Luke will spend the entire season in prison, but he could be at the forefront of the growing tensions in Canada and may be at the center of June and Serena's plans to take on Gilead as well. Either way, it seems certain June and Luke will reunite, though less so that they'll get a happy ending.

Elsewhere, there's still a tease of Nick's romance with June and his admittance that he can't let her go. He's at the point of risking everything for her, it would seem, which could have bigger payoffs (maybe even a sacrifice) in The Handmaid's Tale season 6. Janine, meanwhile, has been taken away by the Eyes, which could have devastating consequences for her. With all that, there's a lot for The Handmaid's Tale season 6 story to get through before the series comes to an end.

The Handmaid's Tale Is Ending With Season 6

A Shocking Conclusion Is Expected

Despite its renewal, The Handmaid's Tale season 6 news includes the revelation that it will be the last one. Bruce Miller has been the showrunner for The Handmaid’s Tale since it first premiered in 2017. After five seasons of working on the show, however, Miller is stepping down from his position and there will be two new showrunners sharing the duties in the final season of The Handmaid's Tale. Miller is also the showrunner for Testaments, which has been in development since 2019 and is set to be a sequel series.

Taking over the show running duties for The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6 are Eric Tuchman and Yahlin Chang. Tuchman has written several episodes on the show and has been a co-executive producer since the first season. Chang joined the writer’s room in the second season and has also served as a co-executive producer. Though there's still some interesting story set up for The Handmaid's Tale season 6, the show ending at that stage does make sense as it's hard to imagine The Handmaid's Tale being stretched further.

The Handmaid's Tale Where to Watch *Availability in US stream

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buy Not available Not available Not available The Handmaid's Tale is a dystopian television series based on the 1985 novel by author Margaret Atwood. The series was created by Bruce Miller and stars Elisabeth Moss, Joseph Fiennes, and Yvonne Strahovski. The show follows the story of a young handmaid as she is forced to deal with a new totalitarian government that subjugates women in this dark societal twist. Cast O-T Fagbenle , Joseph Fiennes , Alexis Bledel , Elisabeth Moss , Amanda Brugel , Bradley Whitford , Max Minghella , Ann Dowd , Samira Wiley , Madeline Brewer , Yvonne Strahovski Release Date April 26, 2017 Seasons 5 Streaming Service(s) Hulu Writers Bruce Miller , Margaret Atwood Showrunner Bruce Miller Expand