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The Handmaid's Tale

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 101 Critic Reviews

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82

USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 132 Ratings

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7.1

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7.1	Your Score
7.1	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 132 Ratings

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The Handmaid's Tale

Now Playing: The Handmaid's Tale

The Handmaid's Tale

Series Details & Credits

HULU | Release Date: April 26, 2017

Summary: Based on Margaret Atwood’s best-selling novel, in the totalitarian society of Gilead, a handmaiden enslaved to produce a child for Commander Waterford (Joseph Fiennes) and his wife Serena Joy (Yvonne Strahovski) named Offred (Elisabeth Moss) seeks the daughter taken from her.

Genre(s): Drama, Science Fiction

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Recent Episodes

tbd
S4:E10. The Wilderness
Air Date: June 16, 2021
tbd
S4:E9. Progress
Air Date: June 9, 2021
tbd
S4:E8. Testimony
Air Date: June 2, 2021

See all Seasons and Episodes

Metascore

82

Positive:

87

Mixed:

13

Negative:

1

Critic Reviews

100

Time

Daniel D'Addario

Apr 13, 2017

Season 1 Review: As a show, The Handmaid's Tale is as crisply and elegantly made as anything I've seen on TV this year. It manages to bring a dystopian story to life in a way that works as episodic TV, sapping none of the book's power. This is a show that could work anytime and one that will likely be watched and discussed for years to come. Read full review

100

The Salt Lake Tribune

Scott D. Pierce

Apr 24, 2017

Season 1 Review: At least in the first three episodes, which were screened for critics, everything comes together for A Handmaid's Tale--Miller's script, direction by Reed Morano (who's best known as a cinematographer) and the performances. Moss' performance is arresting. Read full review

100

Uncle Barky Ed Bark

Apr 25, 2018

Season 2 Review: Handmaid’s Tale had a tough act to follow, but its second coming soars on multiple levels. It’s intense, heartbreaking, full of resolve and perfectly paced. Read full review

83

Uncle Barky Ed Bark

Apr 25, 2017

Season 1 Review: It can be heavy-handed at times while also being overly tethered to somber narration from the renamed Offred (series star Elisabeth Moss), who used to be June. Read full review

80

The New York Times

James Poniewozik

Apr 23, 2018

Season 2 Review: It’s become a confident, emotionally rich series--but one that, by nature and obligation, is wrenching to watch. ... Often, though, The Handmaid’s Tale feels so determined not to be misread, to treat its subject with gravity, that its storytelling is heavy-handed and its peripheral characters stiff. Fortunately, the central performance is anything but. ... Without someone as expressive as Ms. Moss, The Handmaid’s Tale might not pull off its balancing acts. Read full review

75

IndieWire Ben Travers

May 29, 2019

Season 3 Review: Moss’ stalwart turn is more than enough to keep viewers’ rooted in June’s struggle. The set design, costumes, lighting, and more formal elements also burst with life, guiding the eye wherever it needs to be and providing a more active experience than the scripts would by themselves. Even with all these valuable attributes, “The Handmaid’s Tale” bites off more than it wants to chew. Read full review

30

USA Today

Kelly Lawler

Apr 28, 2021

Season 4 Review: Season 4 teases something bigger, a pivot to the future, and then takes two steps back once again. By the end of the eight episodes made available for preview, there are hints of something different and promising. But to get there, viewers are subjected to the worst of the series' impulses, as if the first seven episodes were a thumb-twiddling waste of time. And in many ways, they are. Read full review

SEE ALL 101 REVIEWS

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7.1

User Reviews

10

MaxVonMaximus

Jul 30, 2019

Riveting and nail-bitingly addictive! Hopefully this doesn’t happen in real life in the future.

2 of 6 users found this helpful24

10

globalnomad

May 17, 2022

Elizabeth Moss and the dystopian view of the American evangelist world that many of them would love to see come to fruition just keeps on giving. Yes, the second and third episodes continue to inhabit that world, and it's like an opioid.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

9

DSRankin

Aug 30, 2021

Great story and cast. So well written and the actors are for the most part amazing. Very dark but kept me waning more. Can’t wait to see where it goes!

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

5

Voodoo123

Jun 14, 2019

While the show itself seems well produced and clearly has a decent cast - the material on which it is based is just not to my taste... I guess for me a 'post apolcaypctic' world has to follow a certain logic for me to buy into it. The world building logic leaps here are plentiful andWhile the show itself seems well produced and clearly has a decent cast - the material on which it is based is just not to my taste... I guess for me a 'post apolcaypctic' world has to follow a certain logic for me to buy into it. The world building logic leaps here are plentiful and noticeably **** in their execution. If you aren't fussed about the logic of the world and just want to immerse yourself in a fantasy (albeit nightmarish!) this may well be perfect for you.… Expand

1 of 4 users found this helpful13

3

steveyme

Oct 15, 2019

Season 1 amazing. Season 2 crashed and burned hard, far too little plot progression. Didn't bother with Season 3.

1 of 4 users found this helpful13

1

alex_mercer

Jun 24, 2019

You know how The Walking Dead most episodes end in a serious cliffhanger while the rest of the episode was completely boring and inconsequential? Well, The Handmaids Tale is like that, only instead of a cliffhanger, is the protagonist rabid face staring directly to the camera right afterYou know how The Walking Dead most episodes end in a serious cliffhanger while the rest of the episode was completely boring and inconsequential? Well, The Handmaids Tale is like that, only instead of a cliffhanger, is the protagonist rabid face staring directly to the camera right after something unfortunate happened to her. Every single episode of this show is an utterly waste of time, the promise of what this show could have been after a very intriguing first season, was smashed to pieces across its second season and its stupid nonsensical way of moving storylines forward, and the third season is just the most pretentious and frustrating series I have watched on TV. The show's abuse of slow-mo's, wanna-be-artistic shots and close-ups to the protagonist, in the middle of totally irrelevant scenes is unbearable, NOTHING EVER HAPPENS, not even when there are a ton of motives, the only thing you are gonna get over and over, is Elizabeth Moss's angry face.… Expand

4 of 5 users found this helpful41

0

samy1117

Aug 1, 2020

This show must have ended with season 1. The character June has become monotonous and it has reached the point where viewers want her die. Too much feminism in the show. June's repeated facial expressions and her attitude are irritating. She is self centered.. Worst ever show I haveThis show must have ended with season 1. The character June has become monotonous and it has reached the point where viewers want her die. Too much feminism in the show. June's repeated facial expressions and her attitude are irritating. She is self centered.. Worst ever show I have watched in my life. She gets on nerves. She is thankless selfish feminist racist women who uses others sacrifice for her benifit.… Expand

2 of 4 users found this helpful22

SEE ALL 18 REVIEWS

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Seasons & Episodes

82

Series Overview
Season 4

62
- Season 4 Overview
  Air Date: April 28, 2021
- tbd
  S4:E10. The Wilderness
  Air Date: June 16, 2021
- tbd
  S4:E9. Progress
  Air Date: June 9, 2021
- tbd
  S4:E8. Testimony
  Air Date: June 2, 2021
- tbd
  S4:E7. Home
  Air Date: May 26, 2021
- tbd
  S4:E6. Vows
  Air Date: May 19, 2021
- tbd
  S4:E5. Chicago
  Air Date: May 12, 2021
- tbd
  S4:E4. Milk
  Air Date: May 5, 2021
- 7.8
  S4:E3. The Crossing
  Air Date: April 28, 2021
- tbd
  S4:E2. Nightshade
  Air Date: April 28, 2021
- tbd
  S4:E1. Pigs
  Air Date: April 28, 2021
Season 3

68
- Season 3 Overview
  Air Date: June 5, 2019
Season 2

86
- Season 2 Overview
  Air Date: April 25, 2018
Season 1

92
- Season 1 Overview
  Air Date: April 30, 2017