Alexis Bledel Exits ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ After Four Seasons

Actress and main cast member Alexis Bledel has announced that she will be leaving The Handmaid’s Tale after four seasons.

“After much thought, I felt I had to step away from ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ at this time,” Bledel said in a statement to Deadline. “I am forever grateful to Bruce Miller for writing such truthful and resonant scenes for Emily, and to Hulu, MGM, the cast and crew for their support.”

The Emmy-winning Hulu series based off of Margaret Atwood‘s popular book first debuted in 2017, when Bledel began portraying the character Emily/Ofglen.

In Season 4, June (Elisabeth Moss) led a charge to fight back against Gilead but her dedication to the cause threatens to consume her and destroy her closest relationships.

Season 5 is expected to premiere later this year.

Throughout her time on the show, Bledel received four Emmy nominations—one per year—and one award for outstanding guest actress.

Produced by MGM Television, the series stars Elisabeth Moss, Joseph Fiennes, Yvonne Strahovski, Samira Wiley, Ann Dowd, Max Minghella, Madeline Brewer, O-T Fagbenle, Amanda Brugel, Bradley Whitford, and Sam Jaeger.

Bledel was originally most known for her starring role as Rory Gilmore on Gilmore Girls and the Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life revival, as well as Mad Men and the film franchise The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.

The series was created by Bruce Miller who also serves and showrunner and executive producer alongside Warren Littlefield, Elisabeth Moss, Daniel Wilson, Fran Sears, Eric Tuchman, John Weber, Frank Siracusa, Sheila Hockin, Kira Snyder and Yahlin Chang.

Michael is a music and television junkie keen on most things that are not a complete and total bore. You can follow him on Twitter — @Tweetskoor

Stream The Handmaid's Tale on Hulu