Hulu’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Officially Renewed For Season 2 As Fans Become Hooked On The Bleak Dystopian Tale

Only four episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale have aired on Hulu so far. However, the network has gone ahead and given the green light for Season 2 of the haunting dystopian series.

SPOILER ALERT: This article discusses Episode 4 of Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale. Please proceed with caution if you have not yet viewed this episode and wish to avoid spoilers.

While many countries outside of the U.S. are yet to view The Handmaid’s Tale, for Hulu, it has been successful enough on their home soil to warrant renewing the dystopian series for Season 2.

Hulu released the first three episodes of Season 1 of The Handmaid’s Tale when it premiered on April 26. It followed with a fourth episode this week that explored the unspoken male fertility problem and the options — both above- and below-board — that are available to Handmaid’s should their Commander be infertile.

Ever since the show premiered on Hulu, viewers have been wondering if The Handmaid’s Tale will be renewed for Season 2, or if it will be a standalone series based entirely on the enduring novel by Margaret Atwood. However, now that viewers appear to be hooked, Hulu has announced Season 2 will premiere in 2018.

According to Variety, the announcement was made on Wednesday during Hulu’s Upfront presentation. While Hulu seems to be following in Netflix’s footsteps by not revealing viewership numbers, they did announce that The Handmaid’s Tale has been “watched by more Hulu viewers than any other series premiere on the platform, considering both original and acquired series.”

Hulu’s Senior Vice President Craig Erwich, who is also the head of content, revealed that stories such as The Handmaid’s Tale is exactly the sort of content they are looking for moving forward in their programming schedule.

“The response we’ve seen to The Handmaid’s Tale in just one week since its premiere has been absolutely incredible. It has been an honor to work with this talented team of cast and creators to develop a series that has struck such a chord with audiences across the country. As we continue to expand our strong slate of original programming, The Handmaid’s Tale is exactly the type of gripping and thought-provoking storytelling we want to bring to viewers. We can’t wait to explore the world of Gilead and continue Margaret’s vision with another season on Hulu.”

While this is the first official announcement in regard to Season 2 of The Handmaid’s Tale, those involved were quietly optimistic during questioning at the recent Tribeca Film Festival. The show’s executive producer Warren Littlefield even stated that they had “only scratched the surface with the first 10 hours.”

Now, it seems fans can sit back, relax, and enjoy an expansion on Margaret Atwood’s world with Season 2 of The Handmaid’s Tale.

You can view the official synopsis for Season 1 of Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale.

“The Handmaid’s Tale is the story of life in the dystopia of Gilead, a totalitarian society in what was formerly the United States. Facing environmental disasters and a plunging birthrate, Gilead is ruled by a twisted fundamentalism in its militarized ‘return to traditional values.’ As one of the few remaining fertile women, Offred (Elisabeth Moss) is a Handmaid in the Commander’s household, one of the castes of women forced into sexual servitude as a last desperate attempt to repopulate the world. In this terrifying society, Offred must navigate between Commanders, their cruel Wives, domestic Marthas, and her fellow Handmaids – where anyone could be a spy for Gilead – all with one goal: to survive and find the daughter that was taken from her.”

The trailer for Season 1 of Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale is below.

Are you excited to find out there will be a Season 2 of Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale? Let us know by commenting below.

The Handmaid’s Tale will air exclusively on Hulu from April 26. Viewers outside of the U.S. will need to tune into their local providers to find out if The Handmaid’s Tale will be screened locally.

[Featured Image by Hulu]