Coming on the heels of The Handmaid's Tale conclusion, a new Hollywood Reporter article talks about what to expect...and not expect (spoiler: No Serena, thank the fucking gods).
Obviously not too much is revealed but the article does talk about what role June and, by extension, Elisabeth Moss will have in the show:
There is also more information about the other characters in the series:
Overall, the article heightens my interest in the show but it is worth noting that thanks to the first show, it's already deviating from the novel it is adapting. As long as that's kept in mind, it should be a fascinating show.
Obviously not too much is revealed but the article does talk about what role June and, by extension, Elisabeth Moss will have in the show:
“She threw herself back and she couldn’t walk away from her daughter, so June is still doing her job. She’s still doing what she was doing in The Handmaid’s Tale [along with] Luke [O-T Fagbenle] and Moira [Samira Wiley] — they’re still out there somewhere ringing the bell to get Hannah back,” the creator [Bruce Miller] of both series tells THR. “The beauty of having watched Handmaid’s Tale is that you understand there’s this huge operation of people who care who are out there and who are risking themselves to get to reunite with their children. So, is June influencing The Testaments? Absolutely. She’s out there. She’s out there trying to get Hannah back. Do we see her? I would love to see her. But let’s expand into how the people who survive are rebelling in all these different areas. It looks like Gilead is just rife with people who really hate it. So let’s see more of them.”
One surprising detail does come from the article: The Testaments will be set only four years after the conclusion of The Handmaid's Tale. Even accounting for a season a year (which I'm not sure is actually true here...), that's still six years shorter than gap between the two novels themselves.There is also more information about the other characters in the series:
Aside from Infiniti’s Agnes, Hulu has released character descriptions for the rest of the Gilead girls and women who will fill out this world. There’s key character Daisy (Lucy Halliday), a young Canadian teen whose life is turned upside down when she learns of her connection to the Republic of Gilead; along with Shunammite (Rowan Blanchard), a pampered teen from a prominent Gilead family; Becka (Mattea Conforti), a girl from humble origins who attends school with Gilead’s elite and questions what she’s being groomed for; Hulda (Isolde Ardies), a guileless girl, full of excitement at the prospect of womanhood; Jehosheba (Shechinah Mpumlwana), a competitive classmate from a respected family; and Miriam (Birva Pandya), a girl on the cusp of womanhood who struggles under the pressure of marriage season.
Then there’s Paula (Amy Seimetz), wife to a high-ranking Commander whose perfect life is complicated by her new step-daughter, and Rosa (Kira Guloien), a caring and dedicated Martha described as a maternal figure to Agnes and a much-needed source of love in an otherwise cold household. Aunt Vidala (Mabel Li) is a stern disciplinarian described as the heir-apparent to the women’s sphere of Gilead, along with her right-hand Aunt Gabbana (Zarrin Darnell-Martin) and “cool Aunt” Aunt Estee (Eva Foote).
While I've always intended to watch the show (and not just because of Ann Dowd), I'm thrilled to see Rowan Blanchard is part of the cast. I loved her work on Snowpiercer and what little of Girl Meets World I watched.Overall, the article heightens my interest in the show but it is worth noting that thanks to the first show, it's already deviating from the novel it is adapting. As long as that's kept in mind, it should be a fascinating show.
