The Handmaid's Tale, all about season 4 without spoilers

Season three left fans on the edge of their seats with a huge cliff-hanger - did the children successfully arrive in Canada? Was June going to recover from her gun shot wound?

So much more of the story was to come as June returned to the dystopian Gilead in order to find her eldest daughter, Hannah, and set a few more things straight.

The official season 4 synopsis reads, "Her quest for justice and revenge threatens to consume her and destroy her most cherished relationships.” Over time, it seems that June had become more and more obsesses with bringing justice in Gilead.

There's also a hint of revenge. June says in the trailer, "I made a promise to hurt them, the way we've been hurt.”

The Handmaid’s Tale returned with its fourth season to American streaming service Hulu in April 2021. Production had been delayed due to the pandemic.

Having started in Toronto in March 2020, the set had to shut down for six months. They picked filming back up again with strict Covid-19 testing to avoid another shut down. Producer Warren Littlefield said they had “over 27,000 COVID tests and 11 positives.”

Whether due to the pandemic or not, it seems producers have opted for a shorter season. The fourth season, like the first, contains only 10 episodes - as opposed to the longer second and third seasons.

June will manage to reunite with her eldest daughter, Hannah, whom she has spent the previous seasons trying to locate and save from the family holding her.

June also appears at a trial where she is demanding justice. According to executive producer Warren Littlefield, "We go to places we've never been before… We’ve heard about uprisings in Chicago, we've heard that the rebel forces are becoming a problem for Gilead. Well, now we go."

(In the image: Ann Dowd as Aunt Lydia)

Mr Littlefield also commented on the study of human emotion and the ‘will to survive’ as a huge motivation for the plot: “There’s a lot of research that goes into what does that journey look like?What are the human emotions? What are the experiences when you go through radical change?”

"The themes are mirroring very much the world that we're living in," Littlefield said. "We're still reminded that the journey for human rights, for women's rights, rights for people of colour, that journey is such a long distance to travel still, it's far from over.”

June’s rebellion has come at a cost. Many of her friends have died. Bruce Miller, the Showrunner, said that, although she wants to be a rebel and a hero, “she is dealing with real human beings, making real decisions, and you have to drive that home for her.” Adding that this season will see June making more active decisions at more costly expenses.

Elisabeth Moss plays June Osborne in the hit show. From Swedish decent, Elisabeth has been on the screen since the early 90s and, as well as two Emmys, she also has two Golden Globes and a nomination for a Tony Award for her appearance on Broadway.

Elizabeth directed three episodes of the new season. This is a huge step for Ms Moss, who was initially only set to direct episode 3 of Thea season but everyone really liked her work so she ended up directing both episodes 8 and 9 as well.

Moss stated it was extremely challenging to direct because she was nervous she didn’t know how to speak to the actors in a helpful way. “I turned out to be one of those people that cried at the monitor a lot. I turned out to be one of those directors because I was so moved by how good they are as actors.”

McKenna Grace joins the cast as 14 year old wife, Mrs Keyes. She is definitely one to look out for in this season. McKenna Grace has starred in a number of films, most notably, ‘Gifted’, and already received critical acclaim for her acting skills at such a young age. Bruce Miller said: “She brought so much to the role. And, in all honesty, she’s so good at being scary… she was comfortable being so awful.”

“Something great about Mrs. Keys, that was really fun to play, was her split personality,” Grace says of her 14-year old smoking character, “Although she is the wife and the mistress of this household, she has been having to grow up and mature so quickly in this whole Gilead place,” she adds. “So, she’s still childish, but already her maturity is above the regular 14-year-old.”

The events of the season lead audiences to question whether she really is on June’s side or if the pressure has finally overwhelmed her and turns her against the movement. Either way, Keys disappears.... for now. “In true Handmaid’s Tale fashion, everything is dark and dramatic,” Grace says.

Fans will be delighted to know that this is not the end! In December 2020, Hulu announced it was renewing The Handmaid’s Tale for season 5. Bruce Miller actually suggested that the show could have an even longer lifespan. With no set date for release and pandemic-controlled production, audiences will just have to watch this space.

'The Handmaid's Tale' and other book adaptations in series and films