The New Chapter: Exploring The Testaments Premiere and Handmaid's Tale Legacy
By Published Apr 2, 2026, 2:40 PM EDT Adam Bentz is a senior news writer at ScreenRant, where he has authored nearly 5,000 articles, including features and lists. He studied creative writing and English with a concentration in screenwriting at Southern New Hampshire University and interned as a writer/journalist for The Borgen Project, an influential organization that fights global poverty.
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Hulu's new spinoff of The Handmaid's Tale, , is receiving rave reviews ahead of its release.
Based on the 1985 novel by Margaret Atwood, the original dystopian series ended after six seasons in 2026. The upcoming spinoff, based on another novel by the same author, will serve as a narrative continuation that follows a new generation of young women in Gilead grappling with the bleak future that awaits them.
Now, ahead of its series premiere on April 8, The Testaments has debuted with an 88% score from critics on . The series only has 16 reviews at the time of writing, so its score should fluctuate as more are published. Its audience score will also start to take shape once the series premieres next Wednesday.
See how The Testaments' Rotten Tomatoes score compares to every below:
Across all six seasons, The Handmaid's Tale's average critics and audience scores are 83% and 57%, respectively.
What To Know About The Testaments
Created once again by Bruce Miller, based on the 2019 novel of the same name, several years after the events of The Handmaid's Tale and follows two teens, Agnes and Daisy, as they navigate Aunt Lydia's elite preparatory school for future wives and form a friendship that transforms their lives.
includes One Battle After Another breakout Chase Infiniti as Agnes, Lucy Halliday as Daisy, Emmy winner Ann Dowd reprising her role as Aunt Lydia, Rowan Blanchard, Eva Foote, Kira Guloien, Amy Seimetz, Brad Alexander, Birva Pandya, Zarrin Darnell-Martin, Mattea Conforti, Shechinah Mpumlwana, Mabel Li, and Isolde Ardies.
What Critics Are Saying About The Testaments
Critics are saying that The Testaments feels like both a continuation and a partial reinvention of The Handmaid's Tale. Some praise it for injecting "fresh blood" into the familiar dystopia, suggesting that it expands the resistance story rather than merely repeating it. Much of the acclaim focuses on its younger cast and their strong lead performances, which bring emotional urgency and make the oppressive world feel newly raw and unsettling.
At the same time, critics are split on how distinct the spinoff really is. Several note that it's engaging and compelling, but still heavily tied to its predecessor, sometimes to the point of feeling like an extended season rather than something entirely new. A few argue that it risks repetition, even as others call it addictive and timely. Overall, The Testaments is seen as a strong, if imperfect, evolution of The Handmaid's Tale.
The Testaments will premiere with its first three episodes on April 8, followed by the remaining seven episodes released weekly on Wednesdays until May 27.
Cast
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Ann Dowd Aunt Lydia -
Chase Infiniti Agnes
Bruce Miller Expand Collapse
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