The Handmaid's Tale season 6: Release date, plot, trailer and latest news

The new instalment picks up after the ending of season 5, which saw June reunite with Serena and escape out west, Nick being detained, Luke being captured by authorities and Janine being taken away from Lawrence's household.

Elisabeth Moss returns as June, while Yvonne Strahovski is back as Serena, and they're joined by a bunch of other returning cast members including Madeline Brewer as Janine Lindo, Ann Dowd as Aunt Lydia, O-T Fagbenle as Luke Bankole and Max Minghella as Commander Nick Blaine.

Teasers for the sixth season were unveiled ahead of its premiere, with the footage teasing the imminent revolution. "For years, we've been afraid of them. Now it's time for them to be afraid of us", June says in the latest trailer released in March.

“The key takeaway really is hope,” Yvonne Strahovski recently told Yahoo Entertainment of the sixth and final season. “We've always carried that, you know. June is our symbol of hope. She's always carried that.”

With that in mind, read on for everything you need to know about season 6.

The Handmaid's Tale season 6 release date

The first three episodes arrived in the US on Hulu on Tuesday 8th April.

Episodes will then air weekly until the finale on Tuesday 27th May.

It's now also been confirmed that the final season of The Handmaid's Tale will be airing on Channel 4 in the UK on 3rd May.

In the meantime, fans in the UK can watch seasons 1-5 on Channel 4 and Prime Video.

Some of the cast shared that filming on season 6 had wrapped back in February 2025, with Yvonne Strahovski, who plays Serena Joy, writing on Instagram: "And that, Ladies and Gents is a series wrap for Serena Joy. I have so many things to say & so many people to thank. I have many more photos to post. But for now, goodbye Serena Joy."

Who stars in The Handmaid's Tale season 6?

The main cast for season 6 is as follows:

• Elisabeth Moss as June Osborne
• Yvonne Strahovski as Serena Joy Waterford
• Bradley Whitford as Commander Lawrence
• Max Minghella as Nick
• Ann Dowd as Aunt Lydia
• O-T Fagbenle as Luke
• Samira Wiley as Moira
• Madeline Brewer as Janine
• Amanda Brugel as Rita
• Sam Jaeger as Mark Tuello
• Ever Carradine as Naomi Lawrence (née Putnam)
• Josh Charles as TBC
• D'Arcy Carden as TBC

The Handmaid's Tale season 6 plot: What will happen?

Showrunner Yahlin Chang recently teased a "full-scale rebellion" in season 6.

"This is the season where our characters and the people of Gilead – and specifically the women of Gilead – have had enough," she said (via TV Insider).

"They stand up and declare, 'No more.' They've been through trauma. They've been through hell. But they really find the strength in themselves to really take it to the man and to fight back.

"They're pushed to the limit, and they're going to rise up and rebel. So the theme is rebellion. We finally, finally get to full-scale rebellion."

The official logline reads: "In the final season, June's unyielding spirit and determination pull her back into the fight to take down Gilead."

It continues: "Luke and Moira join the resistance, Serena tries to reform Gilead while Commander Lawrence and Aunt Lydia reckon with what they have wrought, and Nick faces challenging tests of character.

"This final chapter of June’s journey highlights the importance of hope, courage, solidarity, and resilience in the pursuit of justice and freedom."

Speaking about his hopes for the final season, Miller said (via Business Insider): "I just want it to be a solid season. But I also have been watching other shows end successfully or unsuccessfully, and I've got to take those lessons.

"I just want every episode to be solid, and therefore I want every scene to be solid. And that's all I'm thinking about. And if it doesn't feel like the finale of a show, that's OK. The beginning of it didn't feel like the beginning of a show either."

At the end of season 5, June and Serena crossed paths on a train heading to Vancouver – and hopefully onwards to Hawaii – which raises questions about what their dynamic will look like in the next chapter. Will they find themselves working together?

"When we played out Serena's story, it seemed so logical, given June's story, that they'd probably end up in the same place," Miller told The Hollywood Reporter. "They're both trying to anonymously flee Toronto among a crowd of people. How many options do you have?

"I thought this is where Serena would end up before I thought this was where June would end up. It did feel like they were not running toward each other but running toward the same spot."

But while June is currently free, Luke was captured after handing himself in to spare her and Nichole – although we know that he manages to escape and joins the resistance.

There's also Nick, who found himself in hot water after assaulting Commander Lawrence. And his pregnant wife has also chosen to distance herself from him.

"[With] Nick, the problem is he tries to stay out of trouble, and now he can't because the thing that's pulling him back to trouble is June," Miller told Entertainment Weekly.

"I feel like this is the most romantic Nick/June season ever because they spend the whole time trying to convince themselves that they don't need to be together. And by the end, they are not successful at all, they fail entirely... but they're so in love, they can't think about anything else."

And we can't forget Janine, who has been taken by The Eyes, leaving Aunt Lydia heartbroken.

"Janine is channeling her inner June, and look at the consequences," Miller told EW.

"But being picked up by The Eyes can mean a lot of things. They have for a long time wanted Janine to be useful and reproductive, and if she isn't doing that at the Red Centre, they will move her somewhere else. And they're not very polite about it.

"But she also could just get pulled out and shot in the middle of the street. It's that kind of place."

Will The Handmaid's Tale season 6 be the last?

Unfortunately, yes.

Season 6 was given the green light back in September 2022 ahead of the season 5 premiere when it was confirmed that it would be the last season.

"It has been a true honour to tell the story of Margaret Atwood's groundbreaking novel and chillingly relevant world, and we are thrilled to bring viewers a sixth and final season of The Handmaid's Tale," showrunner Bruce Miller said in a press release.

"We are grateful to Hulu and MGM for allowing us to tell this story, which unfortunately has remained as relevant as ever throughout its run, and are in awe of our incredible fans for their unwavering support, and without whom we never would have gotten to this point."

The cast also released the following statement in line with the announcement: "When we started this journey in season 1, we bore no more. In season 2, we reclaimed our name. In season 3, we set ourselves free. In season 4, we prayed together. In season 5, you'll see how some sins can't be washed away.

"And as to season 6, our sixth and final season, well, you'll just have to wait and see. We can't thank you enough for supporting the show over the years. Much love to you all. Under his eye."

And given that it's the final season, the cast have also been sharing which props and costume items they've kept hold of.

"I looted the place," Moss told The Hollywood Reporter.

"I have a full-set handmaids costume — I don't know what I’m going to do with it, it's not like I’m going to wear it," she said. "I have a Scrabble board; I've got a lot. I took as much as I could; don't tell anyone."

Strahovski revealed she took home Serena's leather finger.

"I feel like it’s a winner," she added.

While Madeline Brewer nabbed Janine's eye patch.

"I walked right off of set and put all my stuff in my bag and got the hell out of there," she said.

The Handmaid's Tale season 6 trailer: Can I watch it?

As detailed above, the official trailer has been released, teasing some serious rebellion – and we cannot wait.

June (Elisabeth Moss) is laser-focused on taking down Gilead and those who were instrumental in creating it, and the trailer also shows Serena Joy (Yvonne Strahovski) enjoying a large-scale wedding of her own.

While many may be wondering just who Serena will be getting wed to, the trailer gives us our first look at a new character played by The Good Wife’s Josh Charles, who was previously announced as joining the final season's cast. But it doesn't look as though it's all plain-sailing for the pair as Sere na is seen yelling at him, referring to him as "just like the rest of them".

Largely though, the trailer tells us that the sixth and final season of the hit series will be all-out war, with June leading the charge. The synchronised pulling out of knives by the handmaids signals that things could get bloodier than ever before – but as for who will survive, we'll have to wait and see.

Thankfully, if you've forgotten some of the details of the previous five seasons then Hulu has helpfully put together a recap video of the stories and characters that have underpinned the show so far.

You can watch that below.

Will there be a Handmaid's Tale spin-off?

Yes - Atwood's 2019 novel The Testaments will also be given the TV treatment.

The story, which is also set in Gilead, four years after the events of The Handmaid's Tale, is narrated by Agnes (Chase Infiniti), who lives in Gilead, Daisy (Lucy Halliday), who is based in Canada, and Aunt Lydia.

Hulu has described it as a "coming of age story that finds a new generation of young women in Gilead grappling with the bleak future that awaits them".

"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," reads the official logline.

"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."

Production will begin on 7th April, with Dowd returning, and Moss onboard as an executive producer.

"In the end of the book The Testaments they bring down Gilead, so that's the goal of the show and the goal of Agnes growing up," said creator Bruce Miller (via The Hollywood Reporter).

"We tried not to make the same show — it's got younger voices, it's got a completely different feel and a completely different vibe but it's still Gilead, so I hope that the continuing threads continue to interest people while the new stuff is exciting."

Executive producer Warren Littlefield continued: "These young women have never known any other world other than Gilead, so it's a very, very different frame of reference and point of view."

He went on to describe the look of the show as "pastoral, beautiful, it's a different architecture, different colour palette and a young wonderful cast. But make no mistake, there's still a Gilead there, so that will reveal itself as well".

The Handmaid's Tale airs on Channel 4 and Prime Video in the UK – you can sign up now for a free 30-day Prime Video trial.

Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.