The Handmaid’s Tale cast is booked and busy with new projects — including the Testaments spinoff — after the Hulu series came to a shocking end.
The Handmaid’s Tale universe was brought to life when Hulu adapted Margaret Atwood‘s 1985 novel of the same name in 2017. Atwood’s dystopian universe followed a future where low fertility rates have led women to be assigned to men for bearing children. Elisabeth Moss, Yvonne Strahovski, Madeline Brewer, Dowd, O-T Fagbenle, Max Minghella, Samira Wiley and Amanda Brugel have led the cast since the show premiered in 2017.
After The Handmaid’s Tale‘s final season was announced in 2022, creator Bruce Miller stepped down as showrunner to work on The Testaments as executive producers Eric Tuchman and Yahlin Chang took over the day-to-day duties on the flagship drama.
“We are making The Testaments, and it’s not going to track precisely,” Miller told TVLine at the time. “Margaret writes these absolutely deliciously specific characters. We had to go away from that in Handmaid’s, and we’re going to have to go away from that in Testaments. Testaments is certainly going to be a sequel to the show.”
Set 15 years later, The Testaments is narrated by Aunt Lydia as viewers are thrust back into the dystopian future with new characters such as Agnes from Gilead and Daisy from Canada as they secretly gather and smuggle incriminating information about Gilead’s regime out of the country. Agnes and Daisy pose as “Pearl Girls” to infiltrate Canada, while Aunt Lydia acts as a covert source within Gilead.
“Although I could not continue with the story of Offred, I could continue with three other people concerned in these events and tell the story of the beginning of the end, because we know from The Handmaid’s Tale that Gilead vanishes,” Atwood told journalists at an event in 2019. “It’s no longer present 200 years into the future, because they’re having a symposium on it. How did it collapse? How do these kinds of regimes disappear? I was interested in exploring that.”
She continued: “There [are] some new costume choices in this book. Human beings throughout time love outfits that tell you who you’re looking at, like football teams and things like that. So yes, we have some new outfits.”
Atwood said she kept Miller updated on her plans as The Handmaid’s Tale was coming to an end.
“I read the scripts; I make notes on them,” she added. “I have influence but no actual power. But luckily we’re in accord most of the time.”
In addition to Dowd, Chase Infiniti, Lucy Halliday, Rowan Blanchard, Amy Seimetz, Mabel Li, Brad Alexander and Mattea Conforti make up the rest of the cast. Hulu confirmed that The Testaments will premiere on April 8, 2026.
Keep scrolling to see what the cast has planned next — including who is set to appear in the spinoff:
Elisabeth Moss
After leading The Handmaid’s Tale since it premiered in 2017, Moss joined the TV adaptation of Araminta Hall’s novel Imperfect Women. Moss stars and is an executive producer on the upcoming series, which also features Kerry Washington, Kate Mara, Joel Kinnaman and Corey Stoll.
Yvonne Strahovski
Strahovski starred in Peacock’s short-lived horror series Teacup amid The Handmaid’s Tale coming to an end.
Alexis Bledel
Bledel returned in The Handmaid’s Tale finale but has largely stayed out of the public eye in recent years. In August 2025, Bledel was cast in Joy Will Prevail alongside Griffin Dunne, Ben Rosenfield, Molly Ephraim and Jennifer Beals.
Madeline Brewer
In addition to The Handmaid’s Tale, Brewer starred in the finale season of You. She is also set to star on I Live Here Now and Anniversary.
Ann Dowd
Dowd will reprise the role of Aunt Lydia in The Testaments spinoff.
O-T Fagbenle
On the big screen, Fagbenle appears in Splitsville after The Handmaid’s Tale and on the small screen, the actor booked roles in All’s Fair and The Miniature Wife.
Max Minghella
Minghella reunited with Moss to direct the movie Shell and is booked for season 4 of Industry.
Samira Wiley
Wiley stars as Cassie in the Atomic TV series.
Bradley Whitford
On the big screen, Whitford appears in For Worse, Reminders of Him and Office Romance while TV roles include #1 Happy Family USA, The Diplomat and Death by Lightning.
Sam Jaeger
Jaeger was in Wolf Man and The Wilderness after The Handmaid’s Tale.
Josh Charles
The actor is set to star in Fox’s medical drama Best Medicine, which is a remake of Doc Martin.
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