As it is (now) written, Hulu has renewed The Testaments for a second season.
The Testaments, which is a sequel to Hulu’s smash hit The Handmaid’s Tale, is described as “a dramatic coming-of-age story set in Gilead,” per the synopsis. It “follows young teens Agnes (Chase Infiniti), dutiful and pious, and Daisy (Lucy Halliday), a new arrival and convert from beyond Gilead’s borders. As they navigate the gilded halls of Aunt Lydia’s (Ann Dowd) elite preparatory school for future wives, a place where obedience is instilled brutally and always with divine justification, their bond becomes the catalyst that will upend their past, their present and their future.”
Viewership for The Testaments, like its predecessor series, has been strong. Season one has passed 45 million hours streamed globally on Hulu and Disney+, the streamers say, and it is not even finished — the season finale debuts next Wednesday, May 27. The Testaments has been growing its audience week to week. The drama’s most-recent episode, number eight, drew 76 percent more viewers on day one than the series premiere.
The Testaments, produced by MGM Television and 20th Television, is based on Margaret Atwood’s book of the same name. It was created for television by showrunner and executive producer Bruce Miller and executive produced by Warren Littlefield, Elisabeth Moss, Steve Stark, Shana Stein, Maya Goldsmith, John Weber, Sheila Hockin, Daniel Wilson, Fran Sears and Mike Barker, who directed the first three episodes and finale.
In addition to Dowd, Infiniti and Halliday, the series stars Mabel Li, Amy Seimetz, Brad Alexander, Rowan Blanchard, Mattea Conforti, Zarrin Darnell-Martin, Eva Foote, Isolde Ardies, Shechinah Mpumlwana, Birva Pandya and Kira Guloien. Elisabeth Moss returned to the franchise in a surprise Testaments season one guest appearance, reprising her Handmaid’s Tale role of June Osborn.
The Handmaid’s Tale won 15 Primetime Emmy Awards on 76 total nominations. In 2017, it became the first streaming show to win the Emmy for best drama series.
