Picture: Hulu
Some big licensing news: we’re seeing the series set to arrive in regions across Europe, including Italy, France, the Netherlands, and the Nordic region (Norway, Denmark, and Sweden). Plus, we’re also seeing it set to arrive in Latin American regions like Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina beginning on May 5th or the 6th, depending on where you live.
We didn’t find it currently coming to Netflix in English-speaking regions, such as Australia, the United States, Canada, or the United Kingdom, where the show already has streaming homes for the most part.
Longtime readers of the site will know we’ve been tracking the streaming status of this blockbuster series for years. In fact, the last time we covered the series, it wasn’t available on Netflix anywhere in the world. Now, the floodgates are finally opening for international subscribers.
What is The Handmaid’s Tale about?
For the unfamiliar, The Handmaid’s Tale is the multi-Emmy-winning dystopian drama based on the acclaimed 1985 novel by Margaret Atwood.
Set in the totalitarian, theocratic regime of Gilead (formerly the United States), the series follows June Osborne. Following a second American Civil War and a global infertility crisis, June is captured and forced to live as a “Handmaid”—a class of fertile women forced into child-bearing servitude for the societal elite. The show is a harrowing, tension-filled masterclass in television that tracks June’s desperate fight to survive, rebel against the system, and reunite with the daughter that was taken from her.
The series is heavily anchored by Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men, The Invisible Man), who delivers a career-defining performance as June. Alongside Moss, the show boasts a powerhouse ensemble cast, including:
- Yvonne Strahovski (Chuck, Dexter) as Serena Joy Waterford
- Joseph Fiennes (Shakespeare in Love) as Commander Fred Waterford
- Ann Dowd (The Leftovers) as the terrifying Aunt Lydia
- O-T Fagbenle (Black Widow) as Luke Bankole
- Samira Wiley (Netflix’s Orange is the New Black) as Moira Strand
- Max Minghella (The Social Network) as Nick Blaine
- Bradley Whitford (Netflix’s The Diplomat, The West Wing) as Commander Joseph Lawrence
Across its run, the show has been an absolute juggernaut, virtually defining Hulu’s original programming slate in the US and sweeping the Emmys during its earlier seasons.
Could The Handmaid’s Tale ever come to Netflix in the US?
While the United States is missing out on this May 6th drop, there is actually a glimmer of hope for US Netflix subscribers down the line.
While The Handmaid’s Tale is heavily branded as a “Hulu Original” stateside, Hulu doesn’t actually own the series. The show is produced and distributed by MGM Television (which is now operating under the Amazon umbrella).
Recently, we’ve seen MGM Television licensing a significant number of their library titles to Netflix in the US—including former exclusive hits and legacy properties such as Stargate SG-1, the James Bond movies, and The Man in the High Castle, to name a few. Because MGM ultimately holds the keys to the underlying rights, once Hulu’s exclusivity window inevitably expires, there is a very real possibility that Amazon/MGM will license The Handmaid’s Tale to Netflix US. It won’t be this month, but it’s a trend we are watching closely.
Will you be checking out The Handmaid’s Tale when it drops on Netflix in your region this May? Let us know in the comments down below.
