Hulu has announced a straight-to-series order for The Handmaid's Tale, an ongoing drama series from MGM Television based on the award-winning, best-selling novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood. Emmy nominee Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men, Top of the Lake) will topline the drama, which will debut in 2017.
The Handmaid's Tale is set in the dystopia of Gilead, a totalitarian society in what was formerly part of the United States. Facing environmental disasters and a plunging birthrate, Gilead is ruled by a twisted religious fundamentalism that treats women as property of the state. As one of the few fertile women left, Offred (Moss) is a Handmaid in the Commander's household, one of the caste of women forced into sexual servitude as a last desperate attempt to repopulate a devastated world. In this terrifying society where one wrong word could end her life, Offred navigates between Commanders, their cruel Wives, domestic Marthas, and her fellow Handmaids - where anyone could be a spy for Gilad - all with one goal: to survive and find the daughter that was taken from her.
The series is being developed and written by Bruce Miller (The 100). He will serve as executive producer with Daniel Wilson, Fran Sears and Warren Littlefield. Atwood will series as a consulting producer for the series.
"Hulu has established itself as a home for blockbuster television events and what better way to expand our originals offering than with a series based on this acclaimed, best-selling novel," said Craig Erwich, SVP, Head of Content, Hulu. "Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale was seen as ahead of its time and we look forward to bringing it to life on our platform."
"I am thrilled that MGM and Hulu are developing The Handmaid's Tale as a series, and extra thrilled that the very talented Elisabeth Moss will be playing the central character. The Handmaid's Tale is more relevant now than when it was written, and I am sure the series will be watched with great interest. I have read the first two scripts and they are excellent; I can hardly wait to see the finished episodes," said Atwood.
"The Handmaid's Tale is a project that we have been committed to bringing to life as its story remains as powerful today as it did when Margaret first published her novel," added Mark Burnett, President, Television and Digital Group, MGM and Steve Stark, President, Television Development and Production, MGM. "Handmaid's Tale has won multiple awards inspiring a film, a graphic novel, an opera, a ballet and finally, for the first time, a compellingly immersive drama series that has found the perfect home at Hulu and its star in Elisabeth Moss."
