Back in 1985, The Handmaid’s Tale was an odd book from award-winning novelist Margaret Atwood. The dystopian science fiction novel about the Republic of Gilead, a theocracy resulting from the overthrow of the United States by a right-wing coup, has managed to endure for nearly three decades. And thirty years later, it’s coming to Hulu as a miniseries with Elisabeth Moss.
There was an 1990 adaptation of the book previously with playwright Harold Pinter writing the script and German New Wave cinema figure Volker Schlöndorff, and it’s even been the basis of an opera. The series, by all accounts, will stick closer to the book, with Moss playing Offred, a woman kept as a concubine for a high-ranking Gilead official. The book is a cautionary tale about religious extremism, on one level, but it’s also an examination of how women gain agency in a culture designed to restrict them. This being the Internet, such a series will surely be greeted with little controversy or complaint. It will also mark Atwood’s first real foray into “prestige” television, as we’ve heard little of the proposed HBO series based on her MaddAddam trilogy.
Moss has a lot to juggle in 2017: The unexpected second season of Jane Campion’s drama Top of the Lake will debut next year, and this miniseries is planned for 2017, as well. So if you’re a Peggy fan, it’ll be a good year for you.
(via The Hollywood Reporter)
