Everything to Know About The Handmaid's Tale Season 6

For five seasons of Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale, viewers have watched with bated breath as June, Moira, Emily, Janine, Serena Joy, and Aunt Lydia have endured torture (or tortured) in the dystopian world of Gilead. While the show could be difficult and painful to watch at times, the drama became a worldwide hit, garnering Emmy and Golden Globe awards for both the series and its lead Elisabeth Moss. And with the fifth season wrapping in the fall of 2022, many fans are wondering when The Handmaid's Tale Season 6 release date will be announced, as it will be the final season in this epic storyline.

While the final season of The Handmaid's Tale is on the horizon, we don't have too many details yet — but, here we outline everything we do know so far, including who will lead Season 6, what the final season might be about, and when to expect it to premiere on Hulu.

More on Hulu:

• Best shows on Hulu
• Best movies on Hulu

The Handmaid's Tale latest news

According to Craig Erwich in a February 2024 interview with Deadline, The Handmaid's Tale will go into production for its final chapter this summer. (As the Disney Television Group president, Erwich oversees Hulu Originals content.) Before the writers and actors strikes of 2023, The Handmaid's Tale Season 6 was slated to begin production in 2023 and premiere in fall 2024.

In May, actress Ever Carradine was promoted to series regular for the sixth season, according to Deadline. Expect Naomi, Commander Putnam's former wife and Commander Lawrence's current wife, to have a bigger role in the final season. 

The Handmaid's Tale Season 6 release date

In January, Moss said on Jimmy Kimmel Live that The Handmaid's Tale would return in "maybe 2025." The sixth and final season of The Handmaid's Tale was announced in September 2022, just ahead of the fifth season premiering. The original plan was for Season 6 to premiere in the fall of 2024, but the SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild strikes caused an overall delay. As of June 2024, production has yet to begin — however, Erwich announced that it would start over the summer and the final season would premiere in 2025. 

What will The Handmaid's Tale Season 6 be about?

The Hulu series The Handmaid's Tale is based on the 1985 book of the same name by Margaret Atwood. The book ends without much resolution: Offred (whose real name was never revealed) is taken away in a van. Both she and the readers are unsure if she will be escaping Gilead or be captured for her forbidden relationships with the Commander and his driver Nick. The series followed the storyline of its source material closely in Season 1, but has been expanded significantly over the years — which means the show will need to end differently.

On the show, Season 5 ended with June and Serena Joy en route to Vancouver with their babies. The biggest question fans will be looking for answers to is if June will be able to truly escape Gilead once and for all.

"June is going to figure out who she is and who she's going to be for the rest of her life," Moss told Elle in November 2022 about her character's potential storylines for Season 6. She added that in the final season, "the fight is not just about one individual." However, she warns that viewers shouldn't expect a picture-perfect resolution: "I don't think we feel an obligation to tie up the entire story of Gilead," she said.

"We are ending our show on our own creative terms," showrunner Bruce Miller told EW when the Season 5 finale aired. "Do I know what happens in Season 6? Yes, I did think about the stuff that happens in Season 6 for a while."

(Of note, Miller stepped down as showrunner, as reported by Variety in March 2023. He will remain as a writer and executive producer for Season 6, but he has passed on his duties to Eric Tuchman and Yahlin Chang, who were previously executive producers.)

Who will be in The Handmaid's Tale Season 6?

We can only speculate about who will be in the sixth season of The Handmaid's Tale. It's likely Alexis Bledel, who played Emily (Ofglen), will not be in the final season as she left the series ahead of Season 5. Ever Carradine, who plays Naomi, was upped to series regular between seasons. We expect everyone else in the main cast to return.

The Handmaid's Tale main cast:

• Elisabeth Moss as June Osborne
• Yvonne Strahovski as Serena Joy Waterford
• Madeline Brewer as Janine Lindo
• Ann Dowd as Aunt Lydia
• O-T Fagbenle as Luke Bankole
• Max Minghella as Commander Nick Blaine
• Samira Wiley as Moira Strand
• Bradley Whitford as Commander Joseph Lawrence
• Sam Jaeger as Mark Tuello
• Amanda Brugel as Rita Blue
• Ever Carradine as Naomi Lawrence

Where to watch The Handmaid's Tale

Seasons 1-5 of The Handmaid's Tale are available to stream on Hulu.