The Handmaid’s Tale drops the first three episodes of season four early
Fans of The Handmaid’s Tale will be getting their next dose of the dystopian drama a little bit early.
The Elizabeth Moss-fronted Hulu series released the first three episodes of season four on Tuesday at 6pm PT, six-hours ahead of schedule.
Castmates Moss, Joseph Fiennes, Alexis Bledel, Anne Dowd, Bradley Whitford and more banded together to announce the news on Tuesday afternoon with a quick video montage.
Early: Fans of The Handmaid’s Tale have access to the first three episodes of the season four ahead of its Wednesday release
The first two episodes, Pigs and Nightshade, were directed by Emmy-winner Colin Watkinson while Moss juggled acting and directing duty in the third episode, The Crossing. (She also directed two episodes later in the season.)
Subsequent installments of the 10-part season will air weekly on Fridays.
Fans have been patiently awaiting the return of the series, which is inspired by the Margaret Atwood novel of the same name.
The season three finale aired all the way back in August of 2019.
Season four began production in March 2020 but had to shut down just weeks later due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Shooting resumed in September 2020 with strict health protocol in place.
Patience: The season three finale came out in August 2019, leaving audiences eager for the next season
The Handmaid’s Tale takes place in a world following American’s second Civil War, where much of the US is now part of the authoritarian society of Gilead.
As the world faces dangerously low birth rates, childbearing women are enslaved as ‘Handmaids,’ tasked to bare the children of society’s elite.
Throughout the seasons, Moss’ character June Osbourne has shown a penchant for rebelliousness, a quality which has put her life in danger time and time again.
The Mad Men star joked about June’s resilience during an interview with TVLine in July 2020, telling fans why she’s here to stay.
‘It’s funny, because sometimes people will say to me, like, “How is she still alive?” She’s committed the worst atrocities out of any of the handmaids, and yet somehow, she’s survived,’
‘And my answer is usually, “Yeah, because … I’m the lead of the show. They’re not going to not have me in the show. So that’s why I keep surviving.”‘
Dystopia: The Handmaid’s Tale takes place in a world following American’s second Civil War, where much of the US is now part of the authoritarian society of Gilead