OK, so Orange is the New Black‘s Poussey may be out of our lives for good, but the amazingly talented Samira Wiley isn’t going anywhere. In fact, she just got cast in a new series titled The Handmaid‘s Tale. Here’s what we know about the show so far.
It’s based on a book
The new show is based on the 1985 Margaret Atwood novel by the same name. The story is set in the near future and follows the lives of people living in the dystopian Republic of Gilead — which used to be the United States. Society has been in sharp decline, and officials have reverted back to a strict rule of repressive intolerance similar to the original U.S. Puritans.
Sounds an awful lot like The Hunger Games meets The Scarlet Letter.
Atwood will serve as a consulting producer for the TV series.
Elisabeth Moss stars
Mad Men‘s Moss will play the lead role of Offred, one of the few remaining fertile women in Gilead who works as a maid in the Commander’s household, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Did we mention that Gilead is a male-run regime and women have been forced into sexual servitude in an effort to repopulate the planet? Yikes.
On a mission
Offred’s plight involves surviving the horrible life she has been forced into so she can escape and find the daughter that was taken from her.
Wiley’s role
Wiley is set to play Offred’s best friend and fellow handmaid trainee according to The Hollywood Reporter.
It’s a Hulu original
“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 Hulu head of content Craig Erwich via THR.
“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.”
The Handmaid’s Tale will be Hulu’s fourth scripted drama series.
It has a CW connection
Bruce Miller — an executive producer and writer for the hit CW show, The 100 — is an executive producer and wrote the script for The Handmaid’s Tale.
It was a movie already
Atwood’s novel was previously adapted into a 1990 film by the same name starring Faye Dunaway as Serena Joy (the commander’s wife) and Natasha Richardson as Offred.
Not all the men are bad guys
The patriarchy in Gilead may be forcing women into sexual servitude, but that doesn’t mean all the men in the society are bad… or are they?
Max Minghella of The Social Network and The Mindy Project is set to play Nick, a driver for the Commander, who develops a relationship with Offred, according to Vulture. However, despite their relationship, Offred remains unsure whether or not she can trust Nick or if he’s actually a secret spy.
Patti from ‘The Leftovers’ is on board
Ann Dowd will play Aunt Lydia, head of the Red Center, where she trains handmaids and basically brainwashes them to prepare them for a life of servitude.
You’ll have to wait
All 10 episodes of this badass new show aren’t scheduled to come to Hulu until 2017.
Sorry!
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