With The Handmaid’s Tale finale now out on Hulu, fans are quick to ask for more. We know that the show has been renewed for a sixth and last season, but when will it air and what do we know about it? Let’s head into the details as we say goodbye to Season 5. Here’s everything we know so far about the Handmaid’s Tale Season 6.
When is Season 6 of The Handmaid’s Tale Going to Air?
The Handmaid’s Tale first aired on Apr 25, 2017, with Season 2 following on Apr 25, 2018, and sSeason 3 on Jun 5, 2019. But then came the pandemic, and filming was altered slightly. Season 4 didn’t air until Apr 27, 2021, almost two full years since the last episode. With Season 5 returning to somewhat normalcy, and its first episode premiering on Sep 14, 2022, it might be safe to assume that the sixth and final season is going to air in September 2023, or a few weeks later.
There are no official dates out there, and several speculations. The Digital Spy predicts Season 6 to hit our screens “around the end of 2023, one year on from season five,” and CinemaBlend says that “we’ll have to wait quite some time before getting any real information.” Which in itself is true.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, showrunner Bruce Miller said “But do I know what happens in season 6? Yes, I did think about the stuff that happens in season 6 for a while. But I also have been watching other shows end successfully or unsuccessfully. And I’ve got to take those lessons.”
He continued, sharing: “I mean, when I sat down to write the pilot of The Handmaid’s Tale, I had written pilots before, but I watched a lot of pilots because they are usually stinky, and I don’t want a stinky one. So now, I’ve been watching a lot of last seasons of shows that knew they were ending. And how do you do it? How do you do it in a way that’s frustrating? How do you do it in a way that’s satisfying? And what are the things that stick with you? So I’m thinking about it in a really prosaic ‘history of television’ terms. I watched the last season of Game of Thrones again, and I watched the last season of The Sopranos, just to see how they’re put together, and especially do they build the season around the fact that it’s a season or that it’s the end of the show? I just want it to be a solid season.”
Hopefully, Miller will be able to pull the good sides of Game of Thrones’ finale and not necessarily what angered the fans of the show. But with what we’ve seen of this season, we should be on track to have a fantastic sixth season. With that said, it should be a hard one to tackle, as he is also working on The Handmaid’s Tale spin-off, The Testaments.
What Is This ‘The Testaments’ Show?
Based on Margaret Atwood’s 2019 sequel novel, The Testaments is currently in the first stages of development. It will take place several years after the events of the conclusion of the previous season.
Due to the fact that The Handmaid’s Tale deviates significantly from the original source material in terms of the story’s progression, it is still unknown how closely The Testaments will adhere to Atwood’s novel or how much of a connection will be made between the two series.
Some Redditors however, have speculations about this season and number 6, as well as how it will all be connected in The Testaments.
Here are some more speculations, but beware of spoilers!
Speculation for the rest of Season 5 and Into Season 6 from coconutsandtreason
In an interview with Deadline, Bruce Miller also commented on The Testament, and said “Well, I’m working on The Testaments while I’m working on Season 6 of The Handmaid’s Tale. It’s so lovely to have another book to go to. I think the people watch the TV show have to be comfortable with the fact that just like Handmaid’s didn’t follow the book, The Testaments is a sequel to this TV show. So I’m not necessarily shooting for those things the way that they are in The Testaments, but everybody is growing in those directions.”
He added some more tantalizing clues, sharing: “Margaret [Atwood] and I had lots of conversations about the character [of June]. She watched some of the show before she even started to write The Testaments. I think that the characters have a lot of similarities, which is wonderful—and they are definitely falling into place for The Testaments.”
We will have to see what comes in Season 6 to really get a feel for what The Testaments is going to bring us.
Do YOU have any speculations? What do you think will happen to June between now and then? Let us know!
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