Hulu‘s “The Handmaid’s Tale” made waves last year upon its first season release. What could possibly be more timely than a female-led show, based on Margaret Atwood‘s classic feminist text about the evils of a theocratic, patriarchal society? It would have spawned thousands of think-pieces even if it wasn’t any good—which, thankfully, it was. From its get-go, “The Handmaid’s Tale” contained some of the very best acting, cinematography, and direction on all of TV. The show’s inaugural season deservedly went on to win myriad Hollywood awards, including an Emmy for Outstanding Series and the Golden Globes for Best Television Series Drama and Best Actress for star Elisabeth Moss.
“The Handmaid’s Tale” might be even more relevant today than it was a year ago, considering everything that’s happened in Hollywood/the professional world at large over the past six months or so. Luckily, we don’t have to wait very much longer for it to return, as Hulu has set its second season premiere for April 25th. Joining the show’s already stacked cast (Moss, Joseph Fiennes, Yvonne Strahovski, Ann Dowd, Max Minghella, Samira Wiley) for its sophomore season are “Veep‘”s Clea DuVall and Academy Award winner Marisa Tomei(!).
And yes, the show will somehow be bringing back poor, brave Ofglen (Alexis Bledel) for season 2.
Safe to assume that “The Handmaid’s Tale” Season 2 will feature copious amounts of sorrow, wallowing, and sardonic narration. It also doesn’t seem like a stretch to predict that its release will be accompanied by hundreds of bad-faith Twitter arguments from every single person in your feed.
And because this isn’t discussed nearly enough, here’s a comprehensive and important Emmy-night Twitter thread from HuffPo writer and Twitter personality Yashar Ali about the fact that Elisabeth Moss—who has been lauded and awarded for her “Handmaid’s” performance—belongs in real life to an oppressive cult, Scientology, which Yashar accurately describes as “a criminal money-making enterprise which destroys people’s lives.” An unpopular opinion to be sure.