The Handmaid's Tale renewed for sixth and final season, will continue with Testaments sequel

June's crusade against Gilead will come to a definitive end, as Hulu has renewed its popular thriller series The Handmaid's Tale for a sixth and final season.

Creator and showrunner Bruce Miller made the announcement Thursday night at the season 5 premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival, also confirming that he is developing a sequel, titled The Testaments, to be set years after the events of the Elisabeth Moss-starring, Emmy-winning series.

"It has been a true honor to tell the story of Margaret Atwood's groundbreaking novel and chillingly relevant world, and we are thrilled to bring viewers a sixth and final season of The Handmaid's Tale," Miller said in a statement of the show, which became the first streaming series to win a major Emmy in 2017. "We are grateful to Hulu and MGM for allowing us to tell this story, which unfortunately has remained as relevant as ever throughout its run, and are in awe of our incredible fans for their unwavering support, and without whom we never would have gotten to this point."

The series follows Moss as June, an American woman forced into sexual slavery alongside other "handmaids" amid a totalitarian regime fronted by religious conservatives. In later seasons, she and her fellow handmaids escape the clutches of Gilead — established amid the ruins of the former United States — to Canada.

Moss is set to return for season 5 later this month, alongside cast members O-T Fagbenle, Samira Wiley, Ann Dowd, Amanda Brugel, Madeline Brewer, and Bradley Whitford.

"The word 'wild' is in my brain. It's wild. It's a little wild. I truly don't know how to describe it," Brewer previously told EW of the new season. "I mean, we're so much out of Gilead. And everyone is experiencing things that they have not yet experienced. Everyone's going through a transformative period."

Handmaid's Tale actress Alexis Bledel previously confirmed that she would not be back for a fifth season, noting in a statement to EW that she felt she had to "step away" from the program "after much thought."

The Handmaid's Tale season 5 premieres Sept. 14, with two episodes debuting that day, followed by new weekly installments every Wednesday. A season 6 premiere date has yet to be announced.

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