The Handmaid's Tale season 6: everything we know so far about the hit Hulu show’s return

The Handmaid’s Tale season 6 will arrive in spring 2025, and while we eagerly await the final season of one of the best Hulu series, there’s plenty to talk about.

Adapted from Margaret Atwood’s best-selling novel of the same name, five gripping seasons so far have told the dystopian tale of a totalitarian society, Gilead, that forces fertile women to become surrogates for the rich and privileged. Led by Offred (Elisabeth Moss), a handmaid assigned to a couple, has fought for her freedom over five seasons, and yet there's still more to come.

As one of the best streaming services, Hulu has astounded with The Handmaid’s Tale, winning a multitude of awards during its eight intense years – and the finale aims to tie up the show with a bow - in any color, we hope, but red. Here’s everything we know from release date, possible plot, confirmed cast, news, rumors, and more.

The Handmaid's Tale season 6: is there a release date?

In September 2024, an official Instagram post of Moss holding a production clapper board revealed that filming had commenced. It also revealed that The Handmaid’s Tale season 6 will be coming in the spring of 2025, which has since been confirmed by Hulu to be on April 8. Exciting news, considering it’s been nearly three years since season 5.

While the previous seasons came out in consecutive years, there was a delay for The Handmaid’s Tale season 6 due to the SAG-AFTRA strikes. Fortunately, with resolution came the chance to finally start filming the long-awaited final season and bring the dystopian tale to a close.

Three of the past five seasons have been released in April – and filming for those took place between September and February – so the release date is inline with previous seasons. Filming for season 6 started in September and is yet to wrap.

The Handmaid's Tale season 6: has a trailer been released?

While there’s been no full-length trailer yet for The Handmaid’s Tale season 6, there was a teaser embedded in the Disney Plus and Hulu 2025 trailer. Unfortunately, while we can't share the trailer, we can tell you what is shown. It starts with Serena Joy saying: “Something big is about to happen,” followed by June adding: “Let’s bring them home.” For now, that's all we have to go on, but we'll update here when a trailer drops.

The Handmaid's Tale season 6: confirmed cast

Potential spoilers follow for The Handmaid's Tale season 6.

First look images of The Handmaid’s Tale season 6 officially confirmed the return of most of the main cast – though we imagine any not featured will still be back for the sixth and final season:

• Elisabeth Moss as June Osborne
• O-T Fagbenle as Luke
• Max Minghella as Nick
• Yvonne Strahovski as Serena Joy Waterford
• Ann Dowd as Aunt Lydia
• Samara Wiley as Moira
• Bradley Whitford as Commander Lawrence
• Amanda Brugel as Rita
• Madeline Brewer as Janine
• Sam Jaeger as Mark Tuello
• Ever Carradine as Naomi Putnam
• Josh Charles as TBC
• Timothy Simons as TBC

While the main cast are reprising their roles, there's also two new roles that have been cast - though details on their roles are being kept firmly under wraps.

Firstly, in July 2024, Deadline revealed that The Veil and The Good Wife star, Josh Charles, would be joining season 6: "in a series regular capacity." Then, in September 2024, as per Variety, a new role for Veep and Nobody Wants This star, Timothy Simons, was unveiled. Simons has reportedly been cast in a guest role, but as mentioned, we have no further intel than that right now.

The Handmaid's Tale season 6: story synopsis and rumors

Full spoilers follow for The Handmaid’s Tale seasons 1-5 below.

The Handmaid's Tale season 6 is the final season of the show - and so, there's a lot to tie up, especially considering how season 5 ended. June found herself on a train with her former captor, Serena, and their babies in tow. They're not exactly on good terms, so the situation as they escape to Canada will certainly be interesting to watch unfold.

Though June wasn't meant to be alone as the escape plan was always meant to involve Luke. Unfortunately, after June was almost murdered by a man instructed by Gilead, Luke killed him and ultimately handed himself over to the police, letting June leave without him.

For June's role in season 6, Elisabeth Moss spoke to Elle: "I think that it's going to be a season where June is going to figure out who she is and who she's going to be for the rest of her life." She added: "The fight is not just about one individual; it's much larger than that. And I think she is, in season five, getting to that place where she's realizing that. And then season six is going to be very much about that, and then about all the characters figuring out whose side they're on and what their next move is."

There's also Nick's successful escape to Canada after his wife, Rose, left him. Janine being pulled away by The Eyes and Aunt Lydia showing some real emotion around the situation. Plus, Commander Lawrence's hopes and dreams for New Bethlehem seem entirely more likely after the death of Commander Putnam.

But, there's a big change when it comes to who's running the show as Bruce Miller stepped down to focus on his next project - the screen adaptation of Margaret Atwood's sequel, "The Testaments," as reported by Deadline. Great news for the spin-off, but he's left The Handmaid's Tale season 6 in the hands of Eric Tuchman and Yahlin Chang. Who, both worked on the show before this move.

Before he left though, Ben Miller spoke to Entertainment Weekly regarding the final season: “We are ending our show on our own creative terms. Hulu and MGM have been uniquely remarkable and generous in that way. So I think the good thing is, I’m able to do it the way that I want to do it. So if you hate it, it actually was on purpose. It wasn’t a mistake. I didn’t stumble.”

And the cast and crew are clearly dedicated to delivering a season six that impresses. Producer Warren Littlefield revealed to Deadline that when it comes to the final season: "A lot of people won't make it to the end of Handmaid's Tale. It's pretty chilling, but also exciting." Adding: "And I think we will satisfy those who have been with us through six seasons, I think they're feel powerfully rewarded."

Will there be more seasons of The Handmaid's Tale?

We've mentioned this a few times already, but The Handmaid's Tale season 6 will be the show's last. But, in Littlefield's interview with Deadline, he spoke about Miller's focus on The Testaments and the future of the franchise as a whole. While Deadline reported that there had been "chatter that the project is heating up for a series greenlight," Littlefield said that it was "a priority project" and that it's a show that "we're spending a lot of time on" and that "we're full speed ahead; it's a really important franchise."

So it seems while The Handmaid's Tale may be coming to an end, the story of the Republic of Gilead could live on through an adaptation of Atwood's follow-up novel. The Testaments is set 15 years after the events of The Handmaid's Tale – narrated by Aunt Lydia, Agnes, a woman living in Gilead, and Daisy, a woman living in Canada. Without giving anymore away for those who haven't read the book, there's plenty of story left to tell.

For more Hulu-based coverage, read our guides on Only Murders in the Building season 5, Shōgun season 2, and The Bear season 4.