The Handmaid's Tale season 6: Everything we know about the final season

Over the course of five seasons, we’ve watched June’s journey to escape Gilead in The Handmaid’s Tale. The series has certainly grown from what it originally started, which was about surviving this horrific world. It’s become one about the different individual journeys for handmaids, Marthas, and wives.

The Handmaid’s Tale season 6 is officially the end. While the Hulu series is popular, it certainly needed to wrap things up. This is one that couldn’t just get an abrupt ending, and it needed time to plan the closure. That’s what it has.

Filming is only just starting up, and here’s what we know about this final season.

Bruce Miller has stepped down as showrunner of The Handmaid’s Tale

Bruce Miller has been with this show since Day 1. It seems shocking to many that he would step down as the showrunner for the final season, but there is a big reason for that. He is currently working on the sequel series, The Testaments, which is based on Margaret Atwood’s second novel in the franchise.

He did share his ideas for the ending, and Hulu has allowed the series to end on the show’s creative terms. So, Miller knows how things are going to play out, although there may be some minor tweaks. He was still there as EP and writer, though.

Eric Tuchman and Yahlin Chang have stepped up as showrunners.

Elisabeth Moss has stepped up behind the scenes, though. She is going to direct four episodes of the final season, as we previously reported.

Don’t expect Gilead to be destroyed in the final season

If you’re expecting a happy ending, you’ll be disappointed. At least, that’s if you’re hoping that the ending is going to be the end of Gilead.

If you’ve read the first book, you know that Gilead does eventually come to an end. We don’t know exactly how that happened, though. The Testaments gave us a small insight as to how it could happen, but not the full story.

Moss makes it clear that Gilead isn’t going to end by the end of The Handmaid’s Tale season 6. There wouldn’t be the need for The Testaments would there? However, there is going to be a journey for the characters as they realize what they want to stand for.

The season is going to pick up off the back of the season 5 finale, which saw Serena Joy and June on the train from Toronto to Vancouver. With the anti-refugee movement growing in Toronto, June needed to get out. Luke was going to go with her, but he was stopped at the train station as he’s wanted for murder due to the death of the man who ran June over in a previous episode. June made her way through the train alone and came across Serena Joy, who had made it out of her situation with her baby.

Meanwhile in Gilead, Nick was arrested. He had been working with the Americans to help bring down Gilead, but it looks like he got caught. Commander Lawrence had managed to gain the council back under his control with the death of Commander Putnam. This allowed Lawrence to get New Bethlehem set up so that he could entice some of the handmaid’s back to Gilead. It didn’t look good that so many people wanted to escape.

Who will return for The Handmaid’s Tale season 6?

Elisabeth Moss and Yvonne Strahovski are definitely returning for the final season. Their storylines are too big for them not to come back.

We’re also expecting to see the following return:

Madeline Brewer
Ann Dowd
O-T Fagbenle
Max Minghella
Samira Wiley
Amanda Brugel

Alexis Bledel is not expected to return after her exit ahead of season 5. That exit was explained by Emily realizing that she needed to go back into Gilead to help dismantle it from the inside and get more people out.

We will see the following return in recurring roles:

Bradley Whitford
Sam Jaeger
Ever Carradine

Josh Charles has been cast as a series regular for the final season. We have no idea who he will play.

When can we expect The Handmaid’s Tale season 6 to premiere?

The series was renewed for the sixth and final season in 2022. That should have meant a release by now. However, the strike action in the summer halted writing efforts and meant that production couldn’t start.

Production has started in Toronto and surrounding areas now. Disney Television Group president Craig Erwich told Deadline that while the initial plan was for a 2024 release, the show will now come out in 2025. We’re likely looking at the summer or fall of 2025.

Update (Sept. 10, 2024): The Handmaid's Tale season 6 has started production. The confirmed release window is spring 2025.