But if you’re trying to figure exactly where Season 4 will pick up after the nail-biting cliffhanger of Season 3, good luck! Last year, Handmaid’s Tale executive producer Bruce Miller told The Hollywood Reporter about where the show is headed, “Don’t try to guess at all.” Still dying for a little more info? Keep reading for everything we know about The Handmaid’s Tale Season 4, including the just-announced premiere date and spoilers!
When is The Handmaid’s Tale’s Season 4 release date?
The fourth season of The Handmaid’s Tale was originally expected to arrive in fall 2020. Then the coronavirus hit just as Season 4 filming got underway back in March, forcing a delay. Hulu still hasn’t announced a premiere date for Season 4 of The Handmaid’s Tale, other than to promise that it’ll arrive sometime in 2021. Last month, it was reported that after the COVID-19 hiatus, filming resumed September 8 and is expected to continue through at least March 21. Hulu has announced that the first three episodes of Season 4 will drop Wednesday, April 28
What happened in The Handmaid’s Tale Season 3?
The season ended shockingly, with protagonist June possibly bleeding to death after leading the Handmaids and the Marthas in a revolt. On the plus side, she managed to smuggle more than 100 children out of Gilead and safely into Canada, where they were received by June’s best friend and former Handmaid, Moira (Samira Wiley), and June’s husband in pre-Gilead times, Luke (O-T Fagbenle).
Are there any Handmaid’s Tale spoilers for Season 4?
The big question on Handmaid fans’ minds heading into the new season: Did June survive her gunshot wound? After the Season 3 finale dropped way back in August 2019, Miller told TV Guide, “We are following June, and June lives in Gilead, and Gilead is not a nice place, and it will continue to be not a nice place.” He also said that fans can expect to see “a power vacuum” in Gilead thanks to the gruesome demise of Commander Winslow (Christopher Meloni) aned hinted that Season 4 will delve further into what role Nick (Max Minghella) played in Gilead’s founding. Meanwhile, on-set photos from Season 4 have appeared on Twitter showing Moss’ character appearing to be pregnant while sitting on a stoop and laughing with Luke. As one fan tweeted, “This scene is probably a flashback from when she was pregnant with Hannah.” Deadline also reported back in September that actor Sam Jaeger is being upped to a series regular in Season 4, suggesting that we’ll be seeing a lot more of his character, U.S. government operative Mark Tuello. In addition, says Deadline, 14-year-old actress Mckenna Grace (known for her roles in Fuller House, Gifted and The Haunting of Hill House) is coming aboard to play a new character named Mrs. Keyes, described as “a sharply intelligent, teenaged wife of a much older Commander who rules her farm and household with confidence. She has a rebellious, subversive streak, and is calm and pious on the outside with turmoil, even insanity, on the inside.” And here’s a pair of behind-the-scenes spoilers for you diehards: The fourth season of The Handmaid’s Tale was given a secret production code name—“Phoenix”—to throw off paparazzi and gossip hounds. (Didn’t work.) Also, Moss is expected to make her directorial debut by helming the fourth season’s third episode, according to The Hollywood Reporter. According to Hulu, “in the 10-episode upcoming season, June (Elisabeth Moss) strikes back against Gilead as a fierce rebel leader, but the risks she takes bring unexpected and dangerous new challenges. Her quest for justice and revenge threatens to consume her and destroy her most cherished relationships.”
Which The Handmaid’s Tale cast members are returning for Season 4?
You can expect to see the following cast members on your screen whenever Season 4 is released: Elisabeth Moss O-T Fagbenle Yvonne Strahovski Samira Wiley Joseph Fiennes Alexis Bledel Ann Dowd Sam Jaeger Bradley Whitford
Where is The Handmaid’s Tale Season 4 being filmed?
Even though the show takes place in the U.S., the first three seasons of The Handmaid’s Tale filmed primarily in towns and cities throughout Ontario, Canada, including Toronto, Hamilton, Cambridge and Mississauga. Parts of Season 3 were also filmed in Washington, D.C. For Season 4, it seems production has returned to Ontario. In December, the Toronto Filming Twitter account reported that Moss and Fagbenle were spotted shooting a scene (the one where Moss looks pregnant) in Hamilton.
How many episodes will there be in The Handmaid’s Tale Season 4?
Season 4 of The Handmaid’s Tale will consist of 10 episodes. That’s the same number of episodes as Season 1, but less than the 13 episodes apiece of Seasons 2 and 3. In an interview last year with IndieWire, Miller insisted that the decision to reduce Season 4’s episode count was “100% creative,” adding, “Some storylines just seem to shake out as a 10-episode story…I feel like it gives us a little more freedom.”
Where to watch and stream The Handmaid’s Tale Season 4 on TV and online
Is there a trailer for The Handmaid’s Tale Season 4?
The streaming network first shared a Season 4 teaser in June 2020, about three months after production was shut down due to the pandemic. Most of the footage was cribbed from previous seasons, but it did offer a few glimpses at what the upcoming episodes may have in store. Aunt Lydia (Dowd) warns that June is “beyond redemption” and “out there planning who knows what kind of atrocities”—suggesting that she’s still alive after taking a bullet in the Season 3 finale. Meanwhile, Commander Joseph Lawrence (Whitford) marvels at “June’s legacy” for helping dozens of children escape to Canada, hinting that he may finally become a full-fledged member of the Mayday resistance. They just dropped another minute-long teaser that shows just how intense this season is going to get.
Has The Handmaid’s Tale been renewed for Season 5?
Yes! Back in December, several members of the Handmaid’s Tale cast—including Moss, Fagbenle, Bledel, Wiley, Dowd and Strahovski–revealed in a group video that the series got the green light for a fifth season ahead of its fourth-season premiere. Next, take a look at our favorite Hulu original series.
