Adding to the various programs suspending their production processes, the award-winning series The Handmaid’s Tale has announced they will halt the production for its fourth season due to coronavirus pandemic, according to Deadline. Hulu’s dystopian drama has received critical acclaim over the course of its three seasons. The series won eight Primetime Emmy Awards in its first season including Outstanding Drama Series. With the rise of reported cases in the United States, this streaming drama has joined the countless other Hollywood productions of late-night shows, television, and film projects.
Created by Bruce Miller (The 100), The Handmaid’s Tale adapts the 1985 novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood. The original novel and series follow the aftermath of a Second American Civil War and the world under a totalitarian rule in addition to low fertility rates. The series has garnered widespread acclaim from critics and fans alike – not only for the story but for the actresses and actors that make up its cast.
Elisabeth Moss (Us and Mad Men) stars as the main protagonist, June Osborne, a role that earned her the 2017 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series and a 2018 Golden Globe. Moss is also set to make her directorial debut during the upcoming season.
The cast also includes Joseph Fiennes (Shakespeare in Love and American Horror Story: Asylum) as Commander Fred Waterford and Yvonne Strahovski (Chuck and Dexter) as Serena Joy Waterford, Fred’s wife. Additionally, Alexis Bledel (Gilmore Girls) portrays Emily Malek, a close friend of Moss’s June Osborne.
The production for this fourth installment of the Hulu series began earlier in March before the rapid spread of the coronavirus within the United States. Although the series was planned to debut its next season in the fall of 2020, future production plans will likely delay Hulu’s release for its Emmy Award-winning series. However, fans can consume the first three seasons, available for streaming on Hulu.