The Handmaid's Tale is an American dystopian television series created by Bruce Miller , based on the novel of the same name by Canadian author Margaret Atwood. The series was ordered by the streaming service Hulu as a straight-to-series order of ten episodes, for which production began in late 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.
The first three episodes of the series premiered on April 26, ; the subsequent seven episodes were released every Wednesday. In July , the series was renewed for a fourth season, [ 5 ] which premiered on April 27, It is the first show produced by Hulu to win a major award and the first series on a streaming service to win an Emmy for Outstanding Series. 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.
By law, women in Gilead are forced to work in very limited roles, including some as natal slaves , and they are not allowed to own property, have careers, handle money, or even read and write. These women often include those who have entered marriages following divorce termed "adulteresses", as divorce is not recognized under Gileadian law , single or unmarried mothers, lesbians homosexuals being termed "gender traitors" , non-Christians, adherents of Christian denominations other than the "Sons of Jacob", political dissidents, and academics.
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. When they are transferred, their names are changed. Along with the Handmaids, much of society is now grouped into classes that dictate their freedoms and duties. Women are divided into a small range of social categories, each one signified by a plain dress in a specific color.
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. During "the time before", June was married to Luke and had a daughter, Hannah.
