The Testaments: Everything We Know About The Handmaid's Tale Spin-Off

Praise be: Aunt Lydia is soon returning to our screens.

Hulu has announced that the "Handmaid's Tale" sequel "The Testaments" will premiere Wednesday, April 8 with three episodes, followed by one new episode every week thereafter.

"The Testaments" is set several years after the events of "The Handmaid's Tale" — which wrapped its run in May 2025 — and follows Ann Dowd's Aunt Lydia, as well as two young women with complicated, intertwining stories.

Read on for everything we know so far about what to expect from the upcoming series, then hit the comments: Are you planning to watch "The Testaments"?

Based on Margaret Atwood's 2019 novel, "The Testaments" is set in Gilead 15 years after the events of "The Handmaid's Tale." Aunt Lydia is a central character, as are two young women named Daisy and Agnes.

Per the official synopsis: The spinoff "is 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. 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."

As of now, the only "Handmaid's Tale" cast member in the "Testaments" cast is Ann Dowd, who will reprise her role of Aunt Lydia in the spinoff. We'll make sure to update this post with any others as they are announced.

Dowd will be joined by Chase Infiniti ("Presumed Innocent"), Lucy Halliday, Rowan Blanchard ("Girl Meets World"), Mattea Conforti ("Power"), Isolde Ardies ("Wayward"), Shechinah Mpumlwana ("Lyla in the Loop"), and Birva Pandya ("The Umbrella Academy").

Additional cast members include: Mabel Li ("Safe Home") as Aunt Vidala, a stern disciplinarian and the heir-apparent to the women's sphere of Gilead; Amy Seimetz ("Sweet Tooth") as Paula, whose recent marriage to a high-ranking Commander has raised her social status but given her a stepdaughter who complicates things; Brad Alexander ("YOU") as Garth, a young Commander, who becomes involved in the personal lives of the girls he's sworn to protect; Zarrin Darnell-Martin ("Ginny & Georgia") as Aunt Gabbana, a firm proponent of Gilead values and right hand to Aunt Vidala who is a strict and uncompromising educator; Eva Foote as Aunt Estee, the youngest Aunt, whose energy and kindness earn her "cool Aunt" status amongst her students; Isolde Ardies ("Wayward") as Hulda, a guileless girl, full of excitement at the prospect of womanhood, whose optimism earns her loyal friends; Shechinah Mpumlwana as Jehosheba, a competitive classmate from a respected family who is relentless in her pursuit of a high-status marriage; Birva Pandya ("The Institute") as Miriam, a girl on the cusp of womanhood; and Kira Guloien ("Robyn Hood") as Rosa, a caring and dedicated Martha who is a maternal figure to Agnes and a much-needed source of love in an otherwise cold household. 

We're betting that "The Testaments" will be crafted in such a way that you won't have to have watched all six seasons of "The Handmaid's Tale" in order to understand what's going on. (That said, it couldn't hurt?)

Hulu announced in January that "The Testaments" will premiere on Wednesday, April 8. Three episodes will be available on premiere day, followed by one new episode every week thereafter.

"The Testaments" Season 1 will have 10 episodes.

"The Testaments" will stream on Hulu.

There is not yet a trailer for "The Testaments." We'll update this post as soon as one is released.

LAST UPDATE: MONDAY, JANUARY 26