The Handmaid’s Tale Taps Josh Charles for Long-Awaited Sixth and Final Season of the Hulu Hit
The show is expected to go into production later this year and premiere in 2025
Josh Charles will help bring The Handmaid’s Tale story to an end.
PEOPLE can confirm that the Emmy nominee, 52, has been tapped to join the Hulu show as a series regular for its long-awaited sixth and final season. The show is expected to go into production later this year and premiere in 2025.
Details about his character have not been released, Charles’ addition to the cast marks his first onscreen reunion with Elisabeth Moss since starring opposite one another in the FX on Hulu spy thriller The Veil.
The Handmaid’s Tale, based on Margaret Atwood’s best-selling 1985 novel, is set in a dystopian, totalitarian society in which fertile women are forced to bear children for the state. In addition to Charles, the series stars Elisabeth Moss, Yvonne Strahovski, Bradley Whitford, Max Minghella, Ann Dowd, O.T. Fagbenle, Samira Wiley, Madeline Brewer, Amanda Brugel, Sam Jaeger, and Ever Carradine.
Ahead of its season 5 premiere in September 2022, creator, showrunner, and executive producer Bruce Miller announced that the series had been renewed for its sixth and final season.
“It has been a true honor 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,” he said of the series, which first premiered on Hulu in April 2017.
“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,” his statement continued.
Speaking about the series’ success, Moss, 41, told PEOPLE in November 2022 that she thinks it’s “horrifying” how, in the years since the show’s premiere, its story has only become more relevant. “It’s awful. It’s way more than troubling,” she added.
In May, Moss — who will also direct four episodes in the new season, including its series finale — teased it as a “pretty wild” season.
“It definitely has final-season energy. It’s big and wild, and goes to many different places, and it is very, very surprising all the way through,” she said in a conversation with TVLine.
“The Handmaid’s Tale” is produced by MGM Television and executive produced by Bruce Miller, Warren Littlefield, Eric Tuchman, Yahlin Chang, Elisabeth Moss, Steve Stark, Kim Todd, John Weber, Sheila Hockin, Frank Siracusa, Daniel Wilson, and Fran Sears.
