A follow-up to the award-winning The Handmaid’s Tale is in the works. MGM Television and Hulu are developing The Testaments, Margaret Atwood’s sequel to her best-selling dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale.

MGM and Hulu are currently in talks with Handmaid’s showrunner Bruce Miller about how the upcoming novel can become an extension to the series, which was recently picked up for a fourth season by Hulu. The Testaments picks up more than fifteen years after Offred’s final scene in The Handmaid’s Tale novel, and is narrated by three female characters. It will be published on September 10.

Doubleday and Anchor Books acquired U.S. rights to the book last year. The acquisition announcement noted at the time that Handmaid’s has become “a symbol of the movement against” Donald Trump, “standing for female empowerment and resistance in the face of misogyny and the rolling back of women’s rights around the world.”

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“Margaret Atwood is a literary icon who continues to delight and challenge readers through her provocative and compelling prose,” said Steve Stark, President of Television Production at MGM. “She has been an incredible creative partner and resource to MGM throughout the production of Handmaid’s and we look forward to working with her on the story’s exciting next chapter.”

“Margaret Atwood is one of the visionary storytellers of her generation. From her award-winning poetry, short-stories and novels, Margaret has continually pushed boundaries and broken barriers to bring innovative stories to life,” said Craig Erwich, Senior Vice President of Originals, Hulu.

This marks the third collaboration between Atwood and MGM Television. In addition to The Handmaid’s Tale, the studio acquired the rights to Atwood’s 2015 novel The Heart Goes Last, which tells the story of a young couple who have been hit by job loss and bankruptcy in the midst of a nationwide economic collapse.

Led by showrunner Miller, The Handmaid’s Tale was an instant hit when it premiered in April 2017, becoming the first streaming show to win a best series Primetime Emmy Award. It has since gone on to win multiple Emmy and Golden Globe awards, a Peabody Award, an AFI award and has been honored by multiple Guilds including the Producers Guild.



The Testaments will be published simultaneously by Penguin Random House across the English-speaking world: by Chatto & Windus/VINTAGE in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and India; McClelland & Stewart in Canada; and Nan A. Talese/Doubleday in the US.