Blessed be a premiere date for "The Handmaid's Tale."
Hulu announced Sunday that Season 2 of its acclaimed drama will premiere April 25 with two new episodes. And it's moderation from there, with Hulu sticking with its weekly release strategy and rolling out subsequent episodes every Wednesday.
The first season of the drama, an adaptation of Margaret Atwood's 1985 novel, ended with Offred (Elisabeth Moss) pregnant and being whisked away in a van _ her future uncertain. In turn, a central theme of the 13-episode second season, which moves past its source material, will be motherhood, with Offred determined to shield her future child from the horrors of Gilead.
"The Handmaid's Tale" has been a bright spot for Hulu. The drama, which also stars Ann Dowd, Joseph Fiennes, Yvonne Strahovski and Samira Wiley, has been a favorite among critics for its timely feminist message and has helped the streaming service elbow its way into the awards circuit. The series has taken home the Emmy, Golden Globe, and Critics' Choice Award for best drama during this year's award season.
In her Golden Globes acceptance speech this month, Moss read an excerpt from Atwood's novel, dedicating the award to the author and other women.
"We were the people who were not in the papers," she said while accepting the award for best actress in a TV drama. "We lived in the blank white spaces at the edges of print. It gave us more freedom. We lived in the gaps between the stories."
But now, Moss said after thanking Atwood, "We no longer live in the blank white spaces at the edge of print. ... We are the story in print and we're writing the story ourselves."
