The Handmaid's Tale Cast and Crew Urge People to 'Take Action' or Face a Real-Life Gilead

The Handmaid's Tale has always been a story about art imitating life. Whether you're talking about Margaret Atwood's 1985 novel or Bruce Miller's televised adaptation, every single storyline and idea on the series has been based on something that went down somewhere in real life.

But in 2025, no one expected the fictional show to hit this close to home. 

The Hulu series began filming in Toronto in 2016 when Donald Trump was first elected as president of the United States. On set back then, the actors and producers revealed the show couldn't have come at a better time. But then real life began imitating art, with children being ripped away from their families at the borders and the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. Some episodes, written and shot months in advance, began to feel like they were ripped from the headlines.

"We just try to talk through what our characters are thinking about and I'm always surprised when it ends up being something our audience is thinking about too," Miller told TV Guide at a recent press event. 

More on Hulu:

• The best TV shows on Hulu
• The best movies on Hulu
• Everything new on Hulu

The responsibility of those connections weighs on Samira Wiley, who plays Moira. "It's really heavy stuff, to think you're just going to work, but then you're suddenly a part of something that is so resonant for so many people," she said. "To walk down the street and have women come up and tell you their trauma stories is surreal."

Ann Dowd, who has played Aunt Lydia on the series since the beginning, is thankful the show has given her and others a platform to put the rage and despair they may be experiencing, especially right now.  

"The desire to stand up and fight is stronger," she said of debuting the final season of Handmaid's in 2025. "The fact that it's gone beyond the living room and into the streets where women are wearing The Handmaid's red dresses and white bonnets is an extraordinary thing."

When Hulu debuts the sixth and final season of The Handmaid's Tale on April 8 with the first three episodes, the series picks up with June (Elisabeth Moss) on the train out of Toronto, where she comes face-to-face with Serena (Yvonne Strahovski). From there, a story of resistance, realizations and rebellion unfolds, bringing June's tale to an end.

"I don't know that anyone anticipated how meaningful this show would become to so many people globally," Strahovski tells TV Guide. "Part of our legacy is the symbolism of the red cloak and what it means. We're fortunate to have made a show that speaks volumes and has allowed people to have an expression of resistance through its symbolism."

According to Madeline Brewer, who plays Janine, this final season is a call to action, whereas the first season was a warning that wasn't necessarily heeded.

"It's not that bad but it can be that bad, and now is the time to get up and get out into the streets and don't lose that fire," she says. "These women draw inspiration from each other, the community they have, and they hold hands and move forward as a sisterhood. Throughout history, you don't get through times as frightening as these without community, without love, without a similar desire to protest."

Ever Carradine, Janine's foe on the series as Naomi Putnam, agrees that sisterhood is a key tool for fighting in an increasingly terrifying world. 

More: 

• The complete guide to spring TV
• The new TV shows coming this spring
• The most anticipated shows coming this spring

"I just read an article about a Canadian actress who was imprisoned for two weeks for a visa issue," she says. "The things she said were happening, which was all these girls coming together and writing letters for this woman to bring out when she's free so they can get their stories out, it's straight from the pilot of the show." 

Throughout its run, The Handmaid's Tale has eerily predicted other world events beyond those in America, including a fallout between the U.S. and Canada, people being detained at the border without any explanation, and worsening international relationships. These events only build on the predictions Atwood made 40 years ago with the novel, which also included things like a cashless society, infertility, and the worsening climate crisis.

These days, Atwood has been writing and talking a lot about the French Revolution, a period in France that led to the overthrow of the monarchy and the establishment of a republic.

"Which will be a response in real life," adds Bradley Whitford, who plays the architect of Gilead, Commander Lawrence. "I hope what people take from this show is not to wallow and despair, but to take the message that misogyny is at the reptilian brain stem of white nationalism, and it's never going to go away. Things like racism and economic inequality are never going to go away, and we have to take action."

The Handmaid's Tale returns for its final season Tuesday, April 8 on Hulu.