After two and a half years of waiting, The Handmaid's Tale season 6 is now a mere month away. The Hulu show finally has a release date and it's coming way sooner than we'd hoped after several very lengthy delays. This will be the final season of the dystopian drama, and will bring June Osborne's story to a close.
Season 5 of one of the best Hulu shows ended with several dramatic moments, including June's dramatic escape from Canada. We expect this is where we'll pick up with her in the show's farewell episodes, as well as seeing the latest with all the other returning characters. Serena Waterford (Yvonne Strahovski), Ann Dowd's Aunt Lydia, Max Minghella's Nick, Samara Wiley's Moira, Amanda Brugel's Rita, and O-T Fagbenle's Luke will all be back for one last hurrah.
For more on the cast and release date, as well as everything else you need to know about the potential plot and trailer, read on for our complete guide to The Handmaid's Tale season 6 below.
The Handmaid’s Tale season 6 release date
Hulu has confirmed that the final season of The Handmaid's Tale premieres on April 8, 2025. It will have a three episode premiere before airing weekly until May 27.
Some of the cast recently shared that they had wrapped on filming, including Yvonne Strahovski who plays Serena Joy. Posting on Instagram in February 2025, she wrote, "And that, Ladies and Gents is a series wrap for Serena Joy. I have so many things to say & so many people to thank. I have many more photos to post. But for now, goodbye Serena Joy."
There have been many delays getting to this point too. Filming was due to begin on the show in August 2023 (per Bradley Whitford, who plays Commander Lawrence), but the SAG-AFTRA strike put a hold on this. It's very likely writing was delayed heavily too due to the WGA strike last year.
The Handmaid's Tale season 6 trailer
A very short teaser was released as part of the Disney Plus and Hulu 2025 trailer. This began with Serena saying, "Something big is about to happen" before it cut to June adding, "Let’s bring them home." Ominous!
A second, longer teaser was released alongside the confirmed release date. You can watch this above as it takes a deep dive back into the origins of the handmaid uniforms, teasing that it allows them to become "an army". Elsewhere the trailer shows handmaids teaming up, sharing knives and preparing to fight. It seems the revolution is imminent in Gilead.
The Handmaid’s Tale season 6 plot
No official plot points for The Handmaid's Tale season 6 have been divulged yet, but the cliffhanger at the end of season 5 left some pretty big questions to answer. Just a quick recap – season 5 saw Canada growing increasingly similar to Gilead with the authorities tightening control on its citizens.
In the finale, June and Luke decided they needed to escape the country as soon as possible. However, things took a downward turn when Luke attacked a truck driver who tried to hurt June. The driver's injuries were fatal and the Canadian authorities arrested Luke, leaving June to escape on her own with her daughter Nichole.
On her train out of the country, she found out that Serena and her baby were traveling with them. Given the pair have been at loggerheads all season, this could prove interesting when the show returns. Elsewhere, Luke and June’s daughter Hannah is still trapped in Gilead, Nick has escaped to Canada, and Commander Lawrence is busy creating Gilead 2.0, New Bethlehem.
Executive producer Bruce Miller said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that he doesn’t expect there to be a big time jump when the show returns. "We don’t tend to jump very much in time," he said. "And it’s simply because my brain doesn’t work that way. I’m like, 'What happens next?'."
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, he also teased that Nick and June have some unfinished business in the final season. "I feel like this is the most romantic Nick/June season ever because they spend the whole time trying to convince themselves that they don't need to be together," he told Entertainment Weekly. "And by the end, they are not successful at all, they fail entirely. They don't even see each other in the last episode, and they're so in love they can't think about anything else."
However, the latest update ahead of production is that Miller will not be the showrunner on season 6. He's writing the first two episodes but will then pivot to The Testaments as Eric Tuchman and Yahlin Chang take on showrunner duties (H/T Variety).
The Handmaid’s Tale season 6 cast
All of the major cast of The Handmaid’s Tale is expected to return for the final season. This means Elisabeth Moss will be back as June Osborne, alongside O-T Fagbenle as her husband Luke. Max Minghella will likely be back as Nick too, who is June’s former boyfriend and confidante. Ann Dowd will also return as the conflicted Aunt Lydia in the new season too.
Yvonne Strahovski will be reprising her role as Serena Joy Waterford, who’s become one of the lead characters in the series over the past few seasons. Other returning stars include Samira Wiley as Moira, Bradley Whitford as Commander Lawrence, Amanda Brugel as Rita, and Madeline Brewer as Janine.
Sadly some of the series' original cast are not expected to be back after their absence in season 5. This includes Joseph Fiennes as Commander Waterford after his brutal murder in the season 4 finale. Alexis Bledel has also been written out of the series after announcing her exit as Emily ahead of the fifth season.
Veep actor Timothy Simons has also been cast in the final season in a guest role. First reported by Variety, details of his role are being kept under wraps at the moment.
As the new season continues production, we expect more casting announcements to be made. Especially as we know the show is heading towards setting up The Testaments so there will likely be some new introductions on the way.
Is The Handmaid’s Tale season 6 the final season?
Yes, The Handmaid’s Tale season 6 is the final season of the Hulu dystopian series. In a statement about it, Miller said that he was thrilled to be given the chance to end the show in a sixth season.
"It has been a true honor to tell the story of Margaret Atwood’s groundbreaking novel and the chillingly relevant world, and we are thrilled to bring viewers a sixth and final season of The Handmaid’s Tale," he said. "We are grateful to Hulu and MGM for allowing us to tell this story, which unfortunately has remained as relevant as ever throughout its run, and are in awe of our incredible fans for their unwavering support, and without whom we never would have gotten to this point."
However, while this is the end of the original show, a spin-off series is on the horizon. Atwood’s sequel novel The Testaments has already been snapped up by Hulu. Some aspects of the storyline will be included in the final season, while others will be incorporated into the spin-off. Details are still relatively light on this, but it’s expected to begin production after the final season airs.
This also means we might not get a complete ending to Gilead’s story, according to Moss. "I don’t think we feel an obligation to tie up the entire story of Gilead, especially not because we’ve got the sequel coming up in The Testaments," she told Elle in the same interview as above. "So we do have the opportunity to continue the story."
Check out our round-up of the best Hulu shows for what to stream next.
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