The Handmaid's Tale (Seasons 2 & 3)

HULU Series Review: “The Handmaid’s Tale (seasons 2 & 3)". Critics rates this a 88% with the users a 76%. Rated: TV-MA with Thirteen 1 hr episodes in each seas and an IMDb of 8.5/10. Main Cast: Elisabeth Moss, Joseph Fiennes, Yvonne Strahovski, Alexis Bledel, Madeline Brewer, Ann Dowd, O. T. Fagbenle, Samira Wiley and Bradley Whitford…..Recurring and Guest Cast is to large to list, however there are some impressive actors among them.

Based on the best-selling novel by Margaret Atwood, this series is set in Gilead, a totalitarian society in what used to be part of the United States. Gilead is ruled by a fundamentalist regime that treats women as property of the state, and is faced with environmental disasters and a plummeting birth rate. In a desperate attempt to repopulate a devastated world, the few remaining fertile women are forced into sexual servitude. One of these women, Offred, is determined to survive the terrifying world she lives in, and find the daughter that was taken from her.

The Handmaid's Tale is an American dystopian drama web television series created by Bruce Miller, based on the 1985 novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood. It was ordered by the streaming service Hulu as a straight-to-series order of 10 episodes, for which production began in late 2016.

In Season 1 the first three episodes of the series premiered on April 26, 2017; the subsequent seven episodes were released every Wednesday. In May 2017, the series was renewed for a second season which premiered on April 25, 2018. In May 2018, Hulu renewed the series for a third season, which premiered on June 5, 2019. In July 2019, the series was renewed for a fourth season. In September 2019, it was announced that Hulu and MGM were developing a sequel series, to be based on Atwood's upcoming novel The Testaments.

The Handmaid's Tale has received critical acclaim and its first season won eight Primetime Emmy Awards from thirteen nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series. It is the first show produced by Hulu to win a major award as well as the first series on a streaming service to win an Emmy for Outstanding Series. It also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama. Elisabeth Moss was also awarded the Golden Globe for Best Actress. If you look up the hundreds of awards this series has taken over the 3 seasons you would be quite surprised!!

Strong and Intense are the words for this series. The Handmaid's Tale is perhaps one of the the best Television accomplishments - hands down. It is a profound glimpse into a dystopian future. The women in this series are subjected to physical, emotional and mental abuse under the twisted word of god, by man. This is not to say that it is a Christian-bashing show, but it depicts what could happen under a theocratic society.

What is most outstanding is that the acting is so amazing, that its quietest moments may be its most powerful. In fact, at times, the series can be emotionally overwhelming and draining — but isn't that a characteristic of a superb and masterful viewing experience? This series is so masterfully done that they can bring more emotion out with minimal words, masterful music and heart rendering cinematography.

After watching all 3 seasons I can honestly say that Season 3 wasn’t as good as Seasons 1 & 2. The last 4 episodes of season 3 make up for it and the ending is bitter sweet. They have announced a Season 4 and you can bet that I’ll be watching for it, I’m WAY too deep into this show to not watch season4

I’ll warn you that it’s not for the faint of heard. It will tug on your heart strings and in some cases make you look away from the TV screen. Take my advise and don't turn away from it. This is one to watch.

It’s primarily on HULU, however I watched Season 1 on Netflix and its quite possible now that Seasons 2 & 3 are over Netflix may pick it up. I actually got the HULU $5.95/month (FREE 30 day trial) just to watch Season 2 & 3. It was absolutely worth it