The Handmaid's Tale is an American dystopian television series created by Bruce Miller, based on the 1985 novel of the same name by Canadian author Margaret Atwood.

The plot features a dystopia following a Second American Civil War wherein a theonomic, totalitarian society subjects fertile women, called "Handmaids", to child-bearing slavery.

In a world where fertility rates have collapsed as a result of sexually transmitted diseases and environmental pollution,[11] the totalitarian, theonomic government of Gilead has established its rule in the former United States in the aftermath of a civil war.

[12][13][14][3] Society is organized by power-hungry leaders along with a new, militarized, hierarchical régime of religious fanaticism and newly created social classes, in which women are brutally subjugated.

By law, women in Gilead are forced to work in severely limited roles, including some as natal slaves, and they are not allowed to own property, have careers, handle money, or even read and write (apart from the Aunts).

[14] These women, called Handmaids, are assigned to the homes of the ruling elite, where they must submit to ritualized rape (referred to as "the ceremony") by their male masters ("Commanders") in the presence of their wives with the intent of being impregnated and bearing children for them.

June Osborne, renamed Offred, is the Handmaid assigned to the home of the Gileadan Commander Fred Waterford and his wife Serena Joy, key players in the formation and rise of Gilead, who struggle with the realities of the society they helped create.

The strength of the script attracted star Elisabeth Moss and executive producer Warren Littlefield, which together created a straight-to-series order from Hulu,[32] which was announced in April 2016.

[33] Based on the 1985 novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood, the series was created by Bruce Miller, who is also an executive producer with Daniel Wilson, Fran Sears, and Warren Littlefield.

[38][39][40] Joseph Fiennes, Madeline Brewer, and Yvonne Strahovski were cast in August 2016,[41][42][43] followed by O-T Fagbenle and Amanda Brugel in September 2016.

[47] Filming on the series took place in Toronto, Mississauga, Brantford, Hamilton, Burlington, Oakville, and Cambridge, Ontario, from September 2016 to February 2017.

[52][53] Moss told the news media that the subsequent episodes would cover further developments in the story, filling in some of the unanswered questions and continuing the narrative already "finished" in the book.

[5] Season 4, consisting of 10 episodes, began production in March 2020, with Elisabeth Moss filming her directorial debut, but work had to be halted after only a few weeks, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

[51][76] In Canada, the series is broadcast weekly by CTV Drama Channel and the streaming service Crave; the first two episodes premiered on April 30, 2017.

The site's critical consensus reads, "Haunting and vivid, The Handmaid's Tale is an endlessly engrossing adaptation of Margaret Atwood's dystopian novel that's anchored by a terrific central performance from Elisabeth Moss.

[108] Jen Chaney of Vulture gave it a highly positive review, and wrote that it is "A faithful adaptation of the book that also brings new layers to Atwood's totalitarian, sexist world of forced surrogate motherhood" and that "this series is meticulously paced, brutal, visually stunning, and so suspenseful from moment to moment that only at the end of each hour will you feel fully at liberty to exhale".

The site's critical consensus reads, "Beautifully shot but dishearteningly relevant, The Handmaid's Tale centers its sophomore season tightly around its compelling cast of characters, making room for broader social commentary through more intimate lenses.

The site's critical consensus reads, "The Handmaid's Tale's third season reins in its horrors and inspires hope that revolution really is possible – if only the story would stop spinning its wheels and get to it already.

[113] Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter wrote a generally positive review, praising Elisabeth Moss's performance and the cinematography, but criticized the plot "that has become frustratingly repetitive".

The site's critical consensus reads, "Elisabeth Moss is better than ever, but scattershot plotting and an overbearing sense of doom may prove too grim for some viewers to really enjoy The Handmaid's Tale's fourth season.

[101] Kristen Baldwin of Entertainment Weekly gave it a "C+" grade and wrote that the series "delivers on some long-delayed promises, but ultimately it's too little, too late.

"[115] Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe wrote, "the dystopian drama has exceeded the natural lifespan of its story, as it plows forward with nothing new to say, tinkling cymbals and sounding brass.

"[116] In a more positive review from Jen Chaney of Vulture, she wrote, "Thankfully, season four finally regains some momentum and forward motion.

The site's critical consensus reads, "The Handmaid's Tale has lost its urgency after spreading its once-arresting premise thin in a season focused on vengeance's consequences, but the women of Gilead are still played with compelling exactitude.

Writing for IGN, Tara Bennett gave it a "good" score of 7 out of 10 and wrote in her verdict: "The Handmaid's Tale remains the canary in the coalmine of TV shows [...].

[120][121] Comparisons were also made to the practices implemented by the Islamic State, such as throwing homosexuals from rooftops, as well as the policies of the Christian reconstructionist movement of the 1970s and 1980s that sought to expel women from the workforce.