As the April 26 premiere date for Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale draws closer, the press, fans, and cast and crew members can’t help contextualizing it within the presidency of Donald Trump. Perhaps this is why the streaming service’s decision to feature the new original series in its first-ever Super Bowl commercial is so apt. After all, the New England Patriots have a lot in common with the New York real estate mogul — not to mention popular culture’s newfound fascination with dystopian stories like 1984 or the Margaret Atwood novel on which the new show is based.
Most of the new 30-second spot isn’t all that different from the first teaser Hulu released in January. Offred’s (Elisabeth Moss) narration remains the same as she briefly explains who she is, what has happened to the world she once knew, and her resolve “to survive.” However, additional shots of the program’s horrific (but narratively necessary) violence towards women, the dystopian setting of Gilead, and The Commander’s (Joseph Fienes) assertion that the leaders “only wanted to make the world better.”
Hulu never intended its adaptation of The Handmaid’s Tale to be relevant to modern politics, of course. The series was in production for quite some time before the 2016 election, and Moss’ casting was officially announced in April. Then again, 1984 wasn’t supposed to become popular again in 2017.
(Via Ad Week)
