Hulu’s 6-Part Thriller Feels Even More Uncomfortably Timely in 2026
4 weeks ago
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Published Mar 7, 2026, 3:00 PM EST
Amanda M. Castro is a Network TV writer at Collider and a New York–based journalist whose work has appeared in Newsweek, where she contributes as a Live Blog Editor, and The U.S. Sun, where she previously served as a Senior Consumer Reporter.
She specializes in network television coverage, delivering sharp, thoughtful analysis of long-running procedural hits and ambitious new dramas across broadcast TV. At Collider, Amanda explores character arcs, storytelling trends, and the cultural impact of network series that keep audiences tuning in week after week.
Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Amanda is bilingual and holds a degree in Communication, Film, and Media Studies from the University of New Haven.
The Handmaid's Tale premiered on Hulu in 2017 and immediately resonated with audiences for its rawness. Based on a famous novel by Margaret Atwood, published in 1985 and considered a classic, the show debuted amid an uptick in coverage of political power and abuse by oppressive governments. Therefore, the audience members found parallels between the oppressive society portrayed in The Handmaid's Tale and the real-life oppression occurring all over their own world.
Today, more than seven years later, The Handmaid's Tale has never felt harder to watch; not because of any dulling as far as storytelling goes, but rather due to how drastically different the world is now compared to when The Handmaid’s Tale originally premiered on the small screen to a very receptive audience. As the show reaches its endpoint, revisiting it in 2026 is not so much a return to something much different; rather, it has returned to look like so much more than simply what might have come after it was released.
What 'The Handmaid’s Tale' Is Actually About
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For anyone who hasn’t watched it yet, the premise is chillingly simple. The story takes place in the Republic of Gilead, a theocratic regime that has taken control of what used to be the United States after a violent political upheaval. In this new society, women have virtually no rights. They can’t work, own property, control money, or even read. The few women capable of having children are forced into a rigid caste system as “Handmaids,” where their only purpose is to bear children for powerful families.
The series centers on June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss), who is captured while attempting to escape the regime with her husband and daughter. Once called “June,” she is now “Offred,” a Handmaid to Commander Fred Waterford and his wife, Serena Joy (Yvonne Strahovski), two people who helped bring about the creation of Gilead. At first, June’s journey is about staying alive and surviving, but as the series progresses, she goes from being a woman just trying to survive to a woman who will fight against the system that has taken away her life.
Margaret Atwood Built the Story on Real History
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A reason why The Handmaid’s Tale continues to be so disconcerting is the fact that it is not merely a work of fiction but also has roots in factual events. Atwood said on multiple occasions that when she was creating this work, she limited herself to using actual events as inspiration for her story rather than creating an entirely new world from nothing (as many authors do).
When The Handmaid’s Tale (1985) was released, people did not believe it; Atwood also indicated that the premise struck a chord. People thought of America as a securely functioning democracy, whereas the idea of it devolving into a totalitarian theocracy seemed highly improbable to many readers.
However, since then, Atwood has said that these readers were likely overly optimistic about how quickly democracy could deteriorate. In other words, due to current political changes worldwide, it is more than reasonable to think that when a democracy fails, it does so much more quickly than people expect.
Let's help a prolific star blow out her candles by celebrating some of her long-standing work in television.
Why 'The Handmaid's Tale' Still Feels So Relevant
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The imagery in The Handmaid's Tale has become so famous that it exists outside the show itself. The red robes and white bonnets worn by handmaids have been used to symbolize resistance at protests across the U.S. and elsewhere related to reproductive rights debates.
This crossover from one culture to another is one reason the show has remained relevant and is continually discussed long after its initial release. It not only illustrates how authoritarianism occurs, but also how easily people adjust to, rationalize, and even support it. The biggest impact of this series is seen in the way the Gilead we see isn’t a transformation that happens in one day; rather, it develops over time through political opportunism, a collapse, and a growing awareness of their freedoms. The idea that a society can move toward an authoritarian regime incrementally makes this show very relevant.
A Brutal Show That Still Feels Worth Watching
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The Handmaid's Tale is one of those shows that you may think twice about watching. The show does not pull any punches in showing the cruelty, trauma, and pain caused to individuals by living under an oppressive regime, not to mention the psychological scars left behind. There are critics of the show who have stated that it goes too far into the darkness at times. However, the intensity shown in the series is what keeps it resonating with viewers long after they have finished watching it.
The series takes a dystopian approach to tell an important story, which requires the audience to reflect on their own lives, consider the systems we live under, and evaluate what would happen to us if those systems were taken away. Today is almost 40 years after the original release of Atwood's book and almost 10 years since its initial airing as a television series; it is incredible that The Handmaid's Tale continues to remind us that there is often very little difference between what is fictional and what is real.
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English (US) ·