Hulu is digging deeper in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ business after purchasing the rights to the follow up book from author Margaret Atwood that hits stores next week…
Hulu is staying in business with ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’.
In anticipation of ‘The Testaments’ — the follow up book from ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ author Margaret Atwood set for release on September 10 — the streaming service has purchased the rights to the story with plans to develop it for the small screen.
‘The Testaments’ picks up 15 years after the events in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ with stories being told from three perspectives — a young woman raised in the oppressive society of Gilead, a Canadian teen who learns she was actually born in Gilead, and Aunt Lydia, the villain played by Ann Dowd on the TV series who was also a major presence in the original book.
Hulu has already renewed ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ for a fourth season following the third season that debuted on the streaming service earlier this year.
It’s unknown at this time how ‘The Testaments’ will or won’t tie into any future plans for ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’, especially considering the new book doesn’t follow the same central character Offred/June Osborne as played by Elisabeth Moss.
The original ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ novel was released back in 1985 and there had been numerous attempts to adapt the book in the past but it wasn’t until Hulu purchased the rights and developed the show that it finally made it to television. ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ then cleaned up at awards season, snagging several Emmy awards from the first season.
There’s no word yet on how long it will take Hulu to adapt ‘The Testaments’ but it’s clear they weren’t going to allow anybody else to get the rights to an extended story from ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ universe while the show remains one of their most popular and critically acclaimed series ever produced.
