Handmaid's Tail, the
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Handmaid's Tail, the
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| Episodes: | 66 |
| Year: | 2017-2025 |
| Country: | United States |
| Seasons: | 6 |
| Seasons Breakdown: | (1) 10, (2) 13, (3) 13, (4) 10, (5) 10, (6) 10 |
| Category: | Dystopian |
| Colour: | Yes |
| Format: | Series |
| Company: | Daniel Wilson Productions, Inc., The Littlefield Company, White Oak Pictures
Toluca Pictures and MGM Television |
| Creator: | Bruce Miller, Based on The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood |
| Run Time (mins): | 41-65 |
| Language: | English |
| Type of Show: | Live Action |
| Status: | Endef |
| Broadcaster: | |
Summary
In a future where global fertility has collapsed due to disease and environmental degradation, the totalitarian theonomic state of Gilead rises from the remnants of the United States following a civil war. Governed by a rigid, militarized hierarchy, Gilead enforces an extremist religious ideology that strips women of autonomy, forbidding them from owning property, holding employment, managing money, or even reading.
The regime responds to worldwide infertility by enslaving fertile women it deems “fallen,” including divorcées, single mothers, LGBTQ individuals, non‑Christians, political dissidents, and academics. These women become Handmaids, assigned to elite households where they are subjected to ritualized sexual coercion, “the Ceremony”, in an effort to produce children for the ruling class. Handmaids are renamed using the prefix Of- followed by their Commander's first name, and their identities change whenever they are reassigned.
Gilead’s society is strictly stratified, with each class marked by distinctive clothing. Handmaids wear red garments with white coifs and restrictive bonnets designed to limit their visibility and movement.
The narrative follows June Osborne, renamed Offred, who is assigned to Commander Fred Waterford and his wife Serena Joy, figures instrumental in Gilead’s creation. Before the regime’s rise, June lived with her husband Luke and their daughter Hannah. Their attempt to flee the country fails: June is captured and forced into Handmaid servitude, Hannah is taken and placed with a high‑status family, and Luke escapes to Canada. Much of the story centres on June’s determination to reunite with her family and her gradual transformation as she navigates the brutal realities of Gilead.
Cast
June Osborne / Offred / Ofjoseph #2 ELISABETH MOSS, Commander Fred Waterford JOSEPH FIENNES (1-4), Serena Joy Waterford YVONNE STRAHOVSKI, Dr. Emily Malek / ofglen #1 / Ofsteven / ofroy / ofjoseph ALEXIS BLEDEL, Janine Lindo MADELINE BREWER, Aunt Lydia Clements ANN DOWD, Luke Bankole O-T FAGBENIE, Commander Nick Blaine MAX MINGHELLA, Moira Strand SAMIRA WILEY, Rita Blue AMANDA BRUGEL, Commander Joseph Lawrence BRADLEY WHITFORD (3-6), Mark Tuello SAM JAEGAR (4-6), Naomi Putnam EVER CARRADINE.
Dystopian, United States, 2017, English
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