‘Handmaid’s Tale’ Sequel ‘The Testaments’ Adds 3 To Cast

The Handmaid’s Tale’s sixth and final season may be just around the corner, but Hulu’s anticipated sequel series, The Testaments, is beginning to take shape.

In development since 2022, and based on Margaret Atwood’s 2019 novel of the same name, The Testaments casting is starting to be announced, with Rowen Blanchard, Mattea Conforti, and Amy Seimetz set to join Ann Dowd, Chase Infiniti, and Lucy Halliday as series regulars.

Blanchard, known for her roles on shows like Poker Face and Snowpiercer, joins the cast as Shunammite, “a pampered teen from a prominent Gilead family whose status affords her a certain level of respect and power amongst her peers,” according to Deadline.

Conforti, whose credits include The Many Saints of Newark and Frozen II, will star as Becka, per Variety. Her character is described as “a girl from humble origins, who attends school with Gilead’s elite. As she comes of age, she starts to question whether she wants the life she’s being groomed for.”

Seimetz, meanwhile, has been cast in the series regular role as Paula, Agnes’ stepmother who in the books is resentful of Agnes, June Osborne (Elizabeth Moss) and Luke Bankole’s (O-T Fagbenle) daughter who was known as Hannah before being captured by Gilead, IndieWire reported.

Created by Bruce Miller, The Testaments is set 15 years after the events of The Handmaid’s Tale and centers around a new generation of women in Gilead. Dowd is set to reprise her role as Aunt Lydia, with Infiniti set to portray Agnes while Halliday stars as Daisy, a Canadian teenager whose life is turned upside down when she learns of her connection to the Republic of Gilead.

An official synopsis for the upcoming series reads, “For these young women, growing up in Gilead is all they have ever known, having no tangible memories of the outside world prior to their indoctrination into this life. Facing the prospect of being married off and living a life of servitude, they will be forced to search for allies, both new and old, to help in their fight for freedom and the life they deserve.”

The Testaments doesn’t yet have a premiere date, but filming on the series was set to kick off in Toronto last month, per reports. The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6 premieres on April 8 on Hulu.